Seven vehicles left for Ukraine: the mission “Pokrova” continues

Early this morning seven vehicles pulled away from the Christ’s Resurrection Basilica. Four drivers, three towed pairs and a two-axle trailer packed with tyres. It is another run of the mission “Pokrova”, which began on Ukraine’s Independence Day, 24 August, and runs until 1 October – Ukraine’s Defenders Day, the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God it is named after. Counting today’s run, we have driven or are driving 17 vehicles since the mission began. Every one of them is full of humanitarian aid – what is in it, below. Six vehicles stay with Ukraine’s defenders; only the fund’s Crafter comes home, with the drivers.

What left

• The fund’s Crafter, full of aid as always, towing a Hyundai Terracan.
• A Mitsubishi L200 towing a VW Passat.
• The Kia Sorento – the one you bought – towing a Volvo.
• The Hyundai Santa Fe of our friends at the fund “Kietoji linija”, with the trailer of tyres. The dog food fitted in between the tyres.

The Santa Fe and its trailer are not ours: they belong to the Ukrainian Armed Forces support fund “Kietoji linija”, who found and bought the car and pay for its fuel, while we deliver it. That is how funds help each other – and every other vehicle in the convoy is ours. Thank you to the drivers – Algis, Jonas, Arvydas and Kęstutis.

What is loaded

• Camouflage nets woven by our volunteers – for the units that need them most.
• Trench pillows and mattresses of our own making – another of our sustainable projects, which deserves a post of its own.
• Paraffin for candle-making – a full 250 kg of stripped church candle stubs for Ukrainian volunteers, so they can pour trench candles themselves and get ready for winter.
• Ostomy bags and their accessories for patients – a lot of them.
• Food – rusks and Lithuanian apple purée.
• About 200 pairs of knitted socks.
• Men’s clothing.
• Food for service dogs – for a cynological centre that trains military dog handlers and service dogs, including for mine detection.

Who it is for

It is a long road – from Lviv to Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. The vehicles go to soldiers; the exact route and where each box was unloaded, we will tell once they are back.

Why we tow with triangles

We hitch the cars with towing triangles: the towed car needs no driver, and the towing one burns more fuel, but nowhere near twice as much. That is how four people move seven cars. On the back of each towed car goes a warning triangle and, when we have them, magnetic brake and indicator lights.

What it costs

Last week was a car-collecting marathon: Ventspils, Žagarė, Širvintos, Marijampolė, Anykščiai, Kėdainiai, Raseiniai. Most of the cars we buy are cheap, 350–400 € each, and some are given to us. The expensive part now is not the car but the fuel: getting one vehicle there costs about 200 €, a little less when they go in pairs, and a convoy needs about 1 000 €. On top of that come insurance and transit plates.

This group’s fuel was covered – thank you to the Tauragė branch of TS-LKD (Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats). But a second run is already planned for Saturday: five more volunteers should drive two large passenger minibuses (a 17-seat Ford Transit and a Fiat Ducato), two VW Sharans and a small Peugeot van as far as Rava-Ruska, and on Sunday morning the Crafter, on its way back from Ukraine, picks them up. The line-up may still change, but one thing is clear: for this group we are collecting fuel from zero. Four more vehicles are waiting for the next time, because there is no money for fuel – and the Crafter is not made of rubber.

How to help

• Transfer support marked “fuel”: Labdaros ir paramos fondas „Visi išvien“, LT05 7044 0901 1228 8322 – or by card on the support page.
• Become a monthly supporter. Monthly support lets us plan the next run in advance instead of waiting until the fuel money is in. A few dozen euros a month – and one more car stops waiting for the next time.
• Give diesel in canisters or straight into a tank: call Vladas on +370 699 52675 and he will come with the canisters.

Most of the fuel we buy in Poland, where it is currently almost 30 cents cheaper, so every euro goes further.

In the photos: the volunteers by the basilica before leaving, the hitched convoy on the way, tyres and nets in the boots, boxes of clothing and the dog food.

We will write about the road once there is something to show. Visi išvien – all together! 🇱🇹🇺🇦