Ireland and other European Union nations have delivered emergency medical equipment to Ukraine following a request from Kyiv amid an escalation of the crisis with Russia, the European Commission said on Saturday.
The request was made by Ukraine on Tuesday, amid rising fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
So far emergency aid has come from Ireland, France, Romania, Slovenia and Austria, the Commission said.
France has sent a field hospital, medicines and hundreds of tents, blankets, sleeping bags. Additional aid, including medical equipment and power generators, were deployed by the other EU countries. More help is expected in coming days.
"Following a request from the government of Ukraine for emergency assistance due to the threat of further escalation, the European Commission is coordinating the delivery of essential supplies to support the civilian population," said an EU statement.
When the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country, it can request assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which coordinates assistance from EU and other European countries.
It comes as Russia's president Vladimir Putin launched exercises by strategic nuclear missile forces on Saturday and Washington said Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border were "poised to strike".
US vice-president Kamala Harris has warned Russia that it will face “unprecedented” financial costs if it invades Ukraine, and predicted that such an attack would draw European allies closer to the United States.
British prime minister Boris Johnson also called for western leaders to unite against Mr Putin and show the Russian leader he will pay a “high price” if he sends his troops into Ukraine.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has assured Baltic nations they will not be on their own if faced with security threats from Russia, but he stopped short of promising a permanent deployment of American troops in the former Soviet republics.
