9 ms·

My partners and I have a couple hundred employees in Dnipro, Ukraine. Most of the employees have relocated to Poland or western Ukraine, some are sheltering in

by nugget 5y ago

My partners and I have a couple hundred employees in Dnipro, Ukraine. Most of the employees have relocated to Poland or western Ukraine, some are sheltering in place, some are fighting. We started to source supplies last week, especially for those who are sheltering in place or fighting. During discussions with various parties across the supply chain it became clear that an enormous effort was underway by hundreds/thousands of organizations (Governments, NGOs, companies, individuals) to flood Ukraine with every conceivable item they might need to support combat operations. Almost all of the commercially available weapons systems, ammunition, and body armor that we could find was already headed to Ukraine. We decided to focus on battlefield/first responder medical kits and supplies since those items were needed, but hadn't been mobilized as much. "Soldiers win battles, logistics wins wars." I heard that last week and it stuck with me.

tada131 5y ago
What about food?
- bobowzki 5y ago
  An army marches on its stomach.
  - Choco31415 5y ago
    I think the question is - is food being mobilized to Ukraine?
    - trhway 5y ago
      anecdotally - yes. We bought and brought some stuff following that https://www.facebook.com/lnyuz/posts/5490539337642083 https://www.facebook.com/lnyuz/posts/5490539337642083 (drop-off in San Jose, some people order stuff from Amazon with delivery right to there), and while i don't see food among the list of requested item, boxes packed with donated food were pretty prominent there (and even though food wasn't mentioned we actually brought food too - long term packaged high calories low weight, we thought that probably that may be needed too and it happened so, seems like many people do that).
    - zarker 5y ago
      Anecdotally, I live in Ireland and a number of locals have mobilised to gather food and medicine to send it to Ukraine. Then I came across this article and now think this is happening across the country: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0308/1285137-ireland-aid-convoy/ https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0308/1285137-ireland-ai... I wouldn’t be surprise if many other communities in Europe are doing the same. The problem might be getting the aid to the right place.
    - tablespoon 5y ago
      > I think the question is - is food being mobilized to Ukraine? Is the problem with food existence or food transport? My impression is the food problems are in besieged cities.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  There is a great risk of massive starvation in besieged Ukranian cities, where it's too dangerous for sheltering civilians to venture out and procure or supply food.
q1w2 5y ago
They are also getting fresh soldiers. I saw a claim from a Canadian vet in Kyiv that 40,000 foreign fighters were already in Kyiv. The Canadian was part of a 500-man exclusively Canadian urban battalion. There was also a report on BBC that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia [1]. I've also been on Telegram channels helping American vets organize, fund their flights to Poland, equip, and then drive them to the Ukrainian border. These are highly motivated well equipped men - many are veterans. Assuming these data points are accurate, then Russia's odds of victory are going down by the day as more western men and supplies enter Ukraine each day than Russian men and supplies. [1] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/west-sends-mercenaries-to-fight-for-ukraine-russian-defense-ministry/2523009 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/west-sends-mercenaries-to-fi...
- jjulius 5y ago
  >There was also a report that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia. I am absolutely dying laughing at the absurdity of such a complaint (if true), lol.
  - flir 5y ago
    I hope every single ambassador said "they're on holiday".
    - aaronchall 5y ago
      I was thinking this every time I read the news back when Putin was saying this.
  - cableshaft 5y ago
    Meanwhile Russia is busy trying to recruit foreign soldiers themselves from Kazakhstan and Syria. Kazakhstan told them no, despite begging Russia to send their troops into their country when riots broke out a few months ago.
mockingbirdy 5y ago
I'm part of a team that does (very small-scale compared to the big NGOs) logistics (food, clothing, baby stuff, hygiene, everything) and provides/mediates shelter in the North East of Germany and sending food, first aid kits and medical supplies to the borders/directly to Ukraine with the supplies and support of the people of the city I'm living in (I'm managing one of the provisional warehouses). We have bus companies driving people and other things. If you'd like to work together, I'd love to talk. Petrol has become pretty expensive, so pooling resources makes a lot of sense. 95% of everything is logistics. Fully agree with the quote.
- nugget 5y ago
  Yes, happy to talk with anybody involved in similar efforts so definitely reach out. My contact information is in my profile. We are mostly sourcing supplies from the US at this point. Tampa is our pack/repack and pallet departure point. We have pallet space aboard flights from Florida through Germany to Poland and Romania, available every other day or so. We have trucks in Cluj, Romania but not in Poland. Romanian and Polish Governments have waived customs and we have a direct line for whatever other needs arise - they've been incredibly supportive - perhaps worried about Putin's further ambitions. Someone we know flies with the pallets from US departure and stays with them until they're handed off to someone else we know inside Ukraine who distributes to support and defense units in country. There is a lot of fraud involved in mass mobilization and cross-border transport so this level of accountability is important to us. Very few people in Ukraine thought Putin would invade, and even if he invaded, almost nobody thought he would cross the Dnieper river (in the south) and make a run for Kiev. The Ukrainians we know, very "ordinary" people, have dug in. There is no concept in their minds of a negotiated peace that leaves Russia in control of Ukraine. They would rather fight it out. As a result it feels like it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We are focused on combat medical supplies at this point but as time drags on there will no doubt be a great need for food, clothing, and similar items you mentioned.
  - mockingbirdy 5y ago
    Your operation is amazing, mobilizing air fright is massive. I'll definitely write you, we'll try what we can to support although we're much smaller.
suifbwish 5y ago
All Ukraine has to do is: 1. Offer immediate provisional citizenship/asylum to anyone who immigrated to fight. 2. Anyone in their prisons, offer them clemency if they agree to fight (bad idea I know but it works)
- UberFly 5y ago
  The Dirty дюжина
- yetihehe 5y ago
  I'm not really sure about 1 (there are already many fighters from over the world), but they did 2. Unfortunately for this war, there aren't that many people in prisons there.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- mariuolo 5y ago
  > Offer immediate provisional citizenship/asylum to anyone who immigrated to fight. Ukraine is not a wealthy country. Who might consider citizenship so desirable to risk his life over it?
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > Who might consider citizenship so desirable to risk his life over it? For those volunteers who already decided to risk their life for Ukraine that is not an issue. What it does is give them, and the state of Ukraine, an out from accusations of "ruthless soldiers of fortune!" or Western nation-level meddling: "No no, these aren't foreign 'mercenaries', they're our citizens!"
  - notch656a 5y ago
    It would allow those who want to fight to not worry about the repercussions back home. Or at least to lessen them, as they have an escape hatch to at least live in Ukraine afterwards. I imagine a lot of those who volunteered to fight will come back bankrupt, with creditors at their heels and possibly to broken homes. Some of them who come from places like Belarus may even face criminal charges for fighting.
nikolay 5y ago
This sounds like they want their capital destroyed like Grozny. Ukraine got played by the US, which misled it that they will fight together against the Russians.
chinathrow 5y ago
> Almost all of the commercially available weapons systems, ammunition, and body armor that we could find was already headed to Ukraine. Except fighters and drones.

