Summary of the humanitarian mission to Lviv and Drohobych (5-7 September 2025)

8 September 2025 | Author: Natalia Melnychenko

In September 2025, as part of our humanitarian activities in support of Ukraine, we visited Lviv and Drohobych. We delivered equipment to Ukrainian soldiers fighting along the Pokrovsk–Rodynske sector of the front, and paid a visit in Drohobych to the grave of our friend and former adviser to the ODF Management Board, Artur Deska, who passed away in July 2024.

The team for this trip to Ukraine was rather small – our colleagues Bartosz Kramek and Robert Terela, along with Jerzy Wójcik from the Sestry.eu portal, took part in the mission. Nevertheless, the number of participants did not pose an obstacle: we tried to ensure that the assistance we brought to Ukraine was by no means modest. We purchased and delivered two EcoFlow 1900 W power generators and eight much-needed specialised large-size tyres for an excavator used in groundworks at the request of our friends, soldiers Ihor and Volodymyr.

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Ihor, a father of four and grandfather of three, gave up his job in the construction and renovation sector at the very beginning of Russia’s invasion to engage in volunteer work for the Ukrainian Armed Forces together with his family. After his son-in-law was killed at the front, Ihor himself – despite his age and health problems – volunteered for service in December 2022, explaining that he “did not want the enemy to come to his home to kill and rape, as happened in Bucha”. He was soon promoted to senior sergeant. He defended Donbas, as well as the Kharkiv and Vovchansk sectors, and for his service was awarded the “Cross of Honour”. Volodymyr, although much younger than Ihor, has far greater combat experience in fighting the Russian aggressor. A finance specialist by education, he has nevertheless devoted his entire adult life to defending his homeland. For his participation in the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation in Donbas and the Luhansk region, he was awarded the Cossack Cross, Third Class. After February 2022, he defended the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, for which he received another award – the “Defender of the East” medal. He has a wife and three children.

Today, both men serve in the ranks of the 42nd Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The smart, portable EcoFlow inverter generators we have provided them with are of crucial importance to the brigade in field conditions, where access to a stable electricity supply is either impossible or unreliable. Thanks to them, the soldiers will be able to charge reconnaissance drones, power communication systems, radios, laptops used for coordination, and satellite terminals essential for command and control. Moreover, as the generators can run on either LPG or petrol, depending on availability they can choose the fuel that is easier to obtain or transport. The excavator, in turn, plays a vital role in digging trenches and building fortifications at the front. Just a few days later, the soldiers sent us photographs along with their thanks for the support.

After handing over the equipment in Lviv, we travelled on to Drohobych, where for the past 20 years the Polish volunteer, columnist, historian, philosopher and adviser to the Management Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation, Artur Deska, had lived and worked. Artur passed away on 29 July 2024, leaving behind a remarkable legacy (in the areas of humanitarian aid, Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation and youth support) and many people of goodwill who continue his work. Together with Jose Turczyk, his friend – whom some even describe as Artur’s “activist twin brother” – we visited his grave at the old Catholic cemetery in Drohobych.

We are planning further trips to support both Ukraine’s defenders and civilian victims of Russian aggression and warmly invite you to contribute to our fundraising campaign. We also extend our sincere thanks to all donors whose support made this mission possible.

Read about other ODF missions to Ukraine: