Team4Ukraine (T4U) was created by experts who have been working on various projects in Ukraine since 2014. T4U is primarily focused on support and development of civil society in Ukraine, professionalization of the non-governmental sector, exchange of information and experience between the Czech Republic and Ukraine in the areas of security and public administration, support to the security forces of Ukraine aimed at achieving compatibility with the operational standards of EU and NATO forces, direct humanitarian support to civilians affected by the war and, last but not least, material and other assistance to specific units of the defenders of Ukraine.
Current 5 pillars of activities:
1) Monitoring and analysis
2) Exchange of knowledge and experience between the Czech Republic and the UA in the field of defence and security
3) Concrete and direct humanitarian aid to civilians
4) Concrete and direct assistance to the defenders of Ukraine
5) Cyber security and information warfare
T4U members and collaborators have undertaken a number of monitoring missions, research trips and humanitarian aid expeditions, as well as practical and theoretical seminars on the topics of security forces reform, cyber and information security, tactical training, hybrid warfare methods and its manifestations, sharing their experiences of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Great Britain, Germany and other countries. In addition to the aforementioned T4U, it supplies the defenders of Ukraine with the necessary special equipment.
Part of the monitoring missions that T4U members have been carrying out practically without interruption since the beginning of the Russian invasion is the collection of evidence for the purposes of war crimes investigations. T4U members engaged in monitoring activities are specially trained observers and criminologists with experience in international observation missions (OSCE), who coordinate their activities in the field with Ukrainian and Czech law enforcement authorities.
After the all-out Russian attack on 24/02/2022, Team4Ukraine immediately dispatched the first convoys with humanitarian aid and material for the defenders. Humanitarian activities focus primarily on health, logistics, the safety of civilians affected by the war and the distribution of non-food aid. The organization has already received several hundred tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and is traveling practically non-stop.
Our largest collection was focused on 3 Humvee ambulances with a subsequent modification for the transport of the wounded. The cost of acquiring vehicles, preparing them, purchasing medical equipment and transporting them to the front line amounts to CZK 6,000,000. Time is of the essence and ambulances must be procured and delivered to their destination as soon as possible. Ordinary ambulances, which we secured thanks to the last collection, are already saving human lives on a daily basis. We also delivered, for example, lung ventilators for a hospital in Poltava, medical material and supplies for a children's home in Vinica (where we also organized Christmas for children affected by the war) or equipment for a looted hospital in Kherson.
T4U has established various levels of cooperation with NGOs, police, universities and local government practically all over Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on the east (Kharkiv Oblast) and southeast (Kherson Oblast) of the country. T4U can respond promptly to the needs of our colleagues. Thanks to a wide range of contacts covering the whole country, we can draw up a qualified opinion, prepare transformation projects and analyses; after mutual agreement with partners, we can organize training, seminars or other projects based on specific requirements and local needs and thus implement precise and direct assistance. In contrast to many international humanitarian organizations, whose internal guidelines and security restrictions limit aid geographically and by selecting beneficiaries, we can implement our relatively inexpensive projects even in areas such as the zone of operations of joint forces (formerly the zone of anti-terrorist operations), which are for many others inaccessible to international partners and deliver aid not only to the civilian population, but also to defenders and volunteers on the front line. We can maintain a continuous low-level operation under virtually any circumstances.
We expect that the security situation in the region (and potentially in Europe) may deteriorate significantly, and we are preparing for crisis scenarios. We stay up-to-date by constantly monitoring the situation in the field, assessing risks and holding hands-on training. Grants and financial contributions naturally allow us to expand our scope and improve the quality of the association's operation and the help offered.
We thank you for any support that will enable the long-term sustainability of our activities.
Word from the Chair:
PhDr. Petr Pojman, Ph.D. , Criminologist and political analyst
In the past years, T4U has implemented several projects a year in Ukraine and a brief information on the web and in the media was enough. This changed last February. Since then, we have been carrying out operations and deliveries of material every month to help Ukraine and the West defeat the aggressive and deviant Russian regime. Our monitoring activities also contribute to making the West understand that the defeat of Russian imperialism and fascism must be an absolute priority! Far from just pushing Russian forces out of Ukraine, there must also be the elimination of Russia's potential for any further aggression! Otherwise it will only be a postponement of the war, and in a few years we will again see mass graves, deportations and bombings. This has always been the case in Russia's history, and there is no reason to believe that it will be any different this time.
The turn of 2013 and 2014 was the real beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, and it was at this time that Team 4 Ukraine (T4U) gradually began to form. It was originally created by experts who were interested in the situation in Ukraine and were working in the country on various projects aimed primarily at reforming the security forces and cybersecurity. T4U was also dedicated to monitoring and analysing the situation in the country. The understanding of what was going on in the country at that time was significantly worse than today in the Czech Republic and the EU.
