BULLDOZER UKRAINE
What is Evacuation 200?
When a soldier gives his life to defend his country, every one of them deserves the respect of being laid to rest. And every soldier's mother, father, wife, child, brother, sister, friend, deserves to be able to bury their loved one.
When a soldier falls at the front, who returns them home? '200' is the military code for a soldier killed in action. Evacuation 200 (or 'On the Shield') is the Ukrainian term for returning fallen soldiers to their home.
Returning fallen soldiers requires specialist, refrigerated vehicles; families who have lost their loved ones cannot bring these soldiers home themselves.
Bulldozer is a team of Ukrainian volunteers who perform this difficult task.
In Ukraine, every time you see a vehicle with '200' stamped on it, you know that it is carrying these soldiers home. Such is the emotion and respect that surrounds these journeys, that as these vehicles drive across Ukraine, soldiers and civilians alike will go down on one knee as they drive past.
Who is Bulldozer?
Oleksandr Nahaiets was serving in the Ukrainian army in 2016 when he bravely began crossing the frontline and going into Russian-occupied territory to retrieve fallen Ukrainian soldiers. He was given the call-sign "Bulldozer", because of his strength and resilience despite the danger. After his military service ended in 2020, he registered Bulldozer as a charity so that he had official permission to continue his important work despite working alone.
Two days after Russia's full scale invasion in 2022 he volunteered to fight, but was personally requested by the military to continue his important work. He therefore expanded the team and the fleet of vehicles.
Oleksandr and his team have become known for the speed of their operation (once they receive a request, they are typically on the road within an hour) and the sensitivity with which they communicate with the families of fallen soldiers.
It doesn't matter if it is a family member calling them to ask them to retrieve their loved one, or an army brigade asking them to return some of their fallen soldiers home:
Bulldozer has never once declined or failed to fulfil a request.
Coverage
Bulldozer's heroic work has been featured in in the award-winning documentary feature film Dear Beautiful Beloved and Alina Logvinenko's book Дай мені довгу памʼять (Give Me a Long Memory)
What Can I Do To Help?
It is very simple - without funds for fuel and vehicle maintenance and repair, Bulldozer cannot do their work.
Bulldozer now has a team of around 15 drivers and vehicles which are constantly on the road. The team drives over 1000 km every day, driving long distances all over the country to fallen soldiers' homes.
Any donation you are able to give will enable them to continue their incredibly important work.
How to Donate
(1) To donate via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Monobank, please click here*:
https://send.monobank.ua/jar/AdQbj72Mdc
*Please note, if your bank is not based in Ukraine, on occasion your bank may block your donation. Please contact us using the email address below if you experience any issues.
(2) To donate via PayPal, please send your donation to**:
**If you select "Friends and family" as the recipient category Bulldozer does not incur donation fees.
