Ukraine and Finland are launching a Shelter Coalition: what you need to know

Ukraine and Finland signed a joint statement on the establishment of the Shelter Coalition, which will attract about EUR 14 billion of resources for the construction of shelters. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, UNN reports.

A priority topic of today's meeting with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is partnership in the development of a network of civil protection facilities. Ukraine and Finland are launching the Shelter Coalition. Accordingly, a joint statement was signed with Orpo today. We set clear goals - to coordinate the efforts of partners in the construction of shelters, exchange best practices in this area, create and maintain funding mechanisms for the construction of civil protection facilities 

He noted that one such instrument could be launched by the European Union under the Ukraine Facility programme.

For Ukraine, the creation of reliable shelters is a matter of life for our people. (...) As of today, Ukraine has 62,000 shelters, and many more are needed. In addition, a number of facilities need modernisation. The government is already implementing a strategy for the construction of shelters. Our goal is to build 2,300 civil defence structures by 2027 and another 3,000 by 2030. This requires significant funds. We expect to attract about EUR 14 billion of resources for the construction of shelters through the coalition 

Recall

The government is investing significant funds in Ukrainian education, in particular, in shelters in schools, school buses and the NUS reform. The priority is to prepare children for the challenges of the 21st century.