Ukraine Deploys Firefighters to France Amid EU Wildfires

Spain, Italy, France and Greece are all being ravaged by wildfires this summer as temperatures soar past 40 degrees Celsius in southern Europe. Ukraine, which is vying to join the 27-member bloc, will send its emergency crews to France, where large-scale fires are raging in the southwest near Bordeaux. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “For the first time ever” Ukraine will provide assistance to the Civil Protection Mechanism, von der Leyen wrote on social media on Saturday. “While defending itself against Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine is also helping protect lives across Europe,” she said. “This is European solidarity. Every day, Ukraine shows it belongs in our Union.” On Friday, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said the team had set off for France and posted a video on social media showing a procession of red fire trucks driving through the night. Українські рятувальники вирушили до Франції, щоб допомогти у боротьбі з масштабними лісовими пожежами. Це перша місія української команди з надання допомоги державі-члену Європейського Союзу в межах Механізму цивільного захисту ЄС. pic.twitter.com/NP7KZIhf50— DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) July 31, 2026 Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to Spain and France from across the EU under the mechanism. “To the more than 300 firefighters deployed [on] the ground: your courage, generosity and dedication embody the very best of Europe,” von der Leyen said. Poland has said it will send 105 fire brigade personnel to Spain throughout August. The first 35-person rotation departed from Krakow on Saturday morning. This.This is solidarity at its very best.The EU is grateful to every country that is participating in the Civil Protection Mechanism this month to help France and Spain battle the wildfires.To the more than 300 firefighters deployed the ground:your courage, generosity and… pic.twitter.com/F1CKBAooX0— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 1, 2026 “We have a number of major wildfires in Spain, numerous smaller ones starting concurrently... so Polish firefighters will be very busy,” Wojciech Kruczek, the State Fire Service’s chief commander, said before the departure. The groups will work in 35-person rotations in the central Castile-La Mancha region. Other Topics of Interest Latvia Closes Belarus Border Latvia temporarily closed its border with Belarus on Friday evening following an information system failure at the Pāternieki border checkpoint. TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find our guest interviews, world news from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region.