Tuscany delivers medical equipment and humanitarian aid to Ukraine

A convoy of nine vans from Tuscany has completed the delivery of eight tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including food, medical equipment and mobility aids destined for hospitals and people displaced by the war.

The mission, organised by the Tuscany regional government and the regional Civil Protection agency, left Italy on 14 July and returned on 21 July. The humanitarian aid was collected by Unicoop Firenze together with its customers and members, while the regional healthcare system supplied medical equipment, wheelchairs and crutches requested by hospitals and refugee centres.

Medical equipment donated by the Local Health Authority of Central Tuscany and the Local Health Authority of South East Tuscany was delivered to a hospital in Lviv. Wheelchairs and crutches were distributed to refugee centres in Mariapolis and Chernivtsi, two cities in western Ukraine hosting large numbers of internally displaced people.

Footage from the Tuscan humanitarian mission, including the delivery of aid at the Mariapolis refugee centre in Lviv, is available in this RTV38 report. Automatic English subtitles can be enabled on YouTube.

Healthcare cooperation

A key outcome of the mission was the signing of a cooperation protocol between Tuscany’s regional health department and the health authorities of Lviv Oblast, the administrative region surrounding the city of Lviv. According to the regional government, the agreement is intended to develop future healthcare cooperation, particularly in paediatric care.

During the visit, the Tuscan delegation travelled to the Mariapolis refugee centre in Lviv, which shelters more than 1,000 people displaced from frontline areas and Russian-occupied territories. The convoy also delivered food and other essential supplies to refugee camps in Chernivtsi, near the Romanian border, and in the nearby town of Lukavtsi.

More medical equipment on the way

The humanitarian mission is expected to be followed by another shipment of medical equipment coordinated by the Local Health Authority of Central Tuscany in collaboration with the Cross Regional Emergency Centre (Cross) in Pistoia and Italy’s national Civil Protection Department.

The equipment, requested by the Ukrainian government, includes a portable X-ray machine, a paediatric cardiac ultrasound scanner, eight obstetric ultrasound systems and two gynaecological ultrasound machines. Regional officials said the shipment to Kyiv was scheduled for the end of July.

The project is supported by the Fondazione Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, together with contributions from 16 other organisations worth more than €721,000. Tuscany’s regional procurement agency Estar and Azienda Zero of the Veneto Region are also involved.

Tribute to Ukrainian journalist

During the mission, members of the Tuscan delegation paid tribute to Ukrainian journalist Irina Tsybukh, who was killed in May 2024 while serving as a volunteer combat medic. Flowers were laid at her grave in Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv by the delegation, accompanied by Simone Pancani, a physician from Florence’s Meyer Children’s Hospital.

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