T4U has transformed from an initially informal group of enthusiasts into a systematically functioning organisation, which was officially registered in 2017 and established cooperation with most of the security forces in the Czech Republic and Ukraine. With the support of the Czech Ministry of Interior, the International Visegrad Fund, the Police of the Czech Republic and others, T4U has implemented a number of security projects in Ukraine.
As it was already obvious that Russia would continue its aggression, some T4U members joined the active reserves of the Czech Armed Forces. This was not only to acquire the necessary skills, but also to supplement the already existing team with military experts.
And then came February 24, 2022, and a new chapter in the team's history began to unfold. Russia finally abandoned hybrid warfare tactics and committed to a full-scale invasion. The Russian army entered the territory of Ukraine from several directions and the Russian military air force launched a massive bombing campaign. The number of casualties, already in the first days of the invasion, exceeded many times the number of casualties of the previous 8 years of war. The biggest conflict in Europe since 1945 had begun. And our lives were changed forever, in a new reality, the war put everyone in their place. Some of the team were in Ukraine on those February days. Some were even in the occupied, as it was then called - non-government-controlled part of it, as OSCE monitors. Others came to Kiev a few days before 24 February to support their local colleagues. All of them had to be forcibly evacuated from the country after the attack. However, already during the evacuation, we started to organise the return journey - already in different positions, with different equipment and with different tasks. It was during these days that the T4U expanded to include a military section in just a few days.
Through members of the Active Reserves, cooperation with the Ministry of Defence was initiated. The first deliveries of equipment were taken by T4U members across the Polish-Ukrainian border the following week. Since March, regular transport of material to the defenders of Ukraine and also monitoring of war crimes has already started. T4U website launches public collections and cooperation with other donors....
Since the first days when the defenders of Ukraine lacked practically everything, we are now in a situation where we support specific units and try to provide exactly the equipment they need to perform specific tasks. We also have priority regions where we have the necessary network of contacts. For example, in the Kharkiv region, in addition to humanitarian work, we are systematically monitoring war crimes. In Kherson and the surrounding area, we are not only supporting the military, but also supporting the local children's hospital, which we have equipped with ambulances and medical equipment. The hospital lost all this as a result of the Russian occupation. After Russia blew up the Kachov dam, our team operated in the Kherson region with several boats and helped evacuate people and animals from the flooded areas.
And it all started on the way from Prague to Uzhhorod, Kiev and Kharkiv, sometime in early 2014. That's when we gradually started to find our way around the country, that's when we started our first projects. February 2022 radically transformed and expanded our organization. However, the defeat of Russia in Ukraine should not be the end of our mission. The aim of this war should be to destroy the military potential of Russia whose political and social regime has completely discredited itself. Without fundamental transformation, it will continue to pose a threat even after the war is lost. The Kremlin's original plans were grandiose. Ukraine was to fall in a matter of days. Under the aura of victory, some other countries of the former USSR, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, or at least the northern part of it, were to fall at Russia's feet. Putin was also counting on an attack on the Baltic States and the dismantling of NATO, which, in his view, would not come to the rescue in the given situation. However, the Kremlin's imperial plans ran up against Ukrainian intransigence. The majority of society joined in the defence of the country, and NATO and EU countries in turn began to provide assistance. The voices of Russian collaborators in Europe have fallen silent.
Ukraine declared a mobilisation and began to systematically and with the help of Western weapons push the adversary out of its territory. All this, however, at a very high price. Some colleagues, old friends, will never return - they gave their lives for the defense of their homeland. Also in the spirit of their memory, we will continue to act as long as it is necessary.
And we will never give up!
Word from the Vice-Chairman:
Ing. Jan Heřmánek
Volunteer organization, let alone its co-management, was a completely unknown thing for me, yet since February 2022 I have been working within Team 4 Ukraine (T4U). On the very 2nd day of the invasion, I went with several colleagues to the invaded Ukraine with aid, both for civilians and with equipment for Ukrainian soldiers to defend their homeland. From this initial action for me, it became a regular activity and from a small team of a few people, T4U has grown to a number of around twenty volunteers who spend most of their free time, holidays and energy helping the invaded Ukraine. Due to T4U's long term presence in Ukraine (since 2014), we have built a network of contacts with military units, local governments and other organizations in Ukraine. These links have been very helpful in targeting our aid, with several aid deliveries to large convoys to conflict areas in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the invasion, we have taken pride in taking material aid to where it is really needed, even if it is frontline or heavily shelled areas. In addition to material aid, since the beginning of the war we have been mapping Russia's war crimes against Ukraine with monitoring teams, helping with first aid education for troops or other volunteer organizations, and also drawing on the experience of the Ukrainian armed forces for analysis and possible use in the defense of our homeland. We have visited the war-torn country many times in 2022 and according to feedback from our Ukrainian friends, our assistance has saved at least dozens, more likely hundreds of lives. We could not have done any of this if it were not for the overwhelming solidarity of the Czech nation and the support of all those who help us to help. Thank you!
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