The death toll from the devastating floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are being called the worst in decades, has already reached 19. On the morning of October 4, it was reported that heavy rains in Bosnia on Friday night had flooded several cities in the central and southern parts of the country.
After 16 people died in the municipality of Jablunice, rescuers also found the bodies of three people in the city of Fojnice, where the bad weather destroyed many houses and outbuildings.
Against this backdrop, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic agreed to provide all necessary assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Vucic previously noted that Serbia could send rescue helicopters and boats, as well as provide financial assistance.
And the Croatian prime minister said that his government is in constant contact with the head of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krishto, and is ready to provide “all the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the flood.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also confirmed the readiness to help. He noted that Bosnia could benefit from the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which it joined in 2022.
France and Canada have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of military materiel for Ukraine and in the field of training within the framework of the Defense Contact Group (Ramstein), in particular, they will continue to deepen strategic cooperation in the field of cyber defense in support of Ukraine, according to a declaration agreed upon during a meeting in Ottawa on September 26 by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We are committed to working with Ukraine and our partners to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression, both in traditional domains and in cyberspace, including by supporting the strengthening of Ukraine’s civilian cybersecurity capacity through the Tallinn Mechanism. More broadly, we will continue to discuss topics of mutual interest that were discussed during the Paris Conference on February 26, 2024,” the document, published on the Canadian government’s website, reads.
The declaration states that Canada and France have already trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation UNIFIER for Canada and the EU Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) for France. The armed forces of the two countries also continued to cooperate in training Ukrainian fighter pilots.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Research and Production Enterprise ENERGO-PLUS has been involved in humanitarian initiatives and has been helping the Ukrainian military. The Kremenchuk energy company provides military units with vehicles, necessary equipment and machinery. The total amount of assistance since the beginning of the full-scale invasion is more than UAH 8 million.
The funds were used to purchase VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER T5 and Mercedes-Benz VITO vans, as well as Renault Duster, NISSAN NAVARA, MITSUBISHI L200 cars and SUVs and three FORD RANGER vehicles. We also spend money on fuel and lubricants, as well as maintenance and repair of vehicles.
Another area of the company’s charitable activities is providing the military with equipment, tools, office equipment, etc. A separate part of the initiative is the purchase and delivery of 5 generators, which are an important element for power supply at the front line.
– Today, each of us must bring our country closer to victory. Ukrainian soldiers risk their lives every day for the sake of Ukraine’s independence, and we, joining our efforts, are obliged to help them,” emphasizes Yevgeniy Korf, Director of RPE ENERGO-PLUS LLC.
“The humanitarian direction is no less important, because at the beginning of the invasion, thousands of people needed shelter. Therefore, the company also joined the initiative of the Trust and Assistance Charitable Foundation to build a shelter for temporarily displaced persons.
The company’s core business is the design, development, and implementation of industrial automation, power supply, and various electrical systems for Ukrainian enterprises and private companies.
About $435 million is needed to help civilians across Ukraine by March 2024, according to the website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“The United Nations and partners are calling for about $435 million to be allocated for winter assistance. US dollars to provide winter assistance to more than 1.7 million people across Ukraine by March 2024,” the statement emphasizes.
It is noted that this year alone, the UN and partners have delivered 14 convoys to the frontline areas of Zaporizhzhia region, providing the necessary assistance to more than 30 thousand people living near the southern front. Since the beginning of the year, 96 humanitarian convoys have been delivered to the frontline areas.
In particular, as reported on November 3, an interagency humanitarian convoy delivered vital supplies for 1,600 people who remain in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The aid included medicines, household items, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses, solar lamps and sleeping bags.
The total amount of pledges to help Ukraine with humanitarian demining, confirmed on Wednesday by participants of the first such special high-level international donor conference in Zagreb, is almost EUR0.5 billion, said Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović.
“The 34 participating states expressed their clear political support for Ukraine in the field of mine action and maintained their political commitments… The total amount of these contributions is almost EUR0.5 billion,” he said at a briefing after the first day of the conference.
According to him, additional contributions have been and will be made in the form of equipment, materials and expert assistance.
“Some countries have also made commitments that will be implemented in cooperation with international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Program,” Bozhynovych added.
He emphasized that the conference made it clear that Ukraine’s partners will join forces and act together at the national, European and international levels to identify as soon as possible the threats to the status quo posed by mines and explosive remnants of war.
“We emphasize the importance of using the most modern technologies, knowledge and experience, fully realizing that this is vital for the safety of Ukrainian citizens, as well as for the economic, social, environmental and all other aspects of post-war recovery and development of Ukraine,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
He reminded that the EU Council is currently discussing a 4-year EUR 50 billion Ukraine Facility program to help Ukraine, and once approved, it will be very important to allocate part of these funds for demining.
“We hope that the conference that took place today confirmed these expectations and that it will be properly reflected in the upcoming rounds of negotiations in the Council and approved by the European Commission,” added Bozhynovych.
He also welcomed Switzerland’s announcement to organize, as a follow-up to the Zagreb event, the next international donor conference on humanitarian demining in Ukraine next October in Geneva.
On Thursday, the second day of the conference, there will be an expert discussion of detailed demining measures and activities in Ukraine.
According to a study conducted by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, the European Commission and the UN, the cost of humanitarian demining in the year after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion was estimated at over EUR34 billion out of the total cost of reconstruction and recovery of EUR383 billion. At the same time, the full extent of the contamination remains unclear due to the ongoing hostilities and occupation of the territory.
In the spring, the Ukrainian government estimated the priority funding needs for humanitarian demining this year at $400 million.
The Italian government will help reconstruct the Transfiguration Cathedral, which the Russians destroyed during the shelling of Odesa on July 23, the Italian government said.
“Italian restoration schools, meaning university departments, vocational institutes, studios and laboratories, are today making their traditional expertise available to a project to restore and enhance the walls and frescoes that were hit by the Russian bombs, thereby marking an age-old friendship between two peoples and an effective rebirth for the city,” according to the report on the Italian government’s website.
“The Italian government has involved two of Italy’s most authoritative cultural institutions, the Milan Triennale and the MAXXI museum in Rome, in order to gather the best economic, technical and cultural resources able to contribute to the restoration of the Transfiguration Cathedral,” the report says.
