The European Union has donated more than 5 million potassium iodide tablets to Ukraine to protect against the risk of radiation, the European Commission announced on Tuesday.
With shelling ongoing near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tablets are a pre-emptive delivery to protect citizens, Janez Lenarčič, EU commissioner for crisis management, said in a statement.
Lenarčič also thanked Austria for contributing 500,000 tablets towards the donation to bring the total amount to 5.5 million. The commission said the EU's donated tablets are worth more than €5 million ($5 million).
The EU executive arm organized the donation of the tablets through the co-called EU Civil Protection Mechanism, a platform to coordinate and share emergency resources.
Potassium iodide tablets can prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid in the event of a nuclear accident. Despite the shelling at the sprawling Zaporizhzhya site, radiation levels remain normal, UN officials and the warring sides have recently said.
