Gents, I've been asked by a very good friend if I can organise a delivery of medical supplies to Starobelsk. It's about 100km north of Luhansk. Also known as Starobilsk.
What is the chance of what I can send actually reaching them? It's nothing controversial. Some antibiotics, rubber gloves, basic triage materials, bandages. Are there any deliveries getting in? Is there any way to make sure they do? A code or a person? I have my address and contact but I wonder how a western delivery will reach someone well within the rebel territory, even though the contents are beneficial.
In my experience DHL obviously pay Kiev customs a bigger bribe than do UPS, that should secure any delivery thru Kiev, what happens thereafter may be anyone's guess
OPP, the chances of your package getting through are nill. I have been asked several times about this possibility a and have no success with it.
The Kiev government will re appropriate it guaranteed. I have had problems getting people out of this region with 0% success in past 2 months.
To think something will come in to this region is fairy tale
2 weeks ago, I had 150kg of humanitarian aid for Luhansk arrive and authorities wanted huge bribes even though it was for orphanage kids. needless to say I was very pissed!! This was even on Ukrainian side for kremminia.
OPP, I know your intentions are good but its just not gonna happen now. your package will be opened and re-appropriated as the government sees fit.
Update - I re-routed the package to Kiev and it was signed for by a trusted friend (15 years). Another $200 US to pass but it is in his hands. How it gets to Starolbilsk now I do not know.
There are stories about humanitarian stations in Luhansk being targeted, which is horrible, but that tells me that government approval and contacts are required for formal deliveries of aid.
Another method which is possible is informal. The idea is to send it to a city to non-rebel held territories to the north and send it by boat (the motor can be turned off) or even submersible drone downstream to a point of contact in Starolbilsk, probably under cover of night. I cannot tell what kind of boating patrols there would be, but there's a better chance of the aid not being detained and confiscated like the aid can be with road blocks.
My in laws go in and out of donetsk every month. The government there no longer pays their equivalent of social security. Also jobs in donetsk only pay 50% of what they did under ukrainian rule. Because of this my in laws leave donetsk by train and go to a city about 3 hours west of there. Here his wife can get her social security.
I Help them all 8 can and wire money to moscow. This is because the pro russian terrorists have made giving dollars out illegal. Their daughter who lives in Moscow brings the money to her parents in dollars where the black market will pay MUCH more than the official exchange rate for $100 bills.
Im not sure they can go in and out anymore Tom Shea.
We paid big bucks to evacuate people out of Schastya this past week and at the checkpoint near there confirmed that
the odds of going into terrorist controlled areas would need a damn good reason and will usually be automatically denied the first time.
I don't know if you this yet Tom Shea, it has been a while since anybody was going to receive dollars in wire exchanges, any money sent to Ukraine is given out in hryvnias. BTW, that long trip for social security is waste of time considering the amount being paid. Between your riches and your dermatologist wife, your in-laws should be fine(financially).
Just 8 months ago they would recieve dollars in donetsk. It's just been the last 2 times they couldn't. You are right, 3 hours is a long trip for $125 or so, especially now because I bet their retirement is paid in a fixed amount of hyvrina.
Unfortunately my wife was a dermatologist over in ukraine, not here. She is still arranging the necessary tests to pass the boards over here. There's all kinds of hoops to jump thru. She has to have her education evaluated class by class before they can tell her if she can even go straight to testing. It is taking forever.