On 28th of March Prime Minister Brnabic, the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia and the Ambassador of Ukraine witnessed the dispatch of energy equipment to Ukraine which Serbia provides with support of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The devices were briefly presented on trucks before they were sent off to Romania from where they will be delivered to Ukraine. “The trucks transport 19 different electronic devices, parts of the electrical infrastructure that Serbia decided to share with the people of Ukraine. The Russian aggression against Ukraine has produced numerous problems, and to this day more than 17 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance,” said the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret.

 

The donation is financed by Serbia, and the transport is facilitated by the European Union, through the Civil Protection Mechanism.

The ambassador said that Russia is systematically destroying Ukraine’s civil energy infrastructure and thanked the Government of Serbia for deciding to join the EU in providing equipment and aid to Ukraine.

Ambassador of Ukraine in Serbia Volodymyr Tolkach said that the Russian aggression against Ukraine continues and that more than 50 percent of the energy infrastructure has been destroyed so far.

“We spent the past winter in the cold, and help in rebuilding the energy infrastructure is essential,” he said.

“We are the only country in the Western Balkans that managed to allocate and donate this type of aid, and this is the continuation of our policy of humanitarian aid to the vulnerable population of Ukraine,” said Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.

 

“Serbia expresses solidarity with the population of Ukraine and condemns all attacks on the civilian population and facilities in that country and any use of force contrary to international law,” said Brnabić.

The dispatch of the equipment was attended by the Minister for European Integration Tanja Miščević and the Ambassador of Japan to Serbia Takahiko Katsumata.

CIVIL PROTECTION MECHANISM

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates cooperation in emergency response, preparation and prevention between Member States, as well as several other European countries. Serbia became a member of the Mechanism in 2015, but even before that, during the devastating floods in May 2014, Serbia felt the benefits of European solidarity through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. This operation has been one of the largest since the Mechanism was established.