Jüri Pirs, sales specialist at machinery and equipment retailer Stokker, told ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) Wednesday that the diggers have a multitude of potential good uses.

He said: "Essentially you can do everything with this machine: You can load, lift, push, dig – it's precisely the machine that the Ukrainians need when cleaning bombed-out houses and excavating ruins."

The donation is just the latest in several which the board has been sending to Ukraine since the current phase of the conflict began in late February.

The board asked its Ukrainian counterpart to itemize all equipment and tech it needed most, while diggers were high up on the list.

Once the excavators have had a quick service check up, they will likely be pressed into action as early as next week, and will be transported by DSV or another haulier to the Poland-Ukraine border, where they will be collected by Ukrainian authorities and sent on to the areas where they are needed.

The diggers were funded by donations totaling €200,000. Other equipment so provided to Ukraine so far includes well over a dozen vehicles, a crane, hundreds of boots and helmets and thousands of protective suits.

A Rescue Association representative who visited Ukraine said they were able to ascertain that all equipment sent so far had reached the destinations intended, which points the way to further donations in future.

This is likely to include 4x4 vehicles, Rescue Board spokesperson Piia Kallas told AK.

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