Second Shelter Coalition meeting: Participants discuss bolstering security of healthcare facilities and rolling out mobile shelters

The second international meeting of the Civil Protection Shelter Coalition for Ukraine took place in Ukraine, organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Hennadii Nersesian, Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to Ukraine Tarja Fernández, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and the diplomatic corps.

In total, more than 60 international participants from 40 countries and representatives of 14 international organizations joined the meeting.

Participants discussed expanding the Coalition, attracting additional international support, and implementing joint projects to build and modernize shelters. Special attention was paid to Ukraine's current needs, in particular developing the network of protective structures and introducing mobile shelters, which will help expand civil defence capabilities and improve public safety.

"In May 2025, Ukraine and Finland launched the Civil Protection Shelter Coalition. I thank Finland for its leadership in this initiative. I thank every country and every organization that has already joined. This is a concrete and very important contribution to protecting Ukrainians' lives," said First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.

An important part of the meeting was devoted to the security of healthcare facilities. In particular, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Hennadii Nersesian presented the results of shelter construction, the sector's current needs, and measures to strengthen the protection of healthcare facilities ahead of the autumn–winter period.

"The safety of patients and medical workers remains one of our key priorities. Amid constant enemy attacks, it is important that hospitals can continue providing care even during air raid alerts and shelling. That is why we are working to equip reliable and accessible shelters, as well as to introduce mobile solutions that will make it possible to quickly strengthen the protection of healthcare facilities where it is needed most," said Hennadii Nersesian.

Funding for relevant infrastructure projects is continuing. In particular, in 2024–2026, 78 projects to equip healthcare facilities with shelters are being implemented in line with the Ministry of Health's priorities.

At the same time, amid constant security threats, solutions that can be implemented quickly are especially important. One of them is primary (mobile) shelters, which can be installed much faster than permanent protective structures.

According to preliminary estimates, the sector's overall need is 669 mobile shelters, of which 417 are needed as a matter of priority. These are primarily hospitals in frontline and border regions, facilities providing emergency and specialized care, and healthcare facilities that have no shelters or whose capacity is insufficient.

Work on implementing such solutions is already under way. In particular, the Coalition's Supervisory Group decided to direct the available financial resources to the procurement of mobile shelters. This will make it possible to strengthen the protection of the population more quickly, in parallel with developing the permanent network of protective structures.

In addition, with the Coalition's support, priority projects for the healthcare system with a total value of UAH 275 million have been selected.

In total, 136 projects to equip healthcare facilities with shelters, with design and cost estimate documentation already prepared, have been entered into the DREAM public investment management system.

The Ministry of Health continues to strengthen the security of healthcare facilities so that they can provide uninterrupted care to patients even under security threats.

As a reminder, the Civil Protection Shelter Coalition for Ukraine was launched in May 2025 in partnership with the Team Europe countries. Its first meeting was held on 27 November 2025. The initiative brings together international partners to develop the network of protective structures and improve the safety of the civilian population.

As part of this work, funding is being raised to modernize existing shelters and build new ones. The main financial instrument is the EU's Ukraine Facility, although international partners can also join project implementation through other mechanisms.