Prime Minister Robert Golob and Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovenia Andriy Taran welcomed the Ukrainian Civil Protection team at the Tepanje motorway rest area.

"Ukraine has sent its best unit, which is fully self-sufficient and has all the necessary modules. I am therefore confident that it will be able to help in the toughest places," Prime Minister Golob expressed his gratitude for the assistance. A team of 51 members from the Ukrainian National Emergency Service will be assisting with five excavators and fourteen other vehicles to clear debris and clean up the aftermath of the floods in the Upper Savinja Valley. This same team helped, among other things, to deal with the flooding in the wake of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine in June this year, and now they will share their experience and knowledge with us. 

The Prime Minister is pleased that the assistance from Ukraine came quickly: "It is precisely so that we can make interventions in the rivers as soon as possible.  We have offered to help them with demining, which we will be very happy to do in the future, and they are helping us where they have the best equipment. It seems to me that this is the right way to go."

The assistance between Slovenia and Ukraine is mutual, as Slovenia has already provided humanitarian, material and military assistance to Ukraine. "I have said many times that we truly appreciate the support we have received from Slovenia. That is why, as soon as we received information about what had happened in your country, the Foreign Minister reported to the President, who approved the decision to provide assistance to Slovenia," said Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Taran. He added that Slovenia is a good friend of Ukraine and can always count on its support.

The Slovenian Prime Minister expressed his special thanks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who personally ordered the deployment of aid despite the fact that the country has been at war for almost a year and a half:  "I would like to thank my friend, President Zelensky, who has selflessly contributed civil protection troops and vehicles despite the war raging in his country. Solidarity knows no borders, Ukraine has a big heart."