Ukraine Needs Ambulances, Other Transport, Here’s What Scott Kelly, UNITED24 Have Been Doing

Astronaut Scott Kelly knows a little about the importance of transport. After all, he’s gone on longer trips than nearly everyone on Earth. He’s traveled into space four times, which is four times more than most people, and commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46. Therefore, it’s fitting that Kelly has been helping address some of Ukraine’s most urgent transportation needs: the need for more ambulances and medical supply transport.

Since October 2022, Kelly has served as an ambassador for UNITED24, the fundraising platform started on May 5, 2022 by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine. In the one year since it was launched, UNITED24 has helped raise over $325,000,000 in donations from people and organizations across 110 countries. Kelly has focused a lot of his fundraising efforts on getting more transport vehicles to Ukraine. He got things started by donating $65,000 of his own money towards the first ambulance. Kelly described how he has already raised a total of “$650,000 to purchase ambulances, which is also contributing to the Ukrainian economy because many of the ambulances are being sourced in the country.”

Ambulances are clearly crucial since badly injured people typically can’t walk to hospitals themselves. And it’s not as if they can use a ride-share app either with the Russian military pummeling the Ukraine continuously pummeling the Ukrainian infrastructure with guns, bombs, missiles, and the other types of artillery. The same is true for vehicles needed to deliver various types of medical supplies ranging from bandages to medications to equipment throughout the country. Kelly mentioned how he’s “trying to get together donations for supplies for first responders. It’s been challenging for them to get a lot of stuff they need. For example, a lot of soldiers going on without tourniquets.”

Such supplies don’t have little feet or wings and simply get to where they need to go by themselves like Thor’s Mjölnir hammer. Instead, there is a need for a coordinated and complex supply chain to distribute medical products in a timely fashion, even in times of peace. The war in Ukraine has simply heightened the need for such medical products by, oh about, tens of thousands-fold.

That’s what happens when a much larger country—Russia—tries to invade a much smaller country—Ukraine. From February 24, 2022, through April 9, 2023, the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had recorded 22,734 civilian casualties in Ukraine with 8,490 people killed and 14,244 injured, according to their April 10, 2023, report. That’s over 22,000 civilians and not military personnel. The OHCHR did indicate that they believe “that the actual figures are considerably higher,” because counting injuries and deaths is not exactly easy to do when you are running for your own life as well.

If you recall, February 24, 2022, is when Russia began invading Ukraine. At the time, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin didn’t call it an invasion because that would have been calling it what it actually was. Instead, he used the words “special military operation,” which was kind of like referring to a hurricane as the “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Although the Ukrainian people have been able to fend off Russia’s attacks seemingly against all odds, the resulting damage has been great to the infrastructure and the people.

Moreover, wars are not won overnight, especially against an invading force with considerably more resources and led by Putin, who has shown no sign of “Putin” away his ambition to take over Ukraine and relenting. Unlike what’s seen in Hollywood movies, wars like this do not end in the matter of several hours. And keeping people’s attention can be difficult these days. Even though, the war in Ukraine did get a surge of attention initially, that attention has seemed to wane since. Kelly mentioned how “tactically Ukraine has made some advances” over the past year and how people around the world have been so generous in coming to aid of the Ukrainian people and how all of this has been a “global empowerment mission.” But he did worry about “donor fatigue.”

The combined efforts of UNITED24 have already helped raise funds to purchase 176 ambulances and hundreds of units of medical equipment, rebuild 11 bridges, bring the first mine-clearing vehicle to Ukraine, contract over 3,839 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and UAV complexes, and introduce the first Fleet of Naval Drones. But as one UNITED24 donor Taylor Freeman has urged, the need for funds has not gone away. Freeman, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who fought in the Vietnam War, wrote, “Each month, my wife and I contribute as much as we can to United 24 and other charities benefiting Ukraine.” He continued with “We direct a percentage to medical needs, such as the ambulance campaign and other important funds, some to refugee needs—both local and those displaced in Ukraine and Europe—some to rebuilding shattered areas, and some to combat needs, because as long as the war continues, the medical and rebuilding needs will continue to increase.” And another UNITED24 donor, Ogiya Eiji from Japan, indicated that, “Since the establishment of UNITED24, I have continued to support UNITED24, although it is a small amount every month. I see no reason not to support Ukraine, which has been suddenly invaded and [is] in need.”

The Ukrainian people have shown a remarkable ability to unite and fight against the Russian invaders. But since Ukraine has a much smaller population and amount of resources available, they will need help from the rest of the world to get where they want to go.