By Josh Pickering, Andrei Molchynsky, Kate Sliunkova
In conjunction with Nova Ukraine, the Ukrainian Association of Washington State (“UAWS”), the Ukrainian American Cultural Association of Oregon (“UACAO”), USAS secured ~32 tons of medicine and medical supplies of the approximate total value of $3.5 million. With the support from several large donors and thousands of small donors, USAS raised the funds (~$600,000) necessary to charter an Airbus A330 from Seattle to Lublin, Poland. The plane landed in SEATAC on March 29, 2022 where it was loaded with the collected medical supplies.
During plane loading, in conjunction with Nova Ukraine, the Port of Seattle, Governor Jay Inslee’s office, the Ukrainian Consul General of San Francisco, UAWS, and UACAO, a press conference was held to share a message of solidarity with Ukrainians and encourage additional political and humanitarian action.
Partnering with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health (“MoH”), Josh Pickering of the USAS and Liliya Kovalenko of the UAWS facilitated on-the-ground, secure transport of the medical supplies across the Poland-Ukraine border to a MoH warehouse in Lviv for disbursement to Kyiv and the Eastern territories in Ukraine. Additionally, Josh Pickering transferred over 100 IFAKs to territorial defense forces in Lutsk for delivery to units in Kyiv.
