NATO Delivers Disinfectant To Ukraine To Help Battle COVID-19

NATO says it is delivering over 9,000 liters of surface disinfectant to Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s request for international assistance to combat COVID-19.

Ukraine started receiving the first delivery on February 17, the alliance said in a statement, adding that the donation was coordinated by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center and Latvia.

The statement said the surface disinfectant, produced by a Latvian company, is to be distributed to “the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and its border guard detachments at border crossing points” across the Eastern European country.

NATO said it will also send mobile X-ray units, negative pressure chambers, bio protection coveralls, and portable oxygen generators to Ukraine in the “coming weeks.”

Ukraine has recorded more than 1.3 million coronavirus cases and over 26,000 deaths.

The country of 40 million has yet to launch its vaccination campaign.

It is waiting for the delivery of 20 million vaccine doses from India’s Serum Institute and the global COVAX scheme, as well as vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Novavах.

Last week, the World Health Organization and the European Union said they were launching a 40 million euro ($48.5 million) regional program to help six Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ukraine’s government has banned the use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, which has been rolled out in the eastern Ukrainian areas that are controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists.