Drax donates £280,000 to aid efforts in Ukraine

Renewable energy company Drax Group is donating £280,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to support relief efforts for the Ukrainian people following Russia’s invasion.

The sum includes £30,000 of employee match funding from Drax’s employees based in the UK, US and Canada, maximising its collective impact to help those fleeing the conflict.

Drax CEO Will Gardiner said: ‘Our first concern is for the Ukrainian people – for their safety and wellbeing. Drax stands behind them and recognises their bravery and we hope this donation will go some way to helping those most in need. Like many others around the world, I absolutely condemn the Russian invasion. The resolute stance of NATO, the EU and many companies is heartening, but the situation for those in Ukraine is very worrying.’

The DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal aims to provide food, water, shelter, healthcare and protection to families fleeing the conflict who have left their homes.

Drax has ceased the supply of a very small percentage of Russian biomass used at its power station in Yorkshire to generate renewable electricity and is working with its suppliers and customers to identify any further links to Russia.

Drax’s biomass supply chain is large and diversified with the vast majority of its supply coming from long-standing allies, the US and Canada.

Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon has instructed Scottish Government officials to withdraw from any fisheries negotiations involving the Russian Federation until further notice.

In a letter to the UK Government, Ms Gougeon said talks should be postponed and said the Scottish Government will not engage in any negotiations involving the Russian Federation.

She said: ‘To allow the Russian Federation to participate, remotely or in person, in such discussions would be an insult to our Ukrainian friends and partners.

‘It would allow the Russian Federation to assume a veneer of legitimacy at a time when their flagrant breaches of international law have placed them beyond the pale of the rules-based global order.’