After more than a month of collecting, sorting, reviewing, and servicing equipment, we loaded everything into cars and set off towards Ukraine. The journey down took us on Viking Line’s ferry to Tallinn, then through the Baltics and Poland, entering Ukraine via Polish border crossings. Crossings in plural, because our heavy vehicles (fire trucks and lorries) had to go through a different border control than the lighter vehicles.
We encountered a few minor issues along the way, but overall, the trip went well and we eventually arrived in Kyiv. There, we had three different recipients for the equipment - the Border Guards (where it all started), the deminers from Odesa's Naval Museum, and Ukraine Aid Ops (another aid organization with the means to service the remaining equipment and connections to distribute it to various units in need). On Friday, we visited the border guards who received about half of the equipment we collected, and on Saturday, we met with representatives from the Naval Museum and Ukraine Aid Ops who received the rest.
To make the distribution smoother, I had pre-sorted all of our items and color-coded them with different colored tape. Then we loaded everything into three different vehicles based on the color codes, so each recipient only needed to take everything from the vehicle assigned to them.
Border Guards
On Friday afternoon, we were assigned a meeting place in a small forest near the brigade of Kyiv’s border guards. We drove there with several vehicles, including our large lorry and a heavily loaded van full of diving equipment, along with two others carrying field shovels. In addition to the diving gear, the border guards also received 1000 Fiskars field shovels, as the first part of the delivery for that campaign. In the clearing, a row of soldiers stood in formation, along with their commander and an interpreter.
Waiting soldiers.
We arranged the transport vehicles so they could be photographed with their contents, and then there was a small ceremony where the recipients took turns thanking us for our work and support. I also said a few words, thanking them for their kind words, but emphasized that it is we who are grateful for all they do for us.
Field shovels, compressor, and a van full of equipment.
Close-up of the diving gear.
Then the work began of transferring the equipment to their vehicles. I also took the opportunity to comment on various items, such as mentioning that some of the regulators had been serviced, others had been checked for functionality, and one or two that arrived late had not been checked at all. Once everything was transferred, we got back into our cars. The whole process was done in about 30 minutes.
All packed and ready.
Naval Museum and Ukraine Aid Ops
The following morning, Saturday, we received information about the meeting place for the next delivery. We picked up our remaining two vans and headed there. At the location, we were greeted by Sergei, the head of the Naval Museum and an old acquaintance (he received a pick-up truck from us in May, the same vehicle he arrived in), along with UAO's representative Yuri.
After some small talk, I took Sergei to the vehicle and showed him their equipment and explained a bit about the items he would be receiving. I must say, I was extremely proud to hand over brand new gear from Ursuit, Scubamafia, and others, and to have been able to deliver everything on their wish list except for a couple of full face masks. Sergei was visibly moved and looked like a child on Christmas morning. He took a brand new Suunto compass, pointed at it, and said gratefully, "We use Soviet things." Not anymore, Sergei!
Yours truly demonstrating donations.
Modern equipment for three divers.
Ukraine Aid Ops, which joined our collection effort quite late, received the remaining items that we deemed were not needed or could not be used by the BG or NM. These weren’t the finest items, in fact, they got all the drysuits we knew were damaged or that we hadn't had time to check. However, there were still plenty of items, including 14 sets of dive tanks (both double and single) and nearly 30 sets of regulators, so nothing to scoff at. Yuri especially mentioned that many tanks are needed. UAO also received a lot of non-dive-related equipment, so they were satisfied.
Impressive collection of memorabilia from the front at UAO.
Finally, we can conclude that the diving gear collection was a huge success, and all of you truly made a big contribution. Be proud of your efforts; you’ve helped Ukraine move towards victory. We are also keeping in touch with the units to see if there will be more requests in the future. We still have a number of people who contacted us, but whose donations we didn’t receive in time for one reason or another. There will surely be a second chance!