Israel donates generators to blacked out southeast Ukraine
The Israeli embassy in Kyiv transferred 17 large electricity generators to Ukraine’s southeastern region of Kherson, the embassy announced on Tuesday.
Russian missile and drone strikes have decimated Ukraine’s electrical grid, leaving entire regions with little to no electricity while temperatures in most of the country are below freezing.
The generators, worth a combined $1 million, were provided by Mashav, Israel’s national aid agency and will be used to power hospitals and infrastructure.
“There is a special significance to the donation of the generators during the Hanukkah days. We are helping to bring light back to the homes of the Ukrainians and helping the Ukrainian people in this difficult and dark hour,” said Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky.
The ambassador tweeted photos of the generators being transferred to Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko. Hours later, Ambassador Brodsky tweeted that another generator had been donated to a Jewish old-age home in Kyiv.
An estimated 56,000-140,000 Jews live in Ukraine.
Besides generators, Israel helped Ukraine with food, emergency equipment, winter clothing, medicine, and training.
Israel also opened and staffed the “Kochav Meir” field hospital, which operated in western Ukraine in March-April.
During its six-week mission, the field hospital treated more than 6,000 Ukrainians and pioneered advance telemedicine technologies, allowing patients and staff to consult in real-time with medical experts at the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel.