How BIKES Are SAVING LIVES in the UKRAINE WAR | Report – AT

In the midst of war, Ukraine faces severe shortages, from transport to essential goods. To help, a Danish NGO has been sending secondhand bicycles from Western Europe, allowing volunteers to deliver food, medicine, and humanitarian aid to those in need. These bikes have become lifelines for social services and communities struggling in cities like Chernihiv, Lviv, and areas near the front lines.

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This documentary shows how bicycles collected across Europe, from Denmark, Germany, and Hungary, are helping Ukrainian volunteers navigate destroyed roads, bring supplies to vulnerable populations, and restore a sense of normalcy for children and displaced families. It highlights the dedication of volunteers like Alexander Zitnikov and social workers such as Oena Piktar, as well as the profound impact that these “solidarity bikes” have on daily life, hope, and resilience in a country at war.

00:00 – Introduction: Ukraine’s transport crisis amid war
01:40 – Collecting and sending bikes from Europe
03:20 – Distribution and volunteer efforts in Chernihiv
05:00 – Supporting vulnerable communities and social services
06:40 – Bringing joy to children and displaced families
08:20 – Solidarity, hope, and resilience across Ukraine

Report by P. Laurent, L. Paleyand V. Barrault
All rights reserved.

#Ukraine #SolidarityBikes #WarRelief #HumanitarianAid #Volunteers #Hope #Resilience

Ukraine is at war. Painfully short on missiles, tanks, and combat aircraft. The country also lacks most other things, particularly transport. Petrol is rare. Its price has more than doubled since the Russian invasion. The roads are ruined and buses are running slowly. Amidst this desolation, this lorry is unloading a solution. For the fourth time since the conflict began, a Danish NGO has delivered an articulated lorry packed full of secondhand bicycles from Western Europe. They’ll be stored at this construction site in Ke until they can be distributed. Okay, let’s do it. The truck arrived from this one is from Budapest. All these bikes are donated from the people of Hungary. So all the bikes here and then from here small vans, small trucks delivering them to uh NOS’s volunteers who will use them to as lifelines um delivering food, medicine, humanitarian aid, the post. Good quality bikes are a luxury here. The local industry doesn’t produce them anymore as Ukrainians have other priorities, but they still need to get around. Okay, so now we have more room to work. Mikail Cville Anderson, a Danish urban planner specialized in cycling infrastructure, has been collecting bikes from Denmark, Germany, and Hungary for the past year. So in April 2022, some urban planning colleagues of mine in Leviv, they said, “We need bikes.” They had 200,000 refugees from other parts of Ukraine and their trans paralyzed. So they said, “Michael, you’re in Denmark. Like you have bikes.” And I said, “Yeah, let me try and find some bikes for you guys.” 10 months later, it’s taken over my life. In one year, almost 1,000 used bikes have been delivered, donated by Europeans who are happy to have been able to contribute to the Ukrainian war effort in this way back in the days. But this guy, he literally wrote a long letter about his this bicycle like he’s in it was bought on the 10th of October 1978 when he was 11 years old. His dad used it and then he rode it and it used to be green and it was built in car and then he says, you know, don’t forget that half of Hungary supports you. We’re not all or bands. [Music] Almost everywhere in Ukraine, bicycles are replacing cars more and more. Here in Chernah, 150 km to the north of Kev and close to the Bellarusian border, the Danish bikes have enabled social services to continue to function. [Music] Oena Piktar is one of 96 social workers in Cheneive. Before the invasion, she traveled on public transport. Last July, her center received around 10 bikes. foreign. [Music] Uhhuh. [Music] Since the Russian invasion began, almost all Ukrainians volunteered their time for various associations, NOS’s and charities across the country. So this is the volunteer storage and they write me the address of a person whom I should deliver the package. Alexander Zitnikov is a web editor in his normal life, but he’s currently volunteering at this center. He also received a bike last summer. He delivers essential products to vulnerable people in Chernah who can no longer get around. These parcels are funded by donations. When the full-scale invasion started last year, I wanted to do something for this city. I wanted to help and I started to deliver packages with hygiene, domestic chemistry and food to uh different districts in Chernig. Uhhuh. Yeah. Mhm. [Music] Yeah, I think that uh delivering goods and nutrition and some other humanitarian help to people using bicycle is uh first uh very much um helpful and when I uh help people. I feel myself not only a volunteer but a you know a a modern person person of like a true European who uses bicycles in everyday life. In Kev the bicycle allocation has been organized. Volunteers from Ken and Zaporia have come to collect the bikes donated by Hungarians. They have to choose bikes that work well because where they’re taking them is close to Russian lines where they won’t have the means all the time to make repairs. Have a truck here, really cool guy who uh is going to take I think 60 bikes today to Zaporicia and Kim. We’re having a discussion about how many bikes we can fit in the truck. We have a bet going on here. He says we can get a 100, but I don’t think we can. Andre is a volunteer for a charity which has asked him to bring back around 60 bikes for its volunteers and employees. He knows that he’ll be very exposed on the roads. [Music] Alexander is 71 years old and lives in Ken which had been occupied by the Russian army for 8 months and has been on the front line ever since. He has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bikes which will be so helpful there. Yeah. And try to get more bikes to have some. All right, Alexander. [Music] Duck. [Music] Today, more than 5 million Ukrainians are still refugees in their own country, fleeing Russian fighting or occupation. Some of them have joined their families in other Ukrainian towns and cities. Others rent apartments, but there are still many of them living in camps. Here in Lviv, a town in the west close to the Polish border, more than 150,000 displaced people are still waiting to be able to go home. far away from this camp which was built and is funded by the Polish government. All of them fled combat zones, bringing only the absolute necessities and their grief with them. When the bikes arrived, they changed the children’s lives. [Music] [Music] [Music] Yes. Oh wow. [Music] a gang of mates and an old bike to show off. It’s the small things when you’re 10 years old. In Ukraine, the Solidarity bikes help grown-ups in many ways. And they’ve also put a little sparkle of happiness back in the eyes of these children.