The European Commission has made an announcement on Thursday that the Europe has coordinated the delivery of 66,224 tonnes of in-kind help to Ukraine from 30 nations via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Ukraine activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism already on February 15 in preparation for a large-scale emergency. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine started on February 24.
The aid which was coordinated by the EU includes 180 ambulances, 300 power generators, 125 fire-fighting vehicles, 35 heavy machinery vehicles, and 4 pontoon bridges.
As per the Commission, this is by far the largest, longest lasting and most complex operation through the Mechanism since the day it was established in 2001, with an estimated value so far of over €425 million.
To further support this operation, logistics hubs have been set up in Poland, Romania and Slovakia where assistance is then channelled directly to Ukraine.
As per the statement released by the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, “We are all horrified by Moscow’s atrocities in Ukraine. By providing this emergency aid, we can at least ease the continuous and hard pressure on Ukraine’s emergency response systems. Today we have reached a significant milestone – over 60,000 tonnes of in-kind assistance coordinated via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has arrived in Ukraine.
He thanked every single EU member state, together with Norway, Turkey and North Macedonia, for having offered help that has then been channeled most effectively through the Mechanism. “This solidarity is the evidence that the EU is with Ukraine not only in words but in actions.”