Mon, Nov 27th 2023
Switzerland is sending 17 more aid and rescue vehicles to Ukraine. In addition, Swiss experts will provide training for the Ukrainian fire department on site, as announced by the Federal Department of Home Affairs on Saturday during President Alain Berset’s visit to Kiev.
By December, ten ambulances financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) with a total value of CHF 650,000, six fire engines and firefighting equipment from the Department of Defense worth around CHF 2.3 million and a used fire engine from the Knonaueramt in Zurich are to be delivered to Ukraine. Several vehicles had already been delivered earlier.
Including the new delivery, Switzerland has sent a total of 25 ambulances and 13 fire engines to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s military aggression on February 24, 2022. These are worth around 3.9 million Swiss francs.
The Ukrainian healthcare system is under enormous strain, the federal government wrote. In particular, ambulances and fire engines are urgently needed, many of which have been destroyed in the fighting. In addition, there are still casualties every day in the war.
Swiss President Alain Berset promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi “long-term” support for the war-torn country at a meeting in Kiev on Saturday. The two spoke for around 45 minutes.
“Switzerland remains at Ukraine’s side, even in these times characterized by numerous crises,” said Berset at a media conference after the meeting. During his one-on-one meeting with Zelenskyi, the Federal Councillor reiterated that the Ukrainian president could count on Switzerland’s solidarity “in the long term”.
Berset said that Switzerland’s support was not called into question by the “many parallel crises” affecting the world. With his visit, he wanted to demonstrate, among other things, that the Swiss Confederation wanted to continue its efforts on the ground and behind the scenes, even if the spotlight was now somewhat less focused on the region.
Just over a year after the then President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis visited Kiev, Berset also traveled to Ukraine to see the situation on the ground for himself. The President of the Swiss Confederation also took part in an international summit on food security. The aim of the summit was to find corridors and routes for the delivery of Ukrainian grain to countries in need despite the Russian blockade.
Switzerland has shown solidarity with Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. It has repeatedly condemned Russian aggression and joined the European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia.
©Keystone/SDA
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