| Non-motoring > Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Fullchat | Replies: 11 |
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Sat 7 Jun 25 18:30
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Fullchat
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I've created a new thread for this but if Mods wish to attach it to the Ukraine thread please do so. I’ve just had the opportunity and enormous privilege to be part of a volunteer team of 16 driving 8 ‘end of life’ ambulances to Lviv in Ukraine. The vehicles were loaded with a vast amount of medical and other equipment sourced by parallel charities. 4 vehicles from a Suffolk based group and 4 from East Yorkshire. Of course, this has been many months in the preparation and totally reliant on donations to fund not just the purchase of the vehicles but accommodation, fuel, insurances, breakdown cover etc. (Food and liquid refreshment being the responsibility of the volunteer). The administration of vehicles which are being exported and load manifests to cross borders is no mean feat. Experienced people working in the background within UK and Ukraine to assist with the administrative bureaucracy of the undertaking. Last Saturday, 1st June, the convoy of 8 ambulances left a village in East Yorkshire and made its way to North Sea Ferries in Hull for the overnight crossing. The following day the convoy made its way through the Netherlands and onto East Germany, around 400 miles. An overnight stop and then two stops in Poland with around 300 miles between each. Wednesday saw us undertake the final leg out of Poland and across the border into Ukraine, destination Lviv, about 70 miles. You might well imagine that a convoy of 8 marked ambulances heading into a war zone would be cut some slack but oh no. Firstly we were sent to another crossing point (around 40 miles) because they no longer dealt with that type of vehicle at that checkpoint. And, whilst fairly quiet, it took around 4 hours to get through due to some minor discrepancies over vehicle kerbside weights shown on the required export/import paper work. This was eventually resolved and we entered Ukraine and onto Lviv. The first indication of the war was graveyards we passed were significant number of Ukrainian flags flying over the graves of those casualties of the war. We had a rendezvous point in Lviv where we were met by the Ukrainian reception team and the press. The vehicles, equipment and paperwork were formally handed over. To see a member of the team, bow their heads and form the heart sign with their hands was a significant touching moment indeed. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKTFaugfEg (I have a transcript if any one is interested) The vehicles, not even cold, were to be driven to Kiev to go through workshops for modifications then camouflaged painting before being sent on to the front line – Odessa region, Kramatorsk, Sumy. Cherkasy region, Slavyansk and Karkiv. We were driven to our hotel in the centre of Lviv. The following day we had the morning to have a wander and sight see. There was a veneer of normality with people going about their day and exploring the city centre but you could sense that all is not as it should be. Generators outside a lot of the commercial buildings. Churches and monuments boarded up or covered in anti-blast scaffolding and netting. Dis proportionality in numbers between males and females and significant numbers of males with prosthetic limbs to what you would normally see. At 09.00 hrs there was an announcement over loud speakers and then it went quiet. Everything, and I mean everything, stopped whist they undertook one minutes silence. This is a daily event. Whilst celebrating our contribution over a meal and a few drinks we were reminded that we would have to leave by 23.00hrs as the staff had to clear up and get home because of the curfew. We were collected by minibuses at midday and transported back across the border to Krakow where we spent the night and the following day the group split as its members commenced their journeys home. It was around 23.00 that night as our air raid Apps sounded and had we been in Lviv we would have had to seek shelter. The alert was stood down at 04.00. The whole of Ukraine was under a red threat. This was anticipated as retaliation for the damage inflicted on the bomber basis. There were no strikes on Lviv and we were immensely fortunate with our timing. Around 1200 miles in total. The only issue was with one vehicle with pneumatic rear suspension which slowly deflated but we had a small compressor. It also threw up an injector fault code and struggled up the inclines a bit. But it completed the journey. I’m home and back to normality but for the people of Ukraine the fight goes on. I’m extremely humbled to have had the opportunity to take part and hope to have made some difference no matter how small. And the significance of ‘Operation Alex’ in the title? If you’ve seen the film Ice Cold in Alex you will know it’s a 1958 film about getting an ambulance across the desert with the where at the end they consume a very cold beer. With temperatures into the 30’s I can now relate to that. |
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Sat 7 Jun 25 18:53
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - smokie
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Well done you!! That was a brave and incredible thing to volunteer to do, and it was so good to see the deserved appreciation you received on delivery. Must've been a real eye opener actually "being there", despite how accustomed we are to seeing it on telly and elsewhere. I'm quite happy that this should stand in it's own thread and not get lost in volumes of chit chat. |
