KIEV — The Chinese government on Sept 24 donated 50 ambulances fitted with life-saving equipment to Ukraine.

A memorandum to hand over the vehicles was signed in Kiev by Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Du Wei and acting Health Minister of Ukraine Uliana Suprun.

The donation, worth about $3.5 million, was granted to Ukraine in accordance with an agreement between Chinese and the Ukrainian governments in 2016.

Under the deal, 44 ambulances will be distributed among the centers of emergency medical care and disaster medicine in all 24 regions across Ukraine.

Besides, six vehicles will be dispatched to the medical institutions of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the National Guard of Ukraine.

Chinese experts have already trained Ukrainian healthcare workers to operate the ambulances and the equipment installed inside.

At the ceremony to sign the memorandum, Suprun expressed her gratitude to China for the donation, saying it would help Ukraine deliver better and faster emergency care.

“I appreciate the Chinese government for granting the aid for the emergency medical care. Currently, it is the priority for our government,” Suprun said.

For his part, Du said that in the past years, China has provided Ukraine with various kinds of aid on the basis of three key principles: not imposing any political conditions, granting only high-quality equipment, and making contributions in such fields as medical care, education and post-disaster recovery.

“Following these principles, we will continue providing assistance to the friendly Ukrainian people,” Du said.