Ukraine has offered to send its emergency service units to neighboring Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to help overcome the ongoing floods.
Ukraine's newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that he offered help to the neighbor countries as instructed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, in coordination with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Several European countries are dealing with severe floods caused by the heaviest rainfall in years, according to media reports. The floods had claimed at least seven lives, as thousands of houses were damaged accross Europe, with tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate from the disaster areas.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was moved by Ukraine's offer of help.
"A moment ago, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal sent me expressions of solidarity with Poland and readiness to immediately send a hundred rescuers equipped with specialist equipment to fight the flood. Moving," Tusk said on X.
Czech Republic Foreign affairs minister Jan Lipavský confirmed the offer in a statement on X (Twitter).
"I will convey the offer at an emergency cabinet meeting," Lipavský wrote.
Ukraine has also suffered from a major humanitarian disaster caused by flooding after the Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine's south on July 6, 2023, which Zelensky called one of Russia's "most serious crimes against the environment and people."
In the Ukrainian-controlled part of the area flooded after the dam's destruction, emergency service rescuers and volunteers evacuated thousands of locals, even under heavy shelling from Russian forces.
Since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine has sent its emergency service workers on a mission abroad at least once: to help Turkey after a deadly earthquake hit it on Feb. 6, 2023, claiming over 50,000 lives across Turkey and Syria.
(Updated: )
