Ukraine: EU boosts assistance with emergency logistical hubs and rescEU aid
© European Union, 2021, Source: EC - Audiovisual Service, The World Food Program (WFP) warehouse in Pibor, South Sudan on April 21, 2021.The Commission continues to work at all levels to channel humanitarian and civil protection support to Ukraine and neighbouring countries. As needs grow exponentially, further assistance will be deployed in Ukraine via the rescEU medical stockpiles based in Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands. The rescEU support includes ventilators, infusion pumps, patient monitors, masks and gowns, ultrasound devices and oxygen concentrators. Furthermore, as announced by President von der Leyenthe European Commission has established civil protection logistical hubs in Poland, with others being set up in Romania and Slovakia, to distribute required aid to Ukraine as quick as possible. These hubs will help channel the assistance being delivered from 27 European countries via the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU also continues to support neighbouring countries that have already received over one million displaced people from Ukraine. Greece, Austria and Germany have offered masks, disinfectants and bedding, tents, clothing to Slovakia. Also, teams of EU civil protection experts are on their way to Moldova and Poland to assist the authorities. Assistance from the Netherlands, France and Greece was delivered to Moldova on 3 March via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, while Swedish, Danish, Finish and Croatian assistance is on the way. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, visited Poland on 2 March and Moldova on 3 March to assess the situation. Commissioner Lenarčič said: “This illegal and unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine is amounting to a humanitarian catastrophe not seen in decades in Europe. Over a million people have already fled to the neighbouring countries receiving unprecedented support. However, considerably more people are still in need of protection inside Ukraine. Humanitarian corridors that ensure the free and safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid are among the key prerequisites for addressing the needs of the population in Ukraine, which is the greatest casualty of this war. It is imperative that civilians are protected and humanitarian workers can do their jobs in safety and without impediments, as obliged by international humanitarian law.”