The delivery of emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine and neighbouring countries is being stepped up through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism and the logistics centres recently set up in Poland and Romania to speed up the delivery of an unprecedented number of in-kind donations from 29 countries.
In response to Ukraine’s request for assistance in February, the Czech Republic, Greece, France, Belgium, Estonia, Slovakia and Denmark have provided additional resources of medicines, food and hygiene products and deliveries are continuing through logistics platforms (see EUROPE 12909/3), European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujwari said on Tuesday 15 March, the 20th day of the Russian-led war.
Poland and Romania have donated ambulances, fire engines, clothing and information technology (IT) equipment.
Total emergency assistance to Ukraine coordinated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has so far reached 105 million items, or 2,000 tonnes of essential goods. “89 million items are on their way”, the spokesperson said.
The mechanism is continuing to coordinate assistance to Ukraine’s neighbours. Most recently, Italy, Denmark and Austria have donated generators, shelter equipment, medicines and hygiene products to Moldova.
Belgium and Denmark are also sending medicines to Poland, in response to the country’s request for assistance to cover the needs of the 1.8 million refugees it is hosting out of the 3 million who have left Ukraine to flee the war (see EUROPE 12910/5).
The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), the central body of the Civil Protection Mechanism, is active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to mobilise the additional assistance required. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)