Responding to a request from the Ukrainian authorities for assistance in connection with the explosion of the dam in Nova Kakhovka, the EU is mobilizing its strategic rescEU reserves dedicated to providing shelter to refugees by deploying three mobile water purification stations to help local authorities produce drinking water for the victims.

Each station can produce 120,000 liters of clean water a day, helping to solve one of the area's most pressing problems, access to drinking water, the European Commission's press service said on Wednesday.

The European Commission noted that already 16 European countries - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden - have offered their assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by providing tank trucks, water pumps, boats, life-saving equipment, generators and other in-kind assistance to save lives in the affected areas.

"The EU's humanitarian partners in Ukraine have re-directed their ongoing response to provide life-saving assistance to the affected populations, including drinking water, ready-to-eat food, cash assistance and the distribution of shelter equipment. To further support humanitarian operations on the ground, the EU has also mobilised an additional EUR 500,000 to address the immediate needs resulting from the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. This comes on top of the EUR 200 million in humanitarian aid already allocated in 2023 for Ukraine," the European Commission said.