Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday ordered Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko to prepare a plan for assisting the hapless governments of California and Los Angeles with controlling deadly wildfires.
“The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives,” Zelensky said in a video address.
“This matter is being worked out, and through appropriate channels, we have offered our assistance to the American side. We already have 150 firefighters prepared,” he said.
“Ukraine’s offer of support to California during these devastating wildfires is nothing short of extraordinary. President Zelenskyy’s leadership and the preparation of 150 Ukrainian firefighters are a testament to the power of global partnerships,” the California National Guard responded on Sunday.
Ukraine has a good deal of experience with wildfires, especially in the area around Chernobyl, which is one of the last places anyone would want uncontrolled fires tossing huge amounts of ash and smoke into the sky.
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The Chernobyl region has a recurring problem with farmers using old-fashioned burns to clear grass away from their fields for planting – and those fires have a tendency to grow out of control when the wind picks up.
Any help would doubtless be welcome in California, but 150 firefighters from Ukraine would be a small addition to the 10,000 personnel already involved in fire control efforts, including 72 firefighters sent from Mexico and roughly a thousand prison inmates deployed on Saturday.
Some of the social media responses to Zelensky’s offer of assistance ridiculed his proposal to send 150 personnel as miniscule compared to the titanic amount of money the United States has poured into defending Ukraine over the past three years.
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump, Jr. disapprovingly reposted news articles from 2022 that described California fire departments donating a substantial amount of equipment to Ukraine:
California was among ten states that donated firefighting and safety equipment to Ukraine early in the Russian invasion. The L.A. County Fire Department (LACFD) announced in March 2022 that it was donating “surplus” equipment to Ukrainian first responders, including hoses, nozzles, and personal protective equipment.
California officials and some firefighting experts have disputed the accusation that donating this equipment to Ukraine left Los Angeles unprepared for dealing with this year’s fires, arguing that personnel shortages were far more of a problem than equipment shortages. Disastrously incompetent land management policies and astounding failures to fill vital reservoirs have been the worst problems of all.
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