Sixty-eight ambulances and fire trucks, donated by Taiwanese private groups and fire agencies, were delivered to Ukraine on Thursday to support frontline rescue efforts in war-affected areas.
At a ceremony held by the Lviv city government, Taiwan Association of Community Advancement Secretary-General Lin Wei-lian (林偉聯) said the rescue vehicles were mainly from fire departments across New Taipei City, Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, while the rest came from non government groups.
With the Russia-Ukrainian War in its fifth year, the association has partnered with other private groups on four rounds of vehicle donations, delivering more than 200 vehicles, the association added.
Photo courtesy of the Lviv city government via CNA
Most of the vehicles were refurbished before being shipped, Lin said, adding that there were concerns that the shipping route could be affected by the war, but the mission was ultimately completed.
Twenty-six vehicles will be allocated to Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine, while the rest are being sent to the military and border guards units in cities such as Lviv and Kupyansk to support rescue efforts, Ukrainian authorities said.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been under repeated bombardment throughout the war.
Jeff Liu (劉永健), Taiwan’s representative to Poland, attended the ceremony virtually and thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its coordination and assistance.
Taiwan will continue supporting Ukraine in various ways and stands with freedom, he added.
Olga Kulish, a Ukrainian national married to a Taiwanese, said rescue vehicles are in high demand during the war. She said Ukraine is grateful for Taiwan’s support. Some soldiers presented their emblems at the ceremony to express gratitude, she added.
Deputy Lviv Mayor Andriy Moskalenko thanked Taiwan for its long-term support, while Deputy Kharkiv Mayor Ivan Kuznetsov said the vehicles would strengthen the medical system and enhance rescue capacity.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS