Project Volya
The war is nowhere close to over in Ukraine. Nor are the Ukrainians and their allies and neighbours in NATO, Poland, and the Baltic countries without hope. We, comfortable and removed in the West, are so constantly bombarded with sensationalized images of the conflict that we are in danger of becoming fatigued and relegating the ongoing conflict to the rear of our collective consciousness. Now more than ever is the time to push on and engage with the events that perhaps more than most people realize are reshaping our world in Eastern Europe and Russia, and will soon resonate with more than just raised costs of fuel.
Although this began as a David and Goliath conflict, the rocks being hurled back at the forehead of Russian incursion are aimed straight and true, more than keeping Russian forces at bay and actually turning the tide of the conflict- thanks to the ingenuity and heroic perseverance of individuals like Kevin Leach.
MAN ON A MISSION
A resident of Ukraine for the past four years after serving ten years in the Canadian army, Leach has adopted his new country and embraced it whole-heartedly, including marrying his Ukrainian wife, Mira.
“I view myself as an immigrant, not an expat, to Ukraine, and that I should integrate. I was raised in a Slavic [Slovenian] household, so it’s so much of why I have an affinity for Ukraine.” Leach also holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from York University, where he specialised in German and Jewish history.
Speaking on his views of Ukrainian culture, Leach observes, “We take for granted [as Westerners] that every assumption we make about a culture is correct. How we think in North America just does not translate to Ukrainian culture.”
After his army service, Leach was contracted out to an organisation called OSCE in Ukraine, and that is how he came to settle in the country. Rather than returning to Canada and his hometown of Caledon after war began on February 24th, Leach instead decided to put his training and skills to use in his new homeland.
“I immediately thought about joining the fight on the ground, but then my wife threatened to join me at the front…I lost fifteen kilos at the start of the war. [Project Volya] came out of me I was driving around in my jeep just thinking ‘what the hell can I do?’ After a decade in the army, I know a bit about first aid and administering first aid.” And thus Project Volya was born.
CONFLICT AND HOPE
“Volya” in Ukrainian means freedom. That is simply what Ukrainians are fighting for. Their freedom, and ultimately, ours. They are the barrier, along with the Baltic countries and Poland, keeping this horrific conflict at bay by the blood of their people, soldiers and civilians alike, millions of which have already flooded into neighbouring countries. Poland alone is beyond capacity and begging for international aid, with nearly four million refugees pouring in needing shelter, food, and a safe harbour after unprovoked military attacks, some directly targeting locations such as children’s hospitals, maternity wards, schools, kindergartens, residential areas, and shopping malls, having left them with nothing and nowhere to go but West.
“Contrary to what the Russians would have you believe,” comments Leach, “these were not military outposts. There is just no excuse [for targeting civilians].”
The question many asked at the beginning of this war was, “does Ukraine have a chance of winning?” To answer that, Leach describes a recent mission to Kharkhiv, a city under heavy bombardment in Northeastern Ukraine, 30 km from the international border. “I have to tell you,” Leach says to the audience gathered at Forster’s Book Garden in Bolton on the evening of August 11th, “it didn’t feel like we were losing.”
To put this in context, Ukraine has built a force the size of the Canadian army deployment worldwide during World War II in six months, starting from what was not an army prepared or ready in any way for war, and is fighting with whomever and whatever they have at hand. Putin’s justification for invasion was to rid or “de-Nazify” Ukraine of undesirable fascist elements supposedly plotting against Russia.
In reality, in the months leading to the outbreak of hostilities, Leach comments, “I had a front row seat to the war in its cold war state, and I can say with absolute certainty that that [denazification] was a fever dream. Ukraine did not want this war. It did everything in its power [to submit to Russian requests and de-escalate the threat of war].” The point being, Putin simply put forward a pretext for invasion, and nothing Ukraine did or didn’t do was going to change the outcome. “This is in our generation,” Leach continues, “the most morally black and white war that could happen.”
HISTORY AND PROPAGANDA
The real reason behind Putin’s war is the world’s oldest one: land and money. However, it is also nuanced and influenced by a thousand years of a cultural and historical narrative formed by Russians to assert themselves as the dominant power in the region, when in fact the historical facts are that the Russian state evolved out of the city-state of Kyiv, which was the seat of power in the region starting in the early tenth century, and thriving until the Mongol invasions in the thirteenth.
The subsequent domination of both Northern (ie. Rus) and Southern (ie. Kyiv and Polish/Lithuanian) Slavic groups by the Mongols lead to a shift in economic and political power to Moscow as a result of the many Kyivan efforts to expel the invader, which ultimately permanently weakened the city. Afterwards, with political, economic, and cultural power having shifted North, while what would come to be known as Ukraine became more closely aligned with Poland and Lithuania. Eventually the Ukrainian state would become a very culturally mixed population thanks to trade along the Dnieper.
“Ukraine,” Leach adds, “has always been a trade corridor,” fought over by many countries and empires for so long the history is staggering in its complexity. As a result, “the historiography around Ukraine is so damaged, perhaps because of ideologies…The most important thing when considering the undeniable mix of Russian and Ukrainian populations is separating it from what is frankly Soviet culture.” It is in Russian interest, and always has been, to claim the country as ethnically “Russian”, while conveniently ignoring the Ukrainian and Polish sources suggesting otherwise. Unfortunately, Western historians have adopted this Russian propagated narrative, simply since it is so often repeated.
THE WAR MACHINE
With the pretext for war in place, the Russian war machine was mobilised on February 24th, with the assumption that within three days they would easily take the capital of Kyiv and install a puppet government. Russian soldiers were even told to pack their official uniforms for the assumed victory parade rather than much more practical things such as warm clothing during the winter offensive- as it turned out a regrettable decision with many soldiers freezing to death in Ukrainian forests- so confident were they of slicing through Ukraine like a knife through butter.
What they did not expect was a mounted defence so ferocious that we are now six months into an extremely bloody conflict with no end in sight, with the West entirely behind Ukraine and 26 countries pledging support in the form of sanctions, armaments, and every form of aid to secure victory. It has even had the unintended effect, the opposite of Putin’s plans, of bringing other non-NATO countries like Finland and Sweden into the fold, and cemented the bonds between all countries, including Canada, who are ultimately facing the greatest threat to the world order and nuclear conflict since World War II.
While we sitting in Western Europe and North America may be becoming complacent with image after image on the news desensitising our ability to process and remain aware of events, Ukrainians and all Eastern European countries are as embroiled as ever in an increasingly bloody conflict, knowing all too well from history what happens when Russians are acquiesced to by the powers that be.
Ultimately it is these countries, especially Poland and the Baltic nations, that have stepped up, supplying armaments, sanctions, hospitality to refugees, and anything and everything at their disposal to counter the threat quite literally at their borders, in proportions exponentially larger than that of larger European nations like Germany. Already Russian officials have stated Poland is next for “de-Nazification”, and there have been Russian news programs quite openly detailing a strategy for invasion of the Baltic nations. “It’s so great,” Leach comments, “to see Poland step up and say, ‘we can’t rely on you’ [ie. Western Europe], and are doing it themselves,” in terms of supporting Ukrainian efforts.
“The situation,” Leach continues, “is desperate, but not quite as it is portrayed [by Western media]. Ukraine has retaken the momentum of the war, and most significantly, retaken Kyiv.” From both Russian and Ukrainian viewpoints, Kyiv is the symbol of victory in this war, and most important for maintaining morale according to in whose possession it remains. However, there is more, so much more, to be done, and the need for support from the West is critical.
“I don’t want to be hard on the West [for war fatigue], because at this point I think people must associate war with regional skirmishes that do not involve them, and are quite frankly demoralised by the results of the campaign in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past few decades…There is also a problem with ‘hit and run’ journalists who take things and report them out of cultural context. They rely on people who don’t look past the headline and rely on the video [footage].” It is for this reason that both critical thinking while listening and reading to the news, and familiarising oneself with first-hand accounts of the situation from people like Leach, are so important.
PROJECT VOLYA
For Project Volya, however, the needs are simple. As stated on their website, “Project Volya is a civilian initiative to provide Ukrainian defenders with the life-saving resources they need to survive their fight against Russian aggression. With the help of hard-earned connections in Ukraine and North America we are putting battlefield medical tools in the hands of Ukrainian forces.”
Leach and his partner, Milos Pospisil, have prepared an organisational infrastructure based in Canada, where they source top quality first-aid equipment for field use from partners in British Columbia. Because Ukraine and Europe were at peace, demand for these supplies was quickly surpassed by availability, literally sold out in weeks, meaning that most of these products needed to then be sourced from the United States when supply became increasingly restricted. “Our [Canadian] dollar,” says Leach, “goes a lot farther here than it does in Europe.”
