Ukraine seeks European aid for municipal transport and generators

Ukraine is requesting assistance from European partners to provide buses, generators, and other municipal vehicles to communities affected by the ongoing war. The request was discussed during the 51st session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Vitaliy Bezgin, Minister for the Development of Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, stated that Spain has expressed readiness to provide buses through existing interregional agreements, such as those between Catalonia and the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv regions. Bezgin noted that transport needs are intensifying due to Russian attacks, citing that Kherson loses approximately two municipal vehicles per day.

Existing support models include partnerships where specific countries assist specific Ukrainian regions: Estonia supports Zhytomyr, Denmark supports Mykolaiv, and Belgium supports Chernihiv. The Grand Est region of France currently provides generators to the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine is seeking to strengthen regional partnerships with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, particularly for eastern regions with complex logistics. In exchange, Kyiv is offering European partners expertise in defense technologies and territorial management during combat operations, while noting European interest in direct meetings with Ukrainian manufacturers regarding business investment.