Military Aid Package

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THE US ANNOUNCES A NEW, UNANTICIPATED $800 MILLION MILITARY AID PACKAGE
Since the beginning of August, the Pentagon has announced two previous military aid packages worth $550 million and $1 billion.

This latest aid package either coincides with the significant shift in the war’s momentum in favor of the Ukrainians or has in-part caused that shift.

By Dr. E. C. Olson, Director
OFT Ukraine Mission

In what came as a bit of a surprise to Ukraine stakeholders and observers, on August 20th, the Pentagon unofficially announced that President Biden was preparing another military aid package, authorized and funded via his Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the President to authorize the transfer of “excess weapons” from U.S. stocks.  The official announcement could come as soon as August 22nd.

In all, the new aid package carries a value of between $775 million and $800 million.  Most of the funding for those weapons comes from money that Congress had approved after the Russian invasion – including $13.6 billion in March and another $40 billion in May (approximately one-half of that total amount was earmarked for military assistance, the rest for humanitarian and medical aid).  According to reliable sources, to-date the US has used approximately $11 billion of that, including this latest aid package, the 19th such aid package given to Ukraine by the US.

Why we are focusing our reporting on US military and humanitarian aid packages…beginning with the obvious: approximately 50% of the US aid coming to Ukraine is in the form of humanitarian and medical aid equipment and supplies, a small portion of which would be available to our Mission.  But in speaking specifically about the military aid, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pointed out additional importance, “These military capabilities are carefully calibrated to make the most difference on the battlefield and strengthen Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table”.  There’s no question that as long as the war continues, the need for humanitarian aid will only increase significantly, so anything that brings about a peaceful end to this war is important to us and our Mission.

The Pentagon announced that in this new aid package were substantial defense equipment and ammunition, including HIMARS missiles, artillery weapons and ammunition, and mine-clearing systems.  This array of military aid mirrors that of the last several aid packages that were released since early-July, and what distinguishes this latest release, and those other ones is that everything that the US is providing meets the Ukrainians present and future needs.

Also included in this latest aid package are 15 Scan Eagles surveillance drones, and 40 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles known as MRAPs with mine-clearing rollers and 2,000 anti-armor rounds.

This matching aid supplies are vitally important as the Ukrainians look to expand the current counter-offensive action in the southern portion of the front lines, in the general vicinity of Kherson, Mykolaiv and Crimea, where they have made significant progress in pushing the Russian forces out of territory that had occupied since March.  The Ukrainian attacks in Crimea have been especially damaging to Russia’s war plans and in the morale of Russian soldiers and civilian sympathizers.  Russians consider Crimea to be “theirs”, having occupied the large peninsula since 2014.

As was expected, the Pentagon announcement was viewed by the Russians quite negatively, but their initial reactions went past the standard response of “this again shows that the US wants to continue its global hegemony by dragging the war out” to include new warnings of “unpredictable consequences”.  Also, in a strictly public relations move, the Russians also announced that in the past few weeks their military forces had destroyed a number of US-provided and European-provided weapons, but they did not provide any facts supporting that contention.

Special Aug 10th Bulletin Update – Boats For Field Hospitals

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Wounded warrior transport boats delivered to our Field Hospital and to The Blue Dogs!

An immediate and successful response to our appeal for funds for medical equipment allowed us to yesterday (August 9th) deliver the three rafts to the Field Hospital and the soldiers serving along the front lines by Mission Member Theo Petrov!

Dateline: Wednesday, August 10, 2022
To all our Mission supporters,

This morning has already been a very busy one for us here at Mission HQ, but that’s nothing compared to the very, VERY big day yesterday was in Ukraine, because yesterday, in one very full day, our Mission Team Member Theo Petrov made the 700-plus-mile-roundtrip from Kyiv to Bereznehuvate (and back to Kyiv) to deliver three wounded warrior transport boats to our adopted Field Hospital and our adopted Ukrainian Anti-Tank Company, the Blue Dogs, who are located along the western front lines in southern Ukraine.

With standard package delivery services now almost non-existent in Ukraine because of the war, Theo very generously offered to hand-deliver the boats, which is no small task given that he had to make a large, sweeping 700-plus-mile-roundtrip from Kyiv to Bereznehuvate (and back to Kyiv). 

 There’s no better way to describe this really big day than using the Report Theo just sent me (at Noon, Wednesday August 10th); see the applicable photographs following the Report:

Hello Chuck,

We just arrived back in Kyiv from our trip to the South yesterday evening, and I wanted to share some of the news from there, along with a couple of pictures from the soldiers, and where the boats went.

