Photo: SES of Ukraine
Visit to the Headquarters of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Dr. Aleš Musar visited the headquarters of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) together with a delegation that included Mr. Aleksej Skok, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Slovenia; Ms. Mateja Prevolšek, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Ukraine; mag. Tomaž Lovrenčič, Director of ITF Enhancing Human Security; Ms. Neža Strmole, Coordinator for International Cooperation at the Firefighting Association of Slovenia; and Mr. Anže Bitenc, Assistant Commander of the Firefighting Association of Slovenia responsible for professional training.
Publish date Ukraine,
During discussions in which the leadership of SESU presented the operation of Ukraine’s civil protection and rescue system under wartime conditions, Dr. Musar expressed his gratitude to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine for deploying a large mobile unit with 50 vehicles and machines to Slovenia in 2023. Despite the immense demand for rescue services in their own country, the unit assisted in recovery efforts in the Upper Savinja Valley following the catastrophic floods that struck Slovenia.
At that time, SESU personnel worked side by side with Slovenian firefighters. During this year’s visit to Kyiv, Slovenian firefighters demonstrated their solidarity in return through a donation of firefighting equipment collected within just a few days by volunteer fire brigades from across Slovenia.
The discussions at SESU headquarters highlighted opportunities for future cooperation in education and training. Slovenian firefighters could offer youth camps for young volunteers, while their Ukrainian counterparts could provide training in specialized rescue operations conducted under wartime conditions. There is also growing interest in establishing an ITF-led project to collect and purchase used—but fully operational—firefighting equipment that could be put to valuable use by Ukrainian firefighters.
