The State Emergency Service (SES) received 10 sets of equipment for emergency rescue operations from Germany, the SES reported on Tuesday.
“The equipment allows SES specialists to more quickly free people from under rubble and cut through metal structures and vehicles. This equipment will significantly enhance the capabilities of our units and help save many more lives,” said Volodymyr Demchuk, Deputy Head of the SES of Ukraine.
The equipment was purchased by the German government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
“This is an example of effective cooperation and a testament to the genuine partnership and friendship between Germany and Ukraine,” emphasized Katrin Buchholz, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Germany.
The equipment was provided as part of the project “Support for State and Municipal Emergency Management in Ukraine,” which is being implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and is part of the transition-period development assistance program.
This is not the first time the State Emergency Service has received assistance under this project, through which Ukrainian rescuers have been provided with modern technology and specialized equipment and have undergone training.
Ukraine will be able to use loans from international financial organizations attracted by the government to improve energy efficiency through high quality projects, Ima Khrenova-Shimkina, the director of the project on promoting energy efficiency and implementing the EU energy efficiency directive in Ukraine, has said.
“Ukraine has already attracted loans, pays interest on them, has concluded all the necessary international agreements, and our government has fulfilled all its obligations. Projects from cities and regions must now be submitted in order to pour these funds into the Ukrainian economy. But this, unfortunately, is not happening because we do not have enough specialists and well-prepared projects,” she told the Interfax-Ukraine agency during the IV International Coal Conference at DTEK Academy in Kyiv.
At the same time, she pointed out that the funds raised can be used if projects appear that meet all the necessary criteria.
At the same time, the expert expressed hope that this will be facilitated by, in particular, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine.
As reported, in October of this year, the state energy efficiency agency and the Ministry of Energy signed a memorandum with the German society for international cooperation GIZ, aimed at developing the field of energy efficiency in Ukraine.
Support from the German government and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland is provided to the Ukrainian side within the framework of a new international technical assistance project for promoting energy efficiency and implementing the EU energy efficiency directive in Ukraine, which is being implemented by GIZ. The project is planned to be completed within five years.
Over the past three years, NEFCO (Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, NEFCO) canceled energy efficiency projects in 18 Ukrainian cities due to bureaucratic obstacles, which is approximately 20% of the organization’s investments, and losses from unrealized projects are estimated at about EUR 35 million.
