A lot of aid comes to Ukraine from France and entire Europe. It’s quite versatile; the governments offer weapons, and people offer what they can.
Ivan, the Ukrainian who was among liquidators of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster and has lived in France for 15 years now says that people bring a lot of stuff. Ivan sorts the stuff before packing and shipping the assistance.
Yuriy Burak from Chernivtsi owns a transport company that sends cargo to Ukraine – of course, at their own cost. People pass clothes, medicines and long-lived commodities.
Oksana has lived in France for eight years now. Her husband is a Frenchman, a doctor. «You can’t just buy medicines at a drug store. So my husband issued recipes for his children, his relatives and his friends. We came to the drug store and bought as much as we could. And so we managed to collect a bit of this and a little of that. We bought a lot of sterile bandages, special first aid kits, ibuprofen, paracetamol… You can buy some stuff online. In Ukraine, they ask for a lot of hemostatic drugs, but you can’t buy them here easily. It should be part of the official assistance program provided by the government. And here’s my son, he came from the U.S.».
Oksana’s son Ihor says they live in Columbus, Ohio. They came to visit his mom. His wife Maryana adds that people come to rallies. Ihor also says that he and his friends purchased military clothes and drones. All cargos come to Poland first, and then, they are delivered to Ukraine.
Images show Ivan; Ihor, his mom Oksana and Ihor’s son Danyil.
All photos belong to the author.
