The first batch of refurbished ambulances, fire engines and wheelchair-accessible vans are set to be shipped to Ukraine. (MOFA)

Taiwan is donating over 100 retired ambulances, fire engines and wheelchair-accessible vans to Ukraine, spotlighting its commitment to standing with the Eastern European country in its fight against authoritarian expansion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The donation was jointly arranged by nonprofit organization Taiwan Association of Community Advancement and private individuals with assistance from the MOFA, the ministry said. Collected from the central and local governments and repaired with funding from a philanthropic entrepreneur from central Taiwan’s Changhua County, the first batch of 48 vehicles will be sent to Ukraine to assist soldiers and citizens on the front lines of the war with Russia, it added.

Officials attending the donation ceremony held June 30 in Changhua included Yao Chin-hsiang, director-general of MOFA’s Department of European Affairs; Li Yung-fu, deputy director of the National Fire Agency under the Ministry of the Interior; and representatives from the MOI’s National Police Agency, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and various city and county governments.

The public-private collaboration underscores the strength of the Taiwan Can Help spirit, the MOFA said.

Kira Rudik, the leader of Ukraine’s liberal Holos party, expressed her gratitude to Taiwan in a pre-recorded video. The generous aid shows that Ukraine is not fighting alone, she said, adding that the vehicles will be used to protect her country’s people.

Taiwan and Ukraine share the universal values of freedom and democracy. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Taiwan has donated over US$57 million and over 700 tons of humanitarian relief supplies, the MOFA added. (POC-E)