Overview

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered to send 150 firefighters to assist California in combating devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed over 12,000 buildings.
• Zelenskyy directed Ukraine’s Interior Ministry and diplomats to coordinate the potential deployment of Ukrainian rescuers to the U.S., emphasizing the need to save lives in California's challenging situation.
• The offer follows Donald Trump Jr.'s social media criticism of a 2022 donation of firefighting equipment by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to Ukraine during its war with Russia.
• California's current firefighting efforts involve more than 14,000 personnel, including teams from Mexico, other U.S. states, and prison inmates, as officials call this disaster potentially the deadliest in state history.
• This development highlights tensions over U.S. support for Ukraine, with President-elect Donald Trump and his administration expressing skepticism about continued aid to the country.