Bethenny Frankel's disaster relief organization, BStrong, is bringing $10 million worth of aid to refugees following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a serious scary situation,” Frankel wrote alongside a selfie video about BStrong's efforts that she posted to Instagram on Friday.
In the short clip, the Skinnygirl entrepreneur explained that BStrong team members were bringing supplies to refugees fleeing from Ukraine to southeastern Poland on Friday. "One family every 10 minutes is fleeing and coming to this particular border," she said. "We have committed to $10 million in aid. That's 40 containers containing $250,000 of aid each. Our goal is now $20 million, which would be 80 containers."
The former "Real Housewives of New York City" star, 51, told People that BStrong was bringing crisis kits filled with blankets, sleeping bags, toiletry kits, non-perishables and water, as well as generators to the refugees, many of whom are traveling hours to escape the attacks.
“It’s the things that people would need immediately, if displaced. Just the basic, basic needs,” she said.
The team will set up refugee camps and begin distributing the aid by Monday, she added.
BStrong's efforts come just a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a long-feared attack on Ukraine by land, sea and air. The invasion puts Europe into one of its most dire security crises since the days of World War II.
The attacks began minutes after Putin said in a televised speech that he had approved military action in Ukraine, and vowed that any nation that tried to interfere would face a response “so severe that no foreign nations have ever experienced it before.”
The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that more than 100,000 people in Ukraine have been displaced so far because of the attacks. Many are attempting to flee to safety in neighboring countries, including Poland.
Frankel told people that the BStrong team has committed to making "multiple trips" to help. She added that her team is prepared to send aid to refugees for months.
"When the headlines fade, we’re still finishing a mission. You can’t go there, you can’t commit to something without following through,” said Frankel. “And aid has to be fully distributed, and money allocated to a certain disaster relief effort has to be fully distributed."
"So it’s a long process. It’s not a one-and-done thing.”