NOVEMBER 2023 UPDATE
Friends of Ukraine,
It’s high time to share the next update on what has been done to help the people of Ukraine. I am sure you should be proud of our achievements and I encourage you to do even more.
We have been focused on several directions this month.
We have helped Bohdana and her husband Ruvim (see a video about them in one of the previous posts) to organize two deliveries of some vital equipment to the front.
They took it to the medical stabilization point of the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It’s located close to the front and it’s the 1st place where the wounded soldiers from many different units in the area of Bakhmut get. The 1st critical aid is provided there and their condition is stabilized before they are sent further to be treated in the hospitals away from the front line.
These are just some of the photos shared by Bohdana to give you an idea of what happens there. And to let you know how important your help was. I apologize if they upset you. War is ugly. These are just some of the lightest of the pictures that she has got and I have decided not to share the shocking ones. It hurts to see them.
A big thank you for your help from Bohdana and the medical staff of the International Legion who work day and night to save lives:
The amount of work they do is huge. They need many things for their operation. Among all the other support we have provided, there was a washing machine and a drier to help wash linens, towels, clothes, etc.
The night vision cameras to protect the secret location were the biggest and the most important investment:
With the help of our Australian friends, we have bought, repainted, fixed, and serviced a 4-wheel drive SUV for the assault unit of the 81th Mechanized Brigade:
Bohdana and Ruvim have also delivered it to the front. Sincere thank you from the soldiers and Ruvim:
We have bought a load of materials and tools to build dugouts. It has been delivered by Alla (see our interview with her at the beginning of the war, she’s a real hero) to the unit of her husband. Sincere thank you from Alla and the soldiers:
This is a video report about how a dugout is built for those who are interested. I put English captions.
And this is how the interior looks like once it’s finished:
We keep providing heaters for the dugouts as well:
We keep helping with fixing transport and providing wearing parts for different units, as well as other equipment. It is all vital:
We keep providing night vision gear:
The following picture is especially important to me. You can see Roman (the 1st person on the left – yes, there were quite a few brave men named Roman in our previous updates but you have not met him before), Denys (the 2nd person on the left), myself, and Mykola (the tallest guy) in the Bodro Clinic in the neighboring town. They are the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and we have financed their rehabilitation.
Mykola was wounded 4 times in different hottest areas of the front. He’s a real Titan.
He had a chance to come to the clinic from the Kupiansk part of the front when he got a 10-day leave. He’s a soldier of the 63rd Battalion of Chervonohrad Territorial Defence. Mykola is 33 years old and his symptoms are insomnia, irritability, and headaches. He’s got pain in the left part of the chest and in his shoulders, a constant feeling of anxiety, and pressure spikes. He had shrapnel stuck in his left leg.
A surgery to take the shrapnel out was done. He received specialist consultations and all the necessary examinations, completed the prescribed course of physiotherapy procedures, and worked with a psychologist. 10 days is such a short period but he still got at least some of the desired help. I remember his handshake.
He’s already back to the front.
Denys volunteered to join the 47th Magura Brigade when the hot war started. He came from the Avdiivka part of the front where the fights are hottest right now and spent 17 days in the clinic. He complained of constant sharp pain in the left knee and problems with walking. He’s got a constant headache in the frontotemporal area, lower back pain, and insomnia. He is only 26.
He received intensive physical therapy and other treatment. He worked with a psychologist. So many need a psychologist these days.
He’s back to the front already. The chance to get at least some rehabilitation and a break was a very happy chance. Most soldiers do not get it at all.
I am telling you about all these details to explain how important your help has been.
Roman is still in the clinic but only till the end of this week as he’s got to return to his unit in Donetsk province at the front.
The gratitude of these guys and their families is big. Roman has shared the family pictures with you and some of his story.
He was a carpenter at the time of peace. He had just passed the Ukrainian passport border control on his way to Poland when he learned about the beginning of the hot war. Roman convinced the border guards to let him back. His wife and his son were in Ukraine.
Upon return, he had to tell his wife that they did not let him cross the border to Poland. He could have left but he went to the military enlistment unit. He joined the local territorial defense and the special assault unit of the 47th Magura Brigade afterward.
Roman took military training in Great Britain, Slovakia, Germany, and Ukraine and was sent to one of the hottest areas of the front in Zaporizhzhia province. He is part of the special aerial reconnaissance unit which monitors the territory before entering the positions of the enemy, covers the soldiers during the execution of combat tasks, and helps them to leave.
The reconnaissance units like Roman’s are always a special target. They have to be mobile and change positions all the time. Roman was shell-shocked and got different traumas several times after the enemy’s tank fire and the fire of aviation. He spent some time in the military hospital and returned to the front but his health continued to deteriorate.
The situation at the front is heavy but Roman’s commander finally agreed to give him a short leave and he’s taking a 21-day rehabilitation course right now. But for a complex of physiotherapeutic procedures and rehabilitation classes, massages, systematic work of a psychologist, and drug treatment, surgery has been recommended. We do not know if it can be possible yet as Roman is to be back to the front very soon.
Roman, his wife, and his son, as well as Mykola, Denys, and many other people, thank you for your help. I thank you for your care and your continued support as well. It’s important to keep going.
Christmas is coming. It’s very different when there’s a war but it is still a special time. We want to help other soldiers. We want to help the elderly who are struggling. I will keep you posted.
Slava Ukraini.
Andriy.