Two lorries carrying four construction vehicles left for the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on Friday. It is the first delivery of 20 such vehicles meant to clear debris in areas where infrastructure has been destroyed by the war.
Also part of the package are three firefighting vehicles, two mobile containers for collecting and cleaning contaminated water, and two containers for emergency response including lifting and moving equipment, lighting and power generators.
“The shipments will be handed over to the civil protection service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs after on-site training by specialists from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit,” said a government press release.
The equipment was donated by the defence ministry and the city of Basel and is estimated to be worth CHF5.2 million ($5.2 million). Transportation costs will be financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Since the beginning of the war the SDC has transported more than 680 tonnes of relief supplies from Switzerland to Ukraine and purchased more than 4,750 tonnes of food aid inside Ukraine to help the population.
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