A first convoy left Thursday and a second, medical, is in preparation, according to our information. But the routing promises to be difficult and the evacuation of the French on the spot is for the moment impossible.
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France has begun to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine. A first convoy went from the beginning of the Russian offensive on February 24, announced in the world, Saturday, February 26, the head of the Crisis Center in Paris, Stéphane Romatet. These are 40 tons of equipment to accommodate displaced (shelters, sanitettes, hygiene structures …). The convoy, during the routing, is currently in Germany.
A second is being prepared, which will transport emergency medical help to treat about 500 serious injuries. He will leave “as soon as the logistics will be ready,” says Romatet. A third French humanitarian convoy is routed in Moldova, at the request of the Moldovan authorities, facing an influx of Ukrainian refugees. It carries 30 to 40 tons of equipment for emergency shelters.
The routing of humanitarian aid is however difficult. “The Ukrainians are very applicant, but we study how to succeed in physically delivering the goods,” says Romatet. Civil trucks, which transport equipment, are not allowed to enter Ukraine, become a war zone. They will stop at the border, where Ukrainian relays must recover them, but the situation, very volatile, prevents them for the time being to move.
A thousand French blocked in Ukraine
French humanitarian aid is sent at the request of Ukraine, which has activated the “European Civil Protection Mechanism”, a procedure for using solidarity in the European Union in the field of humanitarian field . Other countries have also responded to this request. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres alerted Friday: “Humanitarian needs multiply and range from time to time.
In Paris, the center of crisis also ensures that the French remained in Ukraine are safe. A thousand of them is still in the country right now. They were 1,200 before the Russian offensive, but several hundred occurred since the beginning of hostilities. “We realize that there are many more French than those registered in the consulate”, observes Mr. Romatet.
The evacuation of the French is however “impossible” currently, says the director of the Crisis Center. “One can not program such an operation as long as there is no ceasefire. Fighting are in progress, it would expose them.” Part of these French, very worried about the progress of the Russian troops, does not understand that France can not rescue them immediately. “It’s difficult. Some hear shots, bombing. They would like to be evacuated as soon as possible”. Failing to be able to get them out of the country, a psychological cell has been put in place. “When we feel a fragility, they are given the coordinates”.
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