German Embassy helps at border crossing Bonner takes two emergency power generators to his Ukrainian homeland
Bonn · Vitaliy Krusch from Bonn regularly organises aid transports to his home country Ukraine - most recently he and his colleagues took two emergency power generators there. The German Embassy in Poland helped at the border crossing.
Vitaliy Krusch is actually responsible for operational planning at the grid operator Amprion. Since the Russian invasion of his homeland, however, the native Ukrainian, who has lived with his family in Bonn for 16 years, regularly organises relief transports outside of his work hours. The most recent trip was a few days ago, when he and colleagues travelled to the border region to bring two emergency power generators to the Ukrainian transmission grid operator Ukrenergo.
"Since Ukraine's civilian infrastructure has been destroyed in attacks for months, there are always power cuts," Krusch explains. This is particularly dramatic, he says, because hospitals are often affected too. Thanks to his support, several convoys with relief supplies have already set off from Bonn in recent months to provide the people in his home country with the most basic necessities (the GA reported). The GA Christmas Light also supported the Bonner in his efforts.
Before the aid team set off this time, the appropriate documents and contracts had to be signed. With the complete papers in his pocket, Krusch then got behind the wheel and set off towards the border. He accompanied two colleagues who steered the truck with the 1.4-tonne aggregates. That was no easy task. The loaded truck could only travel at a maximum speed of 85 kilometres per hour.
On the first day, after about 1000 kilometres, the volunteers reached Katowice in Poland, about 80 kilometres from Krakow. The following morning, they continued to the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing.
"We had taken care of the bureaucratic matters as far as possible in advance. Nevertheless, the border crossing is always the most complicated part of an aid transport," explains Krusch. The helpers had the same experience this time. On a stretch of about four kilometres, lorry after lorry waited to be cleared.
Help from the German embassy in Poland at the border crossing
To speed up the handover, Krusch's employer Amprion contacted the German embassy in Poland to spread the word about the urgently needed relief supplies the truck was to deliver to Ukraine. "So we were finally allowed to drive past the waiting people and were able to cross the border much faster," says Krusch. At the border crossing, the emergency generators were handed over to the colleagues from Ukrenergo, who were already waiting.
Vitaliy Krusch is happy about the successful transport: "I am glad and grateful that we can help the people on the ground so directly. The devices cushion power cuts and enable a better and more trouble-free supply of the population."
Krusch has already organised and accompanied aid transports to the Ukrainian border several times, especially with medicine and medical supplies. He also translates during the negotiations between the border officials and the drivers so that the process can take place as quickly as possible. The situation of the population in the embattled regions is still dramatic, he says. "There is a lack of everything," says Krusch. "Medicines, clothing and food." Children are doing particularly badly, he adds. "They are constantly afraid for their lives and spend most of their time in the basements of the houses."
