LUkraine absl ambulances; Credit: LUkraine asbl

Seeing how scarce emergency transport has become in Ukraine, LUkraine asbl embarked on a project to provide urgent medical relief to regions of Ukraine in desperate need.

“At LUkraine, we see it as a superior goal to help Ukrainian people and save lives. In this project, we know that these vehicles will save many lives. This is the minimum contribution we could do in order to support the people in their daily struggle with aggression and anxiety” said Eddie Berkovitch, project manager and transport coordinator at LUkraine asbl.

Since April, LUkraine has raised €130,000 of necessary funds for the purchase and restoration of the ambulances in this project.

On 18 April 2022, the first ambulance was sent to the town of Novomoskovsk in the Dnipro region undergoing heavy attacks from Russian forces. This marked the initiation of what would become a total of 10 vehicles sourced from different parts of Europe and brought to functioning conditions by a team in Luxembourg. Measures have been taken on missing equipment, registration issues and technical inspections to ensure that ambulances can provide medical care smoothly and efficiently over the long term. According to LUkraine, generous help was received from SNCA, SNCT, Autopolis Utilitaire, Lalux and TÜV Rheinland Luxembourg, as well as support from Ievgenii Smoliak and Chen Kim, among many other volunteers.

In addition to repairing the ambulances, humanitarian aid in the form of bandages, medical kits, antiseptics and burn aids, was collected and sent along with the vehicles to hospitals undergoing dire shortages of such materials.

Five months later, on 5 August 2022, the 10th ambulance departed on its way to Ukraine, sent to the town of Nikopol. During this period, and thanks to the help of collaborators in Ukraine, the ambulances have been able to provide crucial life-saving medical help in the regions of Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv.

"Our association sent the very first ambulance to Donbas in Ukraine in 2016. Today, considering the fact that every day the Russian army bombs civilian cities, the need for such vehicles is enormous. We are very grateful to the people of Luxembourg for their support and contributions. Of course, we plan to continue the UAmbulance project. Please donate and help us save more lives!" added Inna Yaremenko, vice-president of LUkraine asbl.

To learn more about the project, see https://ukrainians.lu/uambualnce-project/