So, firstly, concerning the boat delivery route. As you know, I made the decision to acquire the boats last Friday, on the day of the departure. In one of the big equipment malls in Kyiv, they helped me choose the three best price-quality inflatable boats. And two repair kits for each boats. The mall was incredibly helpful and provided a good discount after finding out it was for the army.

Afterwards, we transported the boats by night train to Odesa, and then just after arrival hopped into Bogdans green van, and drove off to Bashtanka, to meet up with Lilia. The trip turned out to be extremely long, because Mykolaiv, the city Governor Kim oversees was shut down for a 48 hr curfew, with a full blocking of all incoming and outgoing private transport. Even the press accreditation did not work, and we had to go around the city, and so instead of the 3 hrs. the trip took 6 hrs.

We finally arrived, and picked up some more stuff on our way, met Lilia and started off to Bereznehuvate, the village with the hospital to deliver the boats.

The village just on that day was hit by 4 rockets, one civilian died, and many were injured. Also, there was a storm coming, a really strong one, so that all the artillery fire was lost amidst the sounds of the thunder. The first two boats (pictured in the pickup truck) went to a regiment of navy soldiers, specifically working and fighting along the Ingulets river. They will be now used as transport vehicles over the river: for incoming soldiers, for intelligence units, and for the evacuation of the injured.

We then took the last boat, and brought it to the unit you met! All the same soldiers that you met remembered you and were really happy to hear from us. They accepted the boat and will either use it themselves or forward it to another regiment that also needs it. The picture of them standing there is attached. And so we said hello to them, and continued further Northwards to continue our trip.

The boat delivery was a huge success, the soldiers all remembered you very well, and all greeted you from the front, and are waiting for you and all the other gear to arrive!!!

So, thus, greetings from Kyiv from me too!

Theo

 

As happy as I am that we were able to acquire these boats for our Field Hospital, I also continue to be quite pleased by how well and how quickly our Mission Team has worked through the logistical challenges and turned around this appeal in record time – less than 48 hours after I posted the appeal for support to meet this vital need, one of our Mission Team Members was able to deliver the boats, where they were immediately put to use in saving soldiers’ lives. 

 Thank you and congratulations go to Theo Petrov above all for making the long and dangerous drive down to the Field Hospital and the Blue Dogs camp.  But I also want to especially express my gratitude to the two anonymous donors who stepped-up to make this purchase possible.

 Dr. Chuck Olson, Mission Director

Special Aug 9th Bulletin Update

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Our Mission continues to save lives in Ukraine, now in record real time!

Less than twenty-four hours after I asked for your help in buying three inflatable rafts so that our Field Hospital can save more Ukrainian soldiers’ lives by being able to transport the wounded from the battlefield to the field hospital more quickly – two of you donors immediately stepped-up (anonymously), so that along with myself, we could each buy one boat – and today, as we speak our fixer Theo Petrov is traveling to the front lines to the Field Hospital to deliver the boats, plus six repair kits and two hand pumps!

I know I can speak for the doctors and nurses at our hospital, along with the countless numbers of Ukrainian soldiers who will benefit from this life-saving gift, in thanking you donors (you and I know who you are) for your incredibly quick and generous reply!

This quick (and very complete) response to Ukrainian needs perfectly personifies our Mission, as we are literally providing the neediest Ukrainians with the most-needed aid, and now in record time: it has been a total of four days since the doctors at our Field Hospital first notified us of this vital need – to when we personally delivered this important equipment to them.

I can think of no better example of how our aid literally helps to save lives than this.

When I was there at our Field Hospital two weeks ago, the doctors and nurses told me that the leading cause of death among the soldiers there serving on the front lines, is bleeding-out from wounds either caused by Russian fragmentation bombs or by small arms fire.

Ever since two months ago, when the Russians destroyed all of the bridges crossing all of the small rivers and streams in this region, the only available transport route for injured soldiers took an average of two hours longer than previously when the bridges were still intact. And with conditions being still too hotly contested to allow for the rebuilding of these bridges, there are no other routes available to the doctors and soldiers, and as a result, the Hospital staff told me that in those last two months, they lost upwards of 20 soldiers who bled-out on these long drives and died before they reached the Hospital.

With these inflatable rafts now at their disposal, they’re able to get the wounded to the hospital in as little as 20 minutes, and even for the more distant battlefields, cutting two hours off of the “ambulance ride” will mean more soldiers surviving and living to fight another day.

All it took for making this meaningful life-saving work possible was me gathering the factual needs from the front lines and relaying them to the generous people that support and follow our Mission – which then resulted in our Mission getting the needed funds and one of our Mission Team Members going to a store in Mykoliav and buying these boats, then taking them to the front lines Hospital!

