My Supply Mission to Ukraine

I recently returned from driving non-military supplies to Ukraine. I am sharing what I saw and experienced.

• I saw the faces of THOUSANDS of dead men and women killed by Russia.
• I saw new graves dug for fallen soldiers.
• I saw tall apartment buildings with massive craters in their facades from Russian missile strikes.
• I saw big city morning commuter traffic going to work and heard air raid sirens at night.
• I saw pretty girls posing for photos while walking with their boyfriends.

Twenty-five Americans and Finns drove vans and trucks loaded with donated supplies from Warsaw, Poland, to Kyiv, Ukraine. We also drove a donated fire engine and ambulance.

Kyiv is a city of 3 million built on hills along the Dnieper River. It has been a major trading center exporting agricultural products across the Black Sea for a thousand years. I saw dilapidated, Soviet-era apartment blocks and ultra-modern commercial buildings and apartments.

I joined the supply convoy because, in a small way, I wanted to help. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to make a statement about who I am.

We are at a critical historical moment in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. I want you to know what I experienced in Ukraine and my key takeaways. I am sharing photos so you can see what I saw, including the burned-out Russian tanks in a Kyiv square.

My biggest takeaway was the magnitude of the dying. The US press gives the impression that casualties are infrequent and that life in Ukraine is disrupted but mostly continuing as usual. Public reports say 200,000 Ukrainians are dead or wounded, with Russian casualties of about 1 million. The cream of Ukraine’s youth, mostly young men, are dying every day.

After being in Ukraine, I spent several days in London and visited the British Museum. The Museum’s artifacts tell the story of human civilization from the Egyptian conquest of the Nile Valley to the Greek, Roman, and English colonial empires. Romans conquered Britain in 43 AD. French Normans conquered Britain in 1066. Germany’s military campaigns to enlarge its empire started World Wars I and II. War and conquest is the human story.

Europeans have conquered each other for thousands of years. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues that story in our time. Many in the US argue that the war is a European problem. If Europeans want to stop the Russian invasion, they should support Ukraine militarily and not look to the US as their protector. Pres. Trump limits US military commitments to Europe while European nations do not finance their own defense.

After World War II, we hoped that wars of military conquest had ended, at least in Europe. I hope Europeans will help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invasion, with American help, and finally put an end to wars like this in Europe.

I will look for ways I can help Ukraine defend itself. To learn more about our supply convoy, check out this WEBSITE. Please consider a contribution to help cover the costs of future supply missions. If you can donate $50, $100, $200, or more, please do so. In the Comments, say you are supporting my participation in the convoy. All donations are US TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

A Flower Blooms in Kyiv

I walked through a beautiful park in Kyiv. A vendor spun cotton candy for a young girl. Young boys played a spindle piano on the stage of a kiosk. Girls posed on the Glass Bridge looking over the Dnieper River. War raged, and flowers bloomed.