Tesco
One Seat in Coach, 36 Suitcases and Enough Kevlar to Fight a War
Article

One Seat in Coach, 36 Suitcases and Enough Kevlar to Fight a War

The Ukrainian Americans supplying an army on their own.

Matt Stieb
New York Magazine, 2022
Read the article

Read or listen offline

  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Ukrainian-Americans have sent military gear to their countrymen to combat Russian-supported separatists since 2014. Now, their push to get helmets, boots and body armor to Ukrainian civilian-soldiers has ramped up, but traditional shipping companies can no longer fly into Ukraine. As Matt Stieb reports in New York Magazine, getting bags of equipment into Ukraine requires a symphony of coordination, generosity, lack of sleep and, once there, bravery. He traces the delivery of 36 checked duffel bags from US supporters to a traveler headed to Warsaw and then to the van driver who ferries them over the border into Ukraine. Once the hardy driver delivers the shipment, the cycle starts again.

Take-Aways

  • Ukrainian-Americans are outfitting newly recruited civilian fighters in Ukraine by sending military supplies with travelers on commercial flights.
  • A Ukrainian-American driver meets the shipment in Warsaw, crosses the border and delivers it to a Ukrainian military base.

About the Author

 Matt Stieb, an associate editor and writer for New York Magazine, has also written for The Baffler and fieldmag.com.

Comment on this summary or Начать обсуждение