Rescuers will be able to move around the area as securely as possible, without endangering their own lives or the lives of people who need their immediate help

Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, 25 August 2020 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has provided secure digital communications equipment worth more than U.S. $81,000 to units of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine in the Donetsk Oblast. The equipment was procured under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, with funds provided by the European Union.

The armed conflict, which has been going on in eastern Ukraine for more than six years now, makes it impossible for rescue units to move safely along the “contact line,” due to the constant threat of shelling. The digital equipment, acquired through long-term cooperation between the EU and UNDP, will help rescuers working directly in conflict-affected areas to quickly coordinate rescue operations with the SES Coordination Centre, securing their communications and their location from outside interception and intervention. Rescuers will be able to move around the territory without revealing their presence, and without endangering their lives or the lives of people who need immediate help.

Frederik Coene, acting Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, expressed his gratitude and sincere admiration for the courage and dedication of the Ukrainian rescuers, who fight new challenges and help save dozens of lives every day.

“The equipment purchased through the joint efforts of the European Union and UNDP will make the work of rescue units in Donetsk Oblast more efficient and safer,” Mr. Coene added.

This equipment was also critical due to the lack of a developed infrastructure for the provision of basic administrative services to the population in communities where, due to the armed conflict, rescue units remain the only service provider. Rescuers regularly help locals not only put out fires, but also provide medical services, psychological assistance after shelling, and help rebuild houses destroyed or damaged by shelling. The digital communications equipment will make it easier for them to work in dangerous areas, and residents along the “contact line” will be able to get the help they need more quickly in an emergency.

Coordinator of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme’s Social Cohesion and Community Security Component Rustam Pulatov stressed that the armed conflict remains a serious challenge to the security of citizens living along the “contact line.”

“Improving public safety is one of the key goals of our programme, so the technical equipment we provide to our SES partners will help increase community safety, and rescue teams will be able to respond more quickly to new challenges and neutralize threats more quickly,” he added.

Commenting on the transfer of equipment, Head of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast Oleksiy Migrin thanked the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme and the EU Delegation to Ukraine for their continued support and trust, and praised the long-term experience of cooperation.

Earlier, at the beginning of June, the EU and the UN handed over technical equipment worth U.S. $70,000 to rescuers working in eastern Ukraine.

Background

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Thirteen international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Media enquiries

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Associate, the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org, +380 63 576 1839

Photo courtesy of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine