A brotherly gift from Israel for the Ukrainians of the Bratsk Community
This story began in Tel Aviv during the celebration of Ukraine's Independence Day on 24 August 2024. The event was a pro-Ukrainian festival organized by the Israeli Friends of Ukraine, supported by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter.
It was announced that most of the income and donations collected at this event would go toward medical assistance for Ukraine. Afterward, a suitable car — an emergency medical ambulance — was searched for in Europe.
A vehicle was found and bought in the city of Annen, Netherlands, by an automotive company that has already prepared over 100 vehicles for Ukraine's needs. The owner repaired and upgraded the car at his own expense, while his wife contributed medical equipment as a gesture of solidarity with the Israeli initiative to assist Ukraine.
In February 2025, three representatives from Israeli Friends of Ukraine — Anna Zharova, Vyacheslav Feldman, and Yana Noah Lemkin — traveled to pick up the ambulance and deliver it from Holland to Ukraine. They traveled over 2,600 kilometers through the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland.
In Krakow, inscriptions were made in English and Ukrainian on the ambulance to commemorate this gift from Israelis to the people of Ukraine; the Polish company Eres Garage did not charge for this work.
In mid-February 2025, this vehicle arrived at its destination in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region.
The following is commentary from the recipients of this machine. Here is what the Bratsk village council said about it:
"Finally, it happened — an ambulance arrived in the Bratsk community. A heartfelt bow and immense gratitude go to the charitable organization Israeli Friends of Ukraine, and especially to Vyacheslav Feldman, Anna Zharova, Yana Noah Lemkin, our compatriot Inna Turbaevska, and the other volunteers — true friends of Ukraine from Israel — who helped with the fundraising, purchase, and delivery of this wonderful vehicle to the Bratsk community."
On 10 February, the deputy head of the village, Natalia Benkovska, handed over the car to the staff of the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Bratsk Village Council, which had long needed such a vehicle.
The vehicle will assist lonely elderly citizens, disabled individuals, and other groups within the population. In particular, it will support the efforts of on-site teams traveling to remote community settlements, as well as the transportation of people with disabilities or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Volunteers from the Netherlands sent medicines and hygiene products to our community by car, and we are very grateful to them. We sincerely thank Oleksandr Dyuzhenko, who transferred the car from the state border."
Text: Shimon Briman (Israel)
Photo and video: Israeli Friends of Ukraine