Lappeenranta’s Joint Donation to Ukraine: Fire Truck, Vans, and 1,500 kg of Christmas Candy

The City of Lappeenranta, LUT University, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Student Housing Foundation for the Region of Lappeenranta LOAS and Liiga-SaiPa have jointly donated a fire truck and three fully equipped vans to Lappeenranta’s twin city Chernihiv. The vehicles have been refurbished and equipped to meet the needs of Ukraine’s exceptional circumstances.

The acquisition of the donated fire truck was made possible by Jani Kareinen, Chief Executive Officer of Rescue Department at South Karelia Wellbeing Services County. The vans were donated by LOAS.

Alongside the vans, approximately 1,500 kg of candy and chocolate were transported as a Christmas greeting to Ukrainian children, donated by Fazer.

Mayor Tuomo Sallinen of Lappeenranta expressed gratitude for the strong community spirit in the city, which makes joint donations possible.

– In my opinion, Finnish municipalities and cities could do more similar acts of aid. My view is that helping Ukraine must continue, and attention should be paid to this now and in the future.

– Lappeenranta and its partners will continue to support Ukraine. I will not go into details, but the next aid package is already being prepared.

According to LOAS Executive Director Joonas Grönlund, three well-maintained, low-mileage vans became surplus due to the electrification of LOAS’s vehicle fleet.

– It was easy to embrace the good suggestion from our staff to donate the vehicles to Ukraine. We are very pleased to hear how well our equipment will be put to use in Chernihiv.

LUT University and LAB University of Applied Sciences participated in the fire truck acquisition.

– We have had good cooperation with the city in assisting Ukraine. The LUT Group wants to continue being involved in doing good together, says LUT Rector Juha-Matti Saksa.

The transportation of the aid was organized by Jussi Turunen, Chairman of the Board of Liiga-SaiPa Oy, together with his assistants.

Further information:

Tuomo Sallinen, Mayor of Lappeenranta
tel. +358 40 624 1422, tuomo.sallinen@lappeenranta.fi

Juha-Matti Saksa, Rector, LUT University
tel. +358 40 016 6659, juha-matti.saksa@lut.fi 

Joonas Grönlund, Executive Director, LOAS
tel. +358 5 668 2888, joonas.gronlund@loas.fi

Jussi Turunen, Chairman of the Board, Liiga-SaiPa Oy
tel. +358 10 778 7801, jussi.turunen@saimaansisailma.fi 

*This news was partially translated with AI assistance.