The European Union has coordinated the delivery of more than 60,000 tonnes of in-kind assistance worth over EUR 425 million to Ukraine to respond to emergencies.

According to the European Commission on Thursday, to date, the EU has coordinated the delivery of 66,224 tonnes of in-kind assistance to Ukraine from 30 countries, via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

"The assistance delivered includes 180 ambulances, 125 fire-fighting vehicles, 300 power generators, 35 heavy machinery vehicles, and 4 pontoon bridges. This is by far the largest, longest lasting and most complex operation via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism since it was established in 2001, with an estimated value so far of over E425 million," the European Commission said.

In particular, to support this operation, logistics hubs have been set up in Poland, Romania and Slovakia where assistance is then chanelled directly to Ukraine.

In this regard, Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: "We are all horrified by Russia's atrocities in Ukraine. By providing emergency assistance, we can at least ease the immense pressure on Ukraine's emergency response systems. Today we have reached an important milestone – over 60,000 tonnes of in-kind assistance coordinated via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has arrived in Ukraine."

The European Commissioner thanked every single Member State, together with Norway, Turkey and North Macedonia "for having offered help that we have then channelled most effectively through the Mechanism."

"This solidarity is the proof that the EU is with Ukraine not only in words but in actions," he said.