'Good example to follow': EU praises Ukraine's experience in humanitarian crisis response
European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine's experience in responding to humanitarian crises is very valuable for Europe and a good example to follow, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"You know, the experience of Ukraine is really meaningful. It's a good example to follow. We will learn a lot from Ukrainians, thanks to your resilience. What I visited just recently, the invincibility centers are unique. We are contributing to 800 invincibility centers," Lahbib said.
According to her, this is a good example of how to respond to many emergencies, to have such tents capable of receiving hundreds of citizens for food, electricity supply, social assistance, psychological support, and so on.
"It's very important and instructive for us. We are already exchanging the best practices. And you have to know that Ukraine is not only the recipient of our support when it comes to civil protection. They are also contributing," the European Commissioner added.
She noted that since Ukraine joined the Civil Protection Mechanism, Kyiv has provided nine response capacities to the European Civil Protection Pool. These include emergency medical teams, decontamination units, forest firefighting units, and urban search and rescue services.
"And you are already contributing, for example, in 2023, during the earthquake in Türkiye — you sent an urban search and rescue team to Türkiye after the earthquake — so it shows that we will learn a lot and we are already learning a lot from you," Lahbib added.
Humanitarian aid to Ukraine
The European Union allocated 4.7 billion euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
It is focused on key humanitarian needs of Ukrainians — from food provision to supporting energy resilience during winter.
The European Commission also announced the deployment of 447 emergency generators worth 3.7 million euros from EU strategic reserves. They will be directed to restore electricity supply for hospitals, shelters, and critical services in Ukraine.
In addition, the European Commission is developing a special Energy Action Plan for Ukraine and is calling on EU countries to transfer additional air defense systems. The plan is to be implemented by next winter.
Moreover, according to European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, there is currently no risk of a reduction in humanitarian aid to Ukraine from the EU.
