3rd convoy to Ukraine

I took two more trucks to Ukraine at the start of May, the third trip I've done bringing a total of 7 trucks to Ukrainian soldiers since 2022. I joined the Help 99 charity once again in a convoy of 23 vehicles with donors and drivers from Estonia, Belgium, Germany, the USA and of course the UK! We drive my trucks from the UK and meet in Warsaw with the main convoy which departs from Tallin, Estonia before crossing into Ukraine for the trek across to Kyiv. Read on to hear about the latest trip taking vital kit to the heroes defending Ukraine. If you want to donate, either money or trucks, to take part in such an life-changing experience then just contact me at tom@countrysidefinance.co.uk or call 07887 618442. 

The vehicles

This time we took a 20 year old Ford Ranger and a 18 year old Nissan Navara from a Leicestershire dairy farm and contracting customer of mine. With 18mpg fuel efficiency on the Ranger we got to know all the petrol stations between Kirton in Lincolnshire and Kyiv in Ukraine, a distance of some 1,800 miles. Both vehicles were given a full check and repaired where necessary, painted NATO green and some nice Ukrainian/UK flag stickers added. Both were Christened Albert III and Wilfred III after my sons, off to join the other Albert and Wilfred trucks taken earlier in the war (and some still running). Both vehicles were to be fitted out with vital electronic jamming kit in Ukraine as the threat of drones is the biggest issue right now. Mud tyres were also to be given to units for each one as unsurprisingly they operate in all terrains and weather and mobility can be the line between life and death.

The journey

We left Kirton at 2:30am on a Tuesday in order to collect the other drivers in Maidstone and then catch an early Eurotunnel crossing. I was joined by two Brits I've been on previous convoys with (one, Pete, having done 20+ journeys to Ukraine with vehicles donated!), a friend on his first trip, and an Estonian living in the UK again on his first trip. We stopped for the night in Magdeburg Germany, where some cold Pils refreshed us after a hot day on the road with no air con in the Ranger!

The convoy assembles...

Leaving early on the Wednesday we worked our way across Germany into Poland, collecting further people from Warsaw airport who had donated money to the charity to get the privilege of taking trucks into Ukraine. It's a great moment when you see the rest of the convoy which has wound its way down from Estonia through the Baltic states, with this group enduring a 30+ hour drive to Kyiv. This convoy meant the total number of vehicles Help 99 has delivered is over 350, plus hundreds of drones, medical kit, generators and other supplies. 

After a quick food and fuel top up we set off in convoy for the border crossing into Ukraine at Krakovets, arriving around 11pm for what is always a lengthy wait to satisfy both the Polish and Ukrainian customs who love their bureaucracy! We spent around 3 hours here waiting for our fantastic Ukrainian organiser Viktoria to shepherd us through the paper-stamping and general confusion, but it is a sobering moment crossing into Ukraine. We saw men leaving to enter Poland who were soldiers off to receive training in NATO countries, one of the few times you'll see men able to leave Ukraine as travel abroad for men is essentially banned. The long daylight hours did us a huge favour as the first section of driving in Ukraine is single carriageway until Lviv, and with little sleep and confusing road signage it can be a challenge. We have designated fuel stopping points every 1 1/2 hours to allow drivers to swap and recover, and despite being a war the West of the country is largely untouched, with lots of drilling going on in enormous fields. 

The 400-ish miles to Kyiv from the border are largely on dual carriage motorway and progress was great. We hit the chaos of central Kyiv traffic around midday on the Thursday, and as long as you enter the spirit of driving there that there are rules but no one seems to follow them you'll be fine! You see more evidence of the fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv where the Russians reached in the spring of 2022, with destroyed bridges, damaged buildings and shops hit more recently by air raids. Billboards on the roads advertise Ukrainian military units recruiting men as manpower is a huge issue currently. We finally got to our hotel for a much needed shower and brief nap before heading out to explore Kyiv, seeing the sites including the wrecked Russian tanks they display as a sign of defiance.

Handing over to the heroes...

We got down to the main purpose of the journey which is giving the vehicles and kit directly to units that will use them for front-line tasks. The handover takes place at the Pechersk Lavra, the Orthodox monastery in central Kyiv, where the 23 vehicles and hundreds of drones were gathered. Units from across the Ukrainian military, from combat medics to drone operators to artillerymen and snipers, all came to collect vehicles they had requested. You get to listen to incredible stories of what the fighting is like from the men and women who are in the thick of it, a truly humbling experience.

Our two trucks went to two units, one unit being the 127th Brigade, a Territorial Defence Force unit recruited from the city of Kharkiv I knew having met last year who received my 'Wilfred II' truck and were now getting 'Wilfred III'. The other was a newly formed artillery unit which got my 'Albert III' truck. Below is Andrii on the far left who I've kept contact with for over a year and is an incredible man, full of stories and unrelenting in his efforts to beat the Russians. He brought us flags, books about his home city Kharkiv, and most importantly he let us know the difference the international community is doing for Ukraine. These vehicles are used for everything from moving troops, taking supplies, medical evacuation and other jobs, and they are constantly in need of replacement due to enemy action destroying them. Andrii's home was recently damaged due to rocket attacks by Russia on Kharkiv, and his young children and wife still live under daily air raid attacks that kill innocent civilians. Helping guys like him who have suffered so much but won't stop working to clear their land of occupiers is a massive motivator. 

He took the truck we donated down to his unit operating in Zaporizhia in the south of Ukraine, and there is joined the Mitsubishi L200 'Wilfred II' I got them last June which is still operating, with added drone jamming antennas on it's roof!

Here are both trucks with the Mavic 3T observation drones I got them, plus my son's primary school flag he has kept since last year. The children of Sibsey school are helping to fight for freedom in Europe!

After a long day of handing over the kit we had free time to explore Kyiv further. Other members of the convoy were taken to visit Irpin where Russia massacred hundreds of people and then were taken to a drone company where they experienced the training Ukrainian military drone operators undergo. They also visited a military shooting range with special forces and had a go firing all manner of rifles and machine guns, all who've been say it's quite the experience! Us Brits had a train to catch that night so didn't go but everything is arranged by the Help 99 organisers, from hotels to train bookings so it really is easy to do. The overnight train from Kyiv to Poland is another experience as men are largely absent as they cannot leave, and as men on board the security and passport officials give your passports extra attention! Seeing amputees and other wounded when at the train station, plus the number of families saying goodbye to their men as they returned to Poland as refugees is another powerful reminder of the horrors this war has created.