As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, public transport is intermittent or non-operational and fuel is scarce in the worst-hit areas of the country. This means that the bicycle has become the most reliable, or only, transport mode for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the movement of critical workers. Therefore, the #BikesForUkraine campaign collects and delivers donated bicycles to Ukrainian volunteers, aid workers, critical staff and children’s homes across the affected areas.
A large shipment of nearly 500 bicycles, which were collected by the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications, left Vilnius for Ukraine on 19 May in support of the #BikesForUkraine campaign. The Ministry set up 25 collection points around Lithuania, and around half of the bicycles were donated by the residents of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. Each bicycle is marked with a sticker saying “With love from Lithuania”. Read more on the Ministry website.
In 2022, staff volunteers from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport also organised a large-scale bicycle collection.
The #BikesForUkraine campaign was initiated by six Ukrainian NGOs: U-Cycle (‘Kyiv Cyclists’ Association’), ‘Eco Misto’ (Chernihiv), ‘Youth Association Extreme Style’ (Sumy), ‘Urban Reform’ (Kharkiv), ‘FORZA‘ (Uzhhorod) and ‘VeloVector‘ (Odesa) to help people in need. According to the #BikesForUkraine campaign website, by April 2023 more than 2450 requests for bicycles had been registered online and just over 1000 bicycles had been donated, meaning that many more bicycles are still needed!
Individuals can help the campaign in many ways, including:
- Purchase bicycles in Ukraine and transfer them to the campaign organisers
- Collect and repair used bicycles in your neighbourhood and organise their transfer to Ukraine
- Ask bicycle sales points to donate bicycles
- Make a donation online
For more details on how to help, check out the #BikesForUkraine website.
Please support the #BikesForUkraine campaign today!