How to help Ukraine: Leleka Foundation and procurement of front-line medical supplies (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members, 

Thank you for your continued support. We have exciting news for you — we are launching a new membership benefit, based on your feedback. We’ve heard extensively from you that there’s interest in learning more about how to help Ukraine and opportunities to get more involved. 

As a result, we’re starting a newsletter that will highlight organizations helping Ukraine, taking a closer look at the critical work they do, and explaining how you can help them by donating or in some cases, volunteering.  

This is the first edition of our “How can I help Ukraine?” newsletter, and we’re proud to be able to feature the work of the Leleka Foundation, a U.S.-Ukrainian charity that procures medical supplies for those on the front lines. 

Leleka is currently raising $100,000 to deliver 100 more medical backpacks to front-line medics — their most requested item. Each backpack has enough equipment to save 10 lives. You can make a donation here, and every bit counts. For context, $25 is about the price of a tourniquet, which can save a life on its own. 

Leleka works directly with the field medics to provide the critical supplies they need — quickly and precisely.

Tactical medical backpacks are the most popular request from medics for Leleka. 

Leleka Foundation was founded in December 2014, when several Ukrainians in the United States joined forces with volunteer initiatives in Ukraine to procure and supply medical and first-aid equipment for paramedics, ambulances, and hospitals. The Ukrainian word “leleka” translates to “stork” in English. In Ukrainian culture, the stork symbolizes peace, happiness, home, and family.

After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Leleka’s team rebuilt its logistics chain to focus on supplying critical medical equipment and protective gear to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians on the front line.

Leleka is currently a team of 20 staff members and volunteers across two continents. They have a decade of experience in procurement of high-quality emergency medical supplies, and they’ve also built strong, long-term partnerships with distributors around the world. They work directly with front-line medics, making sure they’re delivering exactly what the medics need — and because of their streamlined operations, it only takes 2-3 weeks from receiving a donation to delivering the supplies to medics in the field. 

Right now, Leleka Foundation focuses on four main priorities:

Tactical medical backpacks. A fully-equipped backpack contains enough equipment to provide life-saving care to up to 10 wounded individuals. Leleka’s backpacks are stocked with tourniquets, bandages, hemostatic dressings, chest seals, soft splints, trauma shears, burn treatments, and more. Each backpack contains over 100 essential medical items and weighs approximately 22 pounds. These backpacks are the number one, most popular request from medics. Each costs $1,000. 

Stretchers. Stretchers are also among the most requested medical supplies from the front lines. Depending on the stage of evacuation, medics use one of three main types: soft fabric stretchers for quick extractions, plastic drag stretchers for transport over rough terrain, and rigid, metal-framed stretchers for stable, long-distance movement. Stretchers are vital for ensuring safe, rapid, and minimally traumatic evacuation of the wounded.

Casualty evacuation vehicles (CASEVACs). These vehicles are in high demand, as rapid and safe evacuation is critical for the survival of the wounded. Leleka’s team uses both new and high-quality used vehicles, ensuring they are painted, repaired, reinforced, and custom-outfitted with specialized stretchers, medical organizers, medical equipment — the modifications are based on the specific needs of front-line units.

Anti-drone systems for CASEVACs. Ukrainian medics risk their lives daily to evacuate the wounded from active combat zones. Today, they face a new and deadly threat: Russian FPV (first-person view) drones targeting medical evacuation vehicles. These attacks interrupt critical missions and cost lives that could be saved. That’s why Leleka equips CASEVACs with anti-drone systems — allowing medics to reach and evacuate the wounded more safely and dramatically increasing survival rates. Demand for these systems is overwhelming, with waiting lists stretching for months.

Evacuations can sometimes take up to 12 hours, making a medic’s skills and equipment critical to stabilizing and saving lives. 

Since 2014, Leleka has raised over $13 million, which has funded more than 12,285 medical backpacks, over 50 casualty evacuation vehicles, and more than 150 anti-drone jamming systems, as well as advanced equipment for hospitals, such as equipment for diagnostic imaging and surgeries.

The foundation is currently raising $100,000 to deliver 100 more medical backpacks — which is enough to save 1,000 lives. They’re also a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, meaning that contributions may be tax deductible to U.S. residents. Their tax identification number is 47-2377309. 

You can support their mission here or by sharing about Leleka Foundation and their work with your network. 

You can find Leleka on social media too, including Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.

Thank you for your support — and we hope you find these letters highlighting organizations like Leleka Foundation insightful. If you have any questions or feedback about our newsletter, please feel free to respond directly to this email or reach out via email at brooke@kyivindependent.com and let us know what you think of this new membership benefit.