By Christina Thykjaer
MADRID - Spanish online delivery platform Glovo has partially resumed operations across 20 Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, to provide essential services and give humanitarian support, it said on Tuesday.
Having suspended all operations on Feb. 24 after Russia invaded, Glovo said it restarted in a limited capacity last week after careful evaluation.
"This was due to an increased demand for vital services to residents and NGOs who are unable to access food, medicine and urgent basic goods", Glovo said.
More than 2 million people have fled Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion nearly two weeks ago, and hundreds of thousands are trapped without basic supplies like medicine or fresh water.
Moscow calls its action a "special military operation" to disarm its neighbour and dislodge leaders it calls "neo-Nazis." Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss that as a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war against a democratic country of 44 million people.
Barcelona-based Glovo, which is majority-owned by Germany's Delivery Hero, will not book any financial gains from the services in Ukraine and all profits will go to partners, NGOs and pharmacies, the company said.
"With groups of individuals self-organising deliveries to help people, there is a clear need and high demand for Glovo’s platform to help connect suppliers, couriers and those in need, in a secure and safe way", the company said.
Glovo said it has delivered more than 10,000 orders since restarting last week and has more than 700 couriers currently able to operate in the country.
The company stressed that worker safety was its top priority and it was closely monitoring developments in the conflict.
"In case of attacks, Glovo will stop operations immediately," the statement read.
The online delivery app will function between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. local time (0800 to 1600 GMT) to comply with local curfews.