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Sat 7 Jun 25 20:14
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - bathtub tom
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| Well done and may the rest of us feel humbled. Hope you're safely back home now. |
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Sat 7 Jun 25 20:32
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - zippy
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Amazing for doing that FC and hats off! Thanks for sharing the adventure - thats not the right word, it doesn't sound worthy for what you've done! And thanks for letting us know what its really like over there. It really is sobering! Last edited by: zippy on Sat 7 Jun 25 at 20:34
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Sun 8 Jun 25 11:46
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - sooty123
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| Top effort |
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Sun 8 Jun 25 19:44
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Bromptonaut
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| Chapeau.. |
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Wed 18 Jun 25 11:03
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Manatee
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Well done FC. Just catching up after being aways for a couple of weeks. |
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Sun 14 Jun 26 17:53
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Fullchat
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A year on and Ive just returned from another ambulance delivery to Lviv. 8 ambulances filled with 4.5 tonnes of medical supplies. These supplies are basically 'landfill waste' from a couple of local NHS Trusts and Ambulance authorities. Some date expired and some not. All sealed. Hand sorted and deemed perfectly usable. The 'waste' is a real travesty of NHS procurement policies but at least our operation has benefited along with the recipients. The format and timetable was exactly the same as last year so will not repeat but I will mention the genuine heartfelt warmth and gratitude of those people we met along the way. Greeted with tears and emotional words at handover. People such as restaurant staff approached our party and thanked us for what we were doing for their country. Drivers in traffic cues pulling alongside showing their appreciation. We had crossed the border back into Poland and the minibus driver pointed to and became very exited seeing airplanes flying near to Krakow airport. He explained that for 4 years since the invasion there was a 'no fly zone' over Ukraine and they no longer saw airplanes in the sky so this was a treat. The trip finished in fine style when our flight to LBA was cancelled and we were put on a flight to Birmingham then coached up to LBA. It was a very long night. The cynical in me believes that the cost savings of cancelling one plane to fill a fairly empty plane and subsequent passenger disruption etc was the driving factor. But job done! Last edited by: Fullchat on Sun 14 Jun 26 at 17:55
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Sun 14 Jun 26 18:40
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Andrew-T
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Slava Ukraini ! - and Slava yourself too, for making that trip. I made the same comment to a Ukrainian group outside the Norwegian parliament a few weeks ago, a young woman was holding forth in what sounded to me like Ukrainian, and there were several blue-and-yellow flags on display. My BiL has been intermittently housing a family from Ukraine for a couple of years, down in Surrey. The wife is a concert pianist and recently visited a NT place down there with a collection of about 50 pianos. She played some, which had belonged to, or been played by, Chopin, Haydn and Bach. Since the war started she has refused to play Russian music, which must limit her normal repertoire a bit. The family is now back 'home' somewhere near the Romanian border. |
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Sun 14 Jun 26 19:35
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - Zero
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>>The wife is a concert pianist and recently visited a NT place >> down there with a collection of about 50 pianos. That would be Hatchlands, Mrs Z is a NT volunteer there and at nearby Polesdon Lacey. |
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Sun 14 Jun 26 20:45
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - bathtub tom
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>> The trip finished in fine style when our flight to LBA was cancelled and we >> were put on a flight to Birmingham then coached up to LBA. It was a >> very long night. The cynical in me believes that the cost savings of cancelling one >> plane to fill a fairly empty plane and subsequent passenger disruption etc was the driving >> factor. Similar happened to me once. European flight delay compensation may be your answer. More than paid for the cost of the flight! |
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Sun 14 Jun 26 22:00
Operation Alex – Ukraine or Bust. - sooty123
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>> A year on and Ive just returned from another ambulance delivery to Lviv. > >> >> But job done! >> Well done, there's lots of support for Ukraine going on by individuals, organisations and the gov. Hopefully one day all those stories can all be told. |
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