Dubbed "Boršikatel Ukraina heaks" ("Borscht benefit for Ukraine") after the beetroot-based national Ukrainian soup, Tiina Sootalu, a teachers, told AK that: "240kg of borscht was ready by this morning."

The large volume of borscht was the product of the Haapsalu vocational school where Sootalu works, she said. "My whole second course of adult chefs were working hard for this yesterday. There was a total of 13 people, and today three more people helped finish the soup," allowing the event to go ahead.

Meeli Lokk, one of the organizers of the charity event told AK she was: "Just so grateful, so surprised and so happy that the Haapsalu community is so powerful and strong."

One attendee, Risto, said that the fare on offer brought back memories of his childhood and his grandmother's cooking, while many others joined the line for the food, other national Ukrainian dishes as well as borscht and which was in principle free, though donations to aid Ukrainian refugees were welcome.

The event was inspired by a similar occasion in Tartu, Loki told AK, and took place in the old town, adjacent to the Kodaniketorn (citizens' tower), at the city's famous castle.

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