Kuvituskuva:
Finland leads the international Shelter Coalition with Ukraine
A modern and nationwide network of shelters is being built in Ukraine.
The Civil Protection Shelter Coalition has been established in Ukraine to develop Ukraine’s civil shelters. The coalition, which has been in preparation since last spring, aims to move the country from ad-hoc shelters toward a country-wide modern civil protection shelter network, the EU states in its press release.
The Shelter Coalition is led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, but Ukraine has requested Finland to be the co-chair of the coalition. Other actively participating countries include Lithuania, Belgium, Ireland, and Sweden. Financial institutions such as the EIB and the World Bank are also involved.
– Ukraine asked Finland to lead the civil defence coalition because we have strong civil defence expertise in both the public and private sectors, says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio in a press release from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Tavio participated in the coalition’s opening in Kyiv on 27th of November.
Practical work begins
Finland announced at the opening a support of 11 million euros for the construction of civil shelters. Together with the previously announced project funding of two million euros, Finland’s support for Ukraine’s civil protection sector amounts to approximately 13 million euros. In total, funding of 22 million euros from participating countries was announced during the opening of the Shelter Coalition.
– The Coalition, initiated back in May this year, is now moving from the political level to the practical level. The Coalition is not only about financial support. It is about pooling technologies, engineering solutions, and the experience of democratic states that have been investing in the resilience of their infrastructure for decades, says Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko in the EU press release.
Finnish expertise in civilian shelters was represented in Kyiv by Verona Shelters Finland Oy and Rakennusbetoni- ja Elementti Oy. Rakennusbetoni states that it is committed to supporting Ukraine’s civil protection and reconstruction efforts.
– We are happy to support both companies in Ukrainian market, as the needs for modern and equipped shelters in Ukraine will be growing, says Olena Kutsai, Head of the EastCham Kyiv office, on LinkedIn.
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