Ukrainian President: Portion of French helicopters will be sent to Ukraine’s Armed Forces and Health Care Services
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko believes that it is necessary to ensure that a portion of the helicopters, which are supplied to Ukraine by the French company Airbus Helicopters, be allocated to meet the needs of Ukraine’s Armed Forces as well as for Health Care in mountainous areas of Ukraine.
According to a report by the President’s press-service, Poroshenko recently met with the Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even, the Senior Vice President and Head of the European Region at Airbus Helicopters Olivier Michalon, and the Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont. The President stated that he signed the bill ratifying the agreement with Airbus Helicopters, which involves a €475 million loan for purchasing 55 helicopters.
Poroshenko said that he would like to see that the main agreement be signed within a month.
“At the time when our Ukraine faces Russian aggression, the amount allocated to this contract is significant,” Poroshenko stated. “We would like part of this contract, part of the helicopters, to go to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Poroshenko stated that he tasked Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and the Ministry of Interior, Arsen Avakov, to work on this issue and, if necessary, to introduce detailed specification for the helicopters to be used for such purposes.
The President additionally noted the need for helicopters to provide medical services in the countryside, especially in mountainous areas.
“In addition to the designated purposes, we really need the development of rural medicine in mountainous areas, such as the Prykarpattia, Zakarpattia and Lviv regions,” Poroshenko noted. “I think it will be taken into account that it is important for a doctor to be able to reach a patient not in 24 hours, but in several minutes or at least hours, to provide necessary help and create conditions for evacuation.”
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers and the French Company Airbus Helicopters signed a contract for the purchase of 55 civil helicopters for the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine. According to the contract, 21 H225s, 10 H145s, and 24 H125s helicopters will be delivered to Ukraine.