Metro Ukraine has installed automatic external defibrillators in all operating shopping centers of the chain, the retailer's press service told Interfax-Ukraine.

"This project is important for us, because human life is the most valuable treasure that we must preserve in any conditions. We are pleased to be the first food retail company in Ukraine to provide such a level of care," CEO of Metro Ukraine Olena Vdovichenko said.

It is specified that the project started in 2020, now defibrillators are available in the network's shopping centers in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kryvy Rih, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia, Chernivtsi, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, Lutsk, and Chernihiv.

Cardiovascular diseases become the most common cause of death in Ukraine every year. Due to heart attacks, most people die before they even get to hospital. In such situations, time is of the essence, as, according to the Ministry of Health, care provided in the first four minutes of heart attacks increases the chance of survival by 30%.

More than 350 employees were trained in first aid and the use of defibrillators in May 2023 at all Metro open malls, according to the release.

Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine was founded in 2003. It unites 23 Metro Cash&Carry wholesale centers in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kryvy Rih, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia, Chernivtsi, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mariupol and Zhytomyr, as well as three smart-format stores in Ternopil, Lutsk, and Chernihiv.