The ceremony of handing over humanitarian aid took place today at the Central Clinical Hospital of the State Border Guard Service in Kyiv.

The First Deputy Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine noted that the humanitarian aid will be distributed among departmental health care facilities, as well as bodies and units that directly guard the border and register citizens at BCPs. Volodymyr Nikiforenko emphasized that from the very beginning of the pandemic, border guards were among the first to join to preventive measures of Covid-19 spreading. He noted that at the border crossing points, border guards communicate daily with people coming from different countries and the personnel of the department should be as safe as possible, including from viral diseases, and with the help of partners from the Netherlands in particular.

In total, border guards received 1 million surgical masks, 100,000 insulating gowns, almost 50,000 medical goggles, and FFP2 / FFP3 aprons and respirators from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The total cost of assistance is over 22 million hryvnias.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ukraine, Mr. Jennes de Mol, emphasized the long and fruitful cooperation with the Ukrainian Border Guard agency, which has lasted for 10 years. With the support of the Embassy, ​​Ukrainian border guards improved their professional skills in detecting forged documents and combating illegal migration. Instead, thanks to the vigilance and professionalism of the Ukrainian border defenders, the Schengen area and the Netherlands have become more protected from unwanted “guests”.

The ambassador emphasized that the real partners are those who come to the rescue not in words but in deeds. Therefore, at a time when Ukraine, on the one hand, is defending itself and, on the other hand, is fighting the spread of a pandemic disease, the Netherlands has decided to support the border agency of our country.

Taking this opportunity, Volodymyr Nikiforenko and Jennes de Mol expressed their gratitude and support to all medical staff who are today in the forward area of the fight against the pandemic and are fighting for our health 24/7.