SEATAC, Wash. — Millions of dollars in donated emergency medical supplies will leave Sea-Tac Airport this week bound for Ukraine. By the time loading is complete, 32 tons of supplies, which includes everything from medical equipment to gauze, will fill an Airbus and head to Ukraine by way of Poland.
“This war is not just about Ukraine. This is a war for freedom in the world,” said Dmytro Kushneruk, the consul general of Ukraine in San Francisco.
The relief flight was a joint effort put together by the nonprofit Nova Ukraine and several other west coast organizations that gathered the $3.5 million in supplies. The Ukrainian Association of Washington State (UAWS) worked in partnership with the Ukrainian-American Cultural Association of Oregon and student organizations from the University of Washington and Stanford.
The equipment is going to a country whose people have held off a Russian occupation for more than a month and continue to fight.
According to the Port of Seattle, the supplies include:
- Surgical supplies like surgical tools, sutures, drug eluting cardiac stents, vessel loops, sterile field equipment, etc.
- Emergