BRUSSELS, August 20. /TASS/. Ukraine has made an urgent request to NATO countries to provide it with heavy civilian construction and engineering equipment, including trawls and excavators, as well as dozens of firefighting and armored ambulances through the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC), the agency said in a statement.
In total, Ukraine is requesting 17 tracked and 10 wheeled heavy excavators, 30 tractor-trailers for transporting cargoes weighing up to 100 tons (which allows transporting one or two battle tanks), 25 armored ambulances, as well as 27 heavy fire trucks with ladders about 100 feet in length and 50 fire trucks with ladders that are even longer, close to 115 feet. According to procedure, the alliance's coordination center openly notified NATO countries about the need to provide Kiev with this equipment to "rescue people, deal with the consequences (including removal of debris and ruins)," stressing that all vehicles are required "urgently."
The agency did not specify the locations for the transfer of the requested equipment, noting that the supplying countries should negotiate this directly with Kiev's representatives.
The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center is not linked directly to supporting NATO's combat operations. It is an auxiliary civil defense system to assist countries where major natural or man-made disasters have occurred.
The assistance transferred through this center is not included in the calculations of Western military supplies to Ukraine. Kiev is actively using this institution. For instance, in early 2022 it requested a large shipment of radiochemical protection equipment, protective suits and machinery designed to work in conditions of radiation or chemical contamination.