by nugget 5y ago

tada131 5y ago

What about food?

bobowzki 5y ago
An army marches on its stomach.
- Choco31415 5y ago
  I think the question is - is food being mobilized to Ukraine?
  - trhway 5y ago
    anecdotally - yes. We bought and brought some stuff following that https://www.facebook.com/lnyuz/posts/5490539337642083 https://www.facebook.com/lnyuz/posts/5490539337642083 (drop-off in San Jose, some people order stuff from Amazon with delivery right to there), and while i don't see food among the list of requested item, boxes packed with donated food were pretty prominent there (and even though food wasn't mentioned we actually brought food too - long term packaged high calories low weight, we thought that probably that may be needed too and it happened so, seems like many people do that).
  - zarker 5y ago
    Anecdotally, I live in Ireland and a number of locals have mobilised to gather food and medicine to send it to Ukraine. Then I came across this article and now think this is happening across the country: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0308/1285137-ireland-aid-convoy/ https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0308/1285137-ireland-ai... I wouldn’t be surprise if many other communities in Europe are doing the same. The problem might be getting the aid to the right place.
  - tablespoon 5y ago
    > I think the question is - is food being mobilized to Ukraine? Is the problem with food existence or food transport? My impression is the food problems are in besieged cities.
pmoriarty 5y ago
There is a great risk of massive starvation in besieged Ukranian cities, where it's too dangerous for sheltering civilians to venture out and procure or supply food.

