Zaporizhzhia received community vehicles from Germany

The first cars have already been added to the transport fleet of the municipal road maintenance company and Zaporizhzhia’s territorial center for social services. In total, our German partners will provide six vehicles to strengthen the city’s utilities.

In the spring, Oberhausen and Magdeburg, the twin cities of Zaporizhzhia, applied for the BMZ assistance program that supports the purchase of equipment, machinery, or transport for Ukraine. Technical assistance is then provided free of charge by German municipalities to partner Ukrainian cities, specifically to hospitals, schools, and utilities that deliver public services and maintain urban infrastructure.

Our primary focus in the application was to acquire vehicles for Zaporizhzhia’s public utilities so that they could respond more effectively to wartime challenges and provide quality services for the population.

In September, the first vehicles arrived in Zaporizhzhia from Germany. These included a Mercedes Sprinter with a loading area and a Bobcat mini-loader handed over from Oberhausen. Another vehicle, a Toyota pickup, was driven from Magdeburg. These vehicles will bolster the city’s utilities and social services.

For instance, the municipal enterprise “ELUASH” received a new mini-loader that will be instrumental in maintaining city roads, carrying out repairs, and supporting construction work. The City Territorial Center for Social Services will make use of the Mercedes Sprinter to better care for vulnerable populations, assist people with disabilities, and transport relief supplies.

By the end of November, the partner cities plan to provide three more vehicles to Zaporizhzhia, including a Ford Transit minibus, which has already arrived in Magdeburg.

This assistance is made possible thanks to a joint program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ, and the German municipalities of Oberhausen and Magdeburg.

Zaporizhzhia City Council and the City Development Institute of Zaporizhzhia extend their sincere gratitude to our colleagues and partners in Oberhausen and Magdeburg, who coordinated the application process and assisted with the delivery of the vehicles.