France sent 55 tonnes of medical equipment, computers, children's milk and generators to Ukraine via Poland on Monday, the French foreign ministry has said. An estimated 3.5 million people have now fled the country since the beginning of the Russian invasion a month ago.
The emergency aid, worth 2.4 million euros, was sent by A330 cargo plane from Paris to Warsaw, the ministry said in a statement.
"In liaison with the Polish authorities, these materials will be handed over to the Ukrainian authorities without delay," it said.
The medical equipment - 10 tonnes in total - includes ten oxygen generators for intensive care units and nine tonnes of medicines.
France has also sent 31 generators, including six high-capacity ones, "to reinforce the electrical safety of Ukrainian health structures".
Eight tonnes of IT and communications equipment - smartphones, computers, routers and 60 kilometres of fibre optics - should also help to ensure the continuity of links and communications.
Local authorities and companies have contributed to the operation in the form of donations. Nine 42m2 family tents were also donated to the Polish Red Cross to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.
Direction Poland
According to the UN refugee agency, nearly 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian offensive, half of them to neighbouring Poland.
Refugees are suffering from a range of health problems, including diarrhea and dehydration, but the main need is for support due to trauma, Paloma Cuchi, WHO representative in Poland, told a briefing in Geneva.
In a televised address on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying "the war is going nowhere fast".
"The only outcome to all of this is more suffering, more destruction and more horror as far as the eye can see," he said. "Continuing the war in Ukraine is morally unacceptable, politically indefensible and militarily nonsensical."
Calling for an end to the war, he said "there is enough on the table to seize hostilities now, and seriously negotiate."
(with wires)
