Ukraine too helping Slovenia in the aftermath of devastating floods

On arrival, the convoy was welcomed by Prime Minister Robert Golob and Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Taran at the Tepanje motorway rest area. Golob thanked Ukraine for the much needed aid.

"I believe the equipment, heavy machinery, will help with the worst cases," said Golob, who visited the Upper Savinja Valley today and saw for himself how much material had been deposited in the river bed. "If it stays there until the autumn rains, the disaster will only get bigger.

"Therefore, we are thankful to anyone who brings in heavy machinery. Ukraine has sent its best unit, which is fully self-sufficient and has all the required modules. I believe it will be able to help at the toughest places," Golob said.

He is happy because the aid came fast. "We have offered assistance in demining and will be happy to take part there in the future, while they are helping us where they have the best equipment," Golobs told reporters.

Taran too noted the mutual assistance. "I've said it many times that we truly appreciate the support we've received from Slovenia. That is why as soon as we got the information about what happened, the foreign minister reported to the president, who approved the decision to offer assistance to Slovenia," the ambassador said. "Slovenia is Ukraine's good friend and can always count on our support."

It is not yet clear how long the Ukrainian staff and machinery will stay in Slovenia. The ambassador said the team had previously been involved in dealing with the flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in the south of Ukraine.

"Thank you, my friend, President Volodymyr Zelensky, who selflessly contributed civil protection troops and vehicles despite the war raging in his country. Solidarity knows no borders, Ukraine has a big heart," Golob wrote earlier on his Instagram profile.

Announcing the aid on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote: "Ukraine provides humanitarian aid to Slovenia in response to severe floods. I signed a relevant decree yesterday. We help our friends even as we fight a war at home. Solidarity works both ways."

Ukraine had previously sent a helicopter to Slovenia to help with the search and rescue operations.

Zelensky expressed condolences to Slovenia in the face of the floods on Sunday and Golob thanked him for the words of solidarity and support.

Ukraine announced on Monday it would send help. "The Ukrainian side will, in line with its capabilities, support its friends and partners that find themselves in trouble, just as Slovenia is supporting the Ukrainian nation and helping us divert Russian aggression," Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, wrote on social media.

Heavy machinery with crews also came from Germany, Slovakia, Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina today. Hungary has also offered further assistance.

Germany sent two modular bridges and a team for their erection. A convoy of 27 vehicles and a unit of 45 members of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief started erecting a temporary modular bridge in Prevalje so as to connect the area inhabited by several hundred people with the rest of the country, the civil protection said.

Six excavators from Bosnia-Herzegovina are also on their way to the Upper Savinja Valley. Four excavators with a team from Slovakia are helping out in the Rečica ob Savinji area.

Teams from Croatia, France, Germany and Austria are also helping out with heavy machinery in the Savinja Valley, President Nataša Pirc Musar said on X.

Two modular bridges and a team, two excavators and 15 other vehicles have also arrived from Italy and are helping out in Škofja Loka, the president said.

State secretary in the office of the Hungarian prime minister Zoltán Kovács said on X that Hungary was offering a 22-strong diving team equipped with all-terrain vehicles and boats, six pumps with operational staff, two excavators, two garbage trucks, two technical experts, sandbags and various flood protection equipment. "The aid will be sent when Slovenia accepts it," he added.

Assistance to Slovenia has so far been offered by Spain, Czechia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, the US, Israel and the EU, according to the government's website.