Initially using much of his own savings, Leach raised $14 000 to buy “the big four” in terms of emergency first aid items Project Volya brings in for the front lines. These include (taken from http:projectvolya.ca):
– Chest Seals: Letting wounded people breathe easier. Chest seals help people with penetrating wounds of the thorax survive. Human breathing works by muscle movements increasing or decreasing the pressure in our chest cavities to fill our lungs. Certain wounds can disrupt this process and make it hard or impossible to breathe. This is where chest seals come into play.
– Hemostatic Gauze: The cutting edge of chemistry and biology, in one critical package. Hemostatic gauze is used to pack into the wound left by projectiles or shrapnel as they move through soft tissue like skin and muscle. The gauze helps absorb blood and is impregnated with chemicals that cause blood to rapidly coagulate and help prevent lethal internal bleeding. “It is literally stuffed into the wound,” comments Leach, “and is quite painful at the time, but a little bit of pain versus a life is a small price to pay.”
– Tourniquets: An ancient technology brought into the 21st century. Tourniquets help stop life-threatening bleeding from damaged or amputated limbs. They work by squeezing tightly shut the veins and arteries that normally carry blood around the body, shutting off the flow and preventing the loss of blood through them when they are damaged. Despite official usage instructions, Leach asserts these items are reusable up to two or three times. This also includes junctional tourniquets that address pelvic injuries by ballooning and tightening around the waist. Without this equipment, a person can bleed to death in one to two minutes.
– Pressure Bandages: “A very basic thing, but very badly needed.”
Working with these partners, Project Volya employs experts on this technology that not only what to source, including the newest and more advanced frontline first aid technologies, but how to deliver them. And, as Leach explains, “we’re not afraid to step outside our mission.” When his partner Milos was approached with three suitcases of survival gear, Project Volya immediately hand-delivered it to the largest children’s hospital in Okhmadit. He personally delivers the supplies he procures, often to the chagrin of his wife as it demands suiting up in war gear to go into combat zones, but it is something he feels is necessary to maintain the integrity of his organisation.
Leach emphasises the need for transparency in both the running of his organisation, and any others asking for monetary donations. “I want things to be as upfront and official as possible. It’s important I go out there [in person to deliver supplies] so I have that credibility. I also publish receipts on an open Google doc.” Leach suggests that anyone looking to support efforts in Ukraine turn to smaller, more intimately run organisations like his that directly contribute to the cause. “I have zero overhead. Anytime you give to us goes straight to the deliverables.” He also makes the observation that while he is behind front lines and in combat zones, “I haven’t seen the Red Cross anywhere. I haven’t seen Amnesty International. Don’t waste money on large organisations with no accountability.”
In terms of future plans, Leach is thinking on a bigger scale. “I aim to do more. I’ll be honest with you, I want to raise another $12 000, spend it all, and take the supplies [to the conflict zones] myself. Our next big push is to raise money to buy ten big medical bags. My goal is not only to give medical supplies, but also to help with training.” To that end, Leach is working with two other organisations in Ukraine that drive around the country giving out free medical training to what are often volunteer fighting groups from many different countries.
“Governments are great at giving out the big-ticket items, but that’s why there’s a need for organisations like this. What we deal with in is emergency items that will make a difference in the life of an individual soldier. Most soldiers will never see those big-ticket items. “Unfortunately a lot of front-line medics are only issued with their own individual supplies, and after that, they’re on their own.” This leads to frustration and devastation as medics then have to deal with a triage situation based on what few resources they have. “They’ll use what they have. My job,” emphasises Leach, “is to supply them. Get them the tools, and get lives saved. That’s it.”
Wrapping up, Leach adds, “I could always ask for more, but one thing the Canadian government sent which we don’t really have is the M777 Howitzers, which are frankly fantastic. But I think Canada needs to do more, like removing the block for serving members [on joining the Ukrainian conflict directly.] For us here in the West, our job is to not give up. There are lots of great volunteers bringing out lots of great stuff.”
Keeping and building on this momentum is the most important thing those of us sitting on the sidelines, safely removed from this conflict, can do. Whether or not we choose to believe it, what happens in Ukraine and Eastern Europe will ultimately affect us directly in ways we cannot yet predict. It is in everyone’s interest to get involved to whatever extent they can. “Tell your friends this is not hopeless. The Russians are lying a lot. What I’ve seen,” Leach asserts, “it’s restored my faith in humanity, albeit with very mixed emotions.”
