This post was written by Arcaist, our German logistics operative.
With UFL´s ever growing logistics network, new challenges arise regarding coordination and the flow of information. But at the same time, there are also more opportunities for helping the UAF in their fight to drive out the invaders from their homeland.
One of these opportunities arose when Lyudmyla and Julia approached our logistics operative Arcaist with the question of whether it would be possible to supply members of the 4th Separate Tank Brigade with IFAKs, tourniquets and similar medical goods.
UFL was happy to help, not just because both ladies had helped us get an earlier shipment of winter uniforms, undergarments and other critical gear to Ukraine, but also because the 4th has been heavily involved in fighting the invaders since February 2022 and therefore was in dire need of replacements for used-up medical goods. Most remarkably, the brigade played a significant role in the Battle of Kharkiv.
The required goods were quickly determined: 30 high quality IFAKs, custom tailored for the need of tankers and mechanized infantry, along with 30 Israeli bandages and 30 burn dressings. The order was placed soon afterwards, but when it finally arrived, Robin got an unpleasant surprise: Not only were the ordered burn dressings missing, the bandages which were supposed to be hemostatic were occlusive. And finally, one of the IFAKs was simply missing.
It took several calls, the last of which resulted in a very one-sided »Yes, Sir« conversation. But all of a sudden, the missing items were shipped.
Still in the US, bringing these items directly to Ukraine would have cost quite some money, so UFL sent them along with a courier who was heading to Germany anyway in order to pick up quite a few artworks there for an upcoming auction (more about this in a separate post!)
The plan was simple: Head to Germany, Nuremberg Airport. Meet with Arcaist, hand over the IFAKs and the other stuff, receive 23 artworks altogether, and head back to the US the next day. Our courier—let’s call her V—instead went through a six-day odyssey because of over eager customs officers, missed flights, lost baggage, overly punctual German trains, and French labour fights. The final chapter was the bag with the artworks being sent to another pickup place at her destination airport back in the US, because authorities were currently filming To Catch a Smuggler.
And as the cherry on top of the cake, V was fighting a cold during the entire journey.
At this point: V, a big THANK YOU for all your efforts and your ability to endure anything old Murphy throws at you! 😉
Back to Germany
After Arcaist received the medical goods, he lost no time transporting them to the next stop in their journey, together with another load of donated thermal underwear.
In Regensburg, he handed them over to Lyudmyla and Julia.
Directly afterwards, our friends hurried to get them ready for transport to Ukraine. In an all-night effort, the IFAKs were repacked (modular bandage out, hemostatic bandage and burn dressing in) and prepared for dispatch. This was quite a challenging task, since the hemostatic bandages were bigger than the old ones, but several hours later, it was done.
The next day, at 6.30 am, the IFAKs, the spare modular bandages, and the Israeli bandages started their final journey to the east. They were sent via the private transport network which had been established by Ukrainians already living in Germany before the war, refugees who arrived after the russian invasion, and German volunteers.
A couple of days later, the IFAKs and the other goods finally arrived at their destination: the tankers and the mechanized infantry of the 4th Separate Tank Brigade. They literally were sent round the world in order to ensure the survival of these brave men and women.
All the best wishes for the soldiers of the 4th STB.
Slava Ukraini!