KIEV -- The cooperation with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech will help Ukraine start vaccination in the first half of 2021 with safe vaccines, the development director of Lekhim Group Mikhail Rensky said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

According to Rensky, Lekhim signed an agreement on Monday with Sinovac Biotech on the purchase of 5 million doses of CoronaVac vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the exclusive supplier of this medication to Ukraine.

"The joint project Lekhim - Sinovac Biotech will give our country the opportunity to start vaccination in the first half of 2021 with safe vaccines," said Rensky.

Rensky added that Ukraine will receive the vaccine in the first half of this year after its official registration in the country. The first 1.9 million doses of CoronaVac will go to the Ministry of Health.

According to Rensky, Lekhim, founded in 1992, has been actively cooperating with Chinese companies on the supply of raw materials, equipment and finished medicines.

In April 2020, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, Lekhim signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Sinovac Biotek in the field of registration, sale, marketing, circulation and distribution of vaccine products manufactured by Sinovac Biotech in Ukraine.

"We believe that the cooperation between Lekhim and Sinovac Biotek is very important and promising, both for Ukraine and for China, in terms of the development, production, and supply of vital medicines," concluded Rensky.