Thanks to modern technologies, rescuers in eastern Ukraine will be able to respond more effectively to crises and provide security to community residents.

Mariupol, 16 March 2021 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with the financial support of the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, has made a large-scale supply of modern equipment to the rescue units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

From now on, rescue units in the three oblasts will be able to use new equipment – 233 modern tablet computers, 69 desktop computers, an interactive panel, routers and a laptop – to determine the exact location of an accident or emergency, plan routes and communicate with residents in danger.

Each tablet comes with protective glass, a shockproof case, a car mount and a charger. They have an interactive map with the location of fire hydrants, reservoirs, SES units, defensive structures, essential infrastructure facilities, potentially dangerous objects, added maps of forest districts and other information that will be useful during rescue operations.

Rustam Pulatov, lead of the Community Security and Social Cohesion component of the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, said that the programme continues to provide systematic support for the work of rescuers in Ukraine's eastern communities.

"We express our gratitude for the dedicated work of the SES units in eastern Ukraine and strive to focus all our efforts on the systematic and practical support of rescuers,” Pulatov said. “The daily use of modern tools and technologies will strengthen the ability of communities to respond to emergencies."

The modernised equipment will help rescuers respond more effectively to crises, for example, by more accurately determining the victim's location, or through the faster processing of operational information on firefighting by the operational dispatch service for transmitting to subordinate units of the SES Main Department.

Roman Silin, the head of the service’s Telecommunications, Information Technologies and the 112 System in Donetsk Oblast, commented on the need for and the importance of the equipment the service has received.

"We thank our UN RPP partners for the technical assistance and modern equipment,” Silin said. “It will significantly improve the quality of rescuers' work, reducing the time taken to receive and process information and, as a result, saving many lives."

UNDP donated the equipment under the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, with the financial support of Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. The total value of the equipment is US$ 124,988 (over UAH 3.4 million).

In February, UNDP, together with the EU, supplied disinfection equipment to SES units in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

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).

Twelve 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.

Media inquiries

Maksym Kytsiuk, Communications Specialist, United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme, maksym.kytsiuk@undp.org or +380 63 576 1839