q1w2 5y ago

They are also getting fresh soldiers. I saw a claim from a Canadian vet in Kyiv that 40,000 foreign fighters were already in Kyiv. The Canadian was part of a 500-man exclusively Canadian urban battalion. There was also a report on BBC that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia [1]. I've also been on Telegram channels helping American vets organize, fund their flights to Poland, equip, and then drive them to the Ukrainian border. These are highly motivated well equipped men - many are veterans. Assuming these data points are accurate, then Russia's odds of victory are going down by the day as more western men and supplies enter Ukraine each day than Russian men and supplies. [1] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/west-sends-mercenaries-to-fight-for-ukraine-russian-defense-ministry/2523009 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/west-sends-mercenaries-to-fi...

jjulius 5y ago
>There was also a report that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia. I am absolutely dying laughing at the absurdity of such a complaint (if true), lol.
- flir 5y ago
  I hope every single ambassador said "they're on holiday".
  - aaronchall 5y ago
    I was thinking this every time I read the news back when Putin was saying this.
- cableshaft 5y ago
  Meanwhile Russia is busy trying to recruit foreign soldiers themselves from Kazakhstan and Syria. Kazakhstan told them no, despite begging Russia to send their troops into their country when riots broke out a few months ago.

mockingbirdy 5y ago

I'm part of a team that does (very small-scale compared to the big NGOs) logistics (food, clothing, baby stuff, hygiene, everything) and provides/mediates shelter in the North East of Germany and sending food, first aid kits and medical supplies to the borders/directly to Ukraine with the supplies and support of the people of the city I'm living in (I'm managing one of the provisional warehouses). We have bus companies driving people and other things. If you'd like to work together, I'd love to talk. Petrol has become pretty expensive, so pooling resources makes a lot of sense. 95% of everything is logistics. Fully agree with the quote.

nugget 5y ago
Yes, happy to talk with anybody involved in similar efforts so definitely reach out. My contact information is in my profile. We are mostly sourcing supplies from the US at this point. Tampa is our pack/repack and pallet departure point. We have pallet space aboard flights from Florida through Germany to Poland and Romania, available every other day or so. We have trucks in Cluj, Romania but not in Poland. Romanian and Polish Governments have waived customs and we have a direct line for whatever other needs arise - they've been incredibly supportive - perhaps worried about Putin's further ambitions. Someone we know flies with the pallets from US departure and stays with them until they're handed off to someone else we know inside Ukraine who distributes to support and defense units in country. There is a lot of fraud involved in mass mobilization and cross-border transport so this level of accountability is important to us. Very few people in Ukraine thought Putin would invade, and even if he invaded, almost nobody thought he would cross the Dnieper river (in the south) and make a run for Kiev. The Ukrainians we know, very "ordinary" people, have dug in. There is no concept in their minds of a negotiated peace that leaves Russia in control of Ukraine. They would rather fight it out. As a result it feels like it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. We are focused on combat medical supplies at this point but as time drags on there will no doubt be a great need for food, clothing, and similar items you mentioned.
- mockingbirdy 5y ago
  Your operation is amazing, mobilizing air fright is massive. I'll definitely write you, we'll try what we can to support although we're much smaller.

suifbwish 5y ago

All Ukraine has to do is: 1. Offer immediate provisional citizenship/asylum to anyone who immigrated to fight. 2. Anyone in their prisons, offer them clemency if they agree to fight (bad idea I know but it works)

UberFly 5y ago
The Dirty дюжина
yetihehe 5y ago
I'm not really sure about 1 (there are already many fighters from over the world), but they did 2. Unfortunately for this war, there aren't that many people in prisons there.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mariuolo 5y ago
> Offer immediate provisional citizenship/asylum to anyone who immigrated to fight. Ukraine is not a wealthy country. Who might consider citizenship so desirable to risk his life over it?
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > Who might consider citizenship so desirable to risk his life over it? For those volunteers who already decided to risk their life for Ukraine that is not an issue. What it does is give them, and the state of Ukraine, an out from accusations of "ruthless soldiers of fortune!" or Western nation-level meddling: "No no, these aren't foreign 'mercenaries', they're our citizens!"
- notch656a 5y ago
  It would allow those who want to fight to not worry about the repercussions back home. Or at least to lessen them, as they have an escape hatch to at least live in Ukraine afterwards. I imagine a lot of those who volunteered to fight will come back bankrupt, with creditors at their heels and possibly to broken homes. Some of them who come from places like Belarus may even face criminal charges for fighting.

nikolay 5y ago

This sounds like they want their capital destroyed like Grozny. Ukraine got played by the US, which misled it that they will fight together against the Russians.

chinathrow 5y ago

> Almost all of the commercially available weapons systems, ammunition, and body armor that we could find was already headed to Ukraine. Except fighters and drones.