More fighting ahead in Kherson Mykoliav

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Our Mission’s Aid Delivery Footprint again appearing in News Headlines

July 29 reports indicate that the southern combat zone, which is where our Mission Team was based as recent as July 22nd, is now one of the War’s most active areas, as Russia sends in more troops, equipment, and supplies.

Ukrainian officials referred to our Mission Team as being “the tip of the spear” because we would go where humanitarian and medical aid was needed the most, which was in the active combat zones and specifically where Russian troops had only very recently withdrawn from – but this new information indicates that the Russians want that territory back.

With this latest news indicating that greater conflict is expected in the Kherson-Mykoliav region in the coming weeks, this troubling news makes our aid delivery all the more important for these desperate Ukrainian villagers, as they again face an uncertain future.

The green circle indicates the region where our Mission delivered aid last week.  This July 29th news indicates that this area will see increased fighting in the coming days.  Our thoughts and prayers are with these imperiled villagers and soldiers.

This new reporting illustrates just how fluid the combat action is along this southern/western front of the War.  Less than two weeks ago, Ukrainian officials had determined that since Russian forces had just been driven from these towns and villages after nearly a month of occupation, that the Ukrainians living here had the greatest need for humanitarian aid.

Our Mission responded by volunteering to go into this combat zone to deliver aid to these villagers and the soldiers encamped along The Zero Line.  In all we delivered more than two tons of aid to six villages, three military encampments and one Field Hospital.

It appears from this new reporting that these villagers’ reprieve from Russian occupation may be threatened, as these new Russian troops and equipment could be in preparation for another military action to regain control of this region.  An alternative scenario is being circulated however, where this Russian reinforcement is instead intended to bolster the Russian’s defensive capabilities to prevent the Ukrainians from continuing to gain control of even more villages in this region.

Either way, please keep these imperiled villagers and soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Russian Troops Being Sent Our Way

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Our Mission’s Aid Delivery Footprint now appearing in News Headlines

On July 26th, validated reports revealed that Russia is reinforcing the southwestern flank of the combat zone in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which is near where our Mission Team was based as recent as July 22nd.

Ukrainian officials referred to our Mission Team as being “the tip of the spear” because we would go where humanitarian and medical aid was needed the most, which was in the active combat zones and specifically where Russian troops had only very recently withdrawn from – but this new information indicates that the Russians may want that territory back. “The movement of military equipment, ammunition and personnel continues to flow into the Kherson region”, indicating that greater conflict is expected there in the coming weeks, which makes our aid delivery all the more important for these desperate Ukrainian villagers.

The new information coming from the Ukrainian Operational Command South is reporting that Russia is moving significant quantities of military equipment and supplies, along with an undisclosed number of additional troops from military facilities in the Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian control since 2014, to the Kherson region. Reports indicate that the Russians are using both rail and highway routes to move these military resources in what is being described as one of the larger re-supply operations since the invasion began.

Speculation is that these supplies are needed because either Russia is expecting a major Ukrainian counter-offensive in this region – where they would need this equipment for reinforcing defensive positions, or that Russia is planning on its own counter-offensive, and this equipment and supplies would serve more in an offensive capacity, presumably in an attempt to regain control of land that the Ukrainians had forced them out of in recent weeks.

Less than two weeks ago, when our Mission Team was in Lviv meeting with Governor Maksym Kozytsky and other Ukrainian officials, the nationwide status of humanitarian aid needs was evaluated and those results found that at that time, humanitarian, medical and military aid was most needed in the active combat zones in the southern one-third of the country (which included the Mykoliav, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions) and specifically in the small villages and towns that the Russian forces had been most recently forced out of in the southwestern combat zones. In two of those villages, our Mission Team arrived less than two hours after the last of the Russian troops vacated the villages.

Ukraine’s Southwestern Theater of War: July 18-26, 2022

During the week of July 18th, our Mission Team established aid supply depots in Odessa and Mykoliav, then began delivering medical supplies and other aid to military camps and the small villages inside the blue circle, that Russian forces had vacated mere hours earlier – our last deliveries in this zone occurred on July 22nd. This entire region is classified as an “active combat zone”.

 

 

 

Blue arrows – Mission Team aid delivery routes

Red arrows – Russian troop movements

According to validated Ukrainian government sources, beginning on July 24th, the Russians began moving heavy military equipment, ammunition and other supplies, along with thousands of troops from their bases in Crimea. What is yet to be determined is their purpose: is it to better defend against Ukrainian counter-offenses – or is it to launch their own counter-offenses in an attempt to regain control of the villages they were recently forced out of.