Ihor Klymenko: Ukraine has unique experience in civil protection, and we share it with our colleagues
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine participated in a consultative meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of the Baltic States, Finland, Norway, Poland and Ukraine. The main subject was the sharing of the Ukrainian experience in the field of civil protection with international partners.
“One of the most important issues we are focusing on is civil protection. We had to almost drastically change all the earlier existing guidelines and requirements for the construction of protective structures, systematise their accounting and improve the process of informing citizens,” noted the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in his speech.
Consequently, as the Minister emphasised, about 84% of more than 60,000 civil protection facilities in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine are now fully compliant with the requirements.
“An interactive map of shelters and bomb shelters is available directly in your smartphone and contains all the necessary information and up-to-date photos of protective structures,” the Minister stated, adding that SESU and police experts conduct quarterly inspections and monitor the condition and accessibility of shelters.
Another crucial challenge for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is the safety of employees working at the scenes of hostile attacks. Emergency service workers are often targeted by russians. With this in mind, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has repeatedly changed its approaches to work, equipment requirements and emergency response protocols.
“However, even meticulous planning does not completely prevent mistakes. Unfortunately, all instructions are “written in blood”. We have repeatedly changed our approach to work, equipment requirements and emergency response protocols. We always take into account the operational situation in each particular region and, if necessary, make adjustments to the algorithms of our employees’ actions,” said Ihor Klymenko.
He drew the participants’ attention to the fact that modern machinery and equipment, such as ladder trucks with foam extinguishing systems, a tactical fire extinguishing robot, thermal imagers, and devices for monitoring the movement of structures, contribute significantly to saving the lives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs employees and ensuring maximum efficiency in emergency response.
24/7 communication with the public remains essential in the civil protection system. This is crucial for the prompt dissemination of verified and objective information and countering enemy fakes and disinformation.
“Even before the launch of the full-scale invasion, we had developed guidelines for citizens on staying in bomb shelters, the contents of an emergency suitcase and first aid kit, and evacuation routes. After the invasion, the rules of conduct at checkpoints and border crossings, handling dangerous items and identifying suspicious persons were developed. In the frontline areas, our employees distribute leaflets with information on evacuation, rules of conduct during shelling or after finding explosive ordnance, useful contacts, etc. Moreover, our experts are taking special courses to teach children the rules of mine safety,” stressed the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to his foreign colleagues for their cooperation and support and expressed the readiness of the Ukrainian side to continue sharing its experience of civil protection in the face of war.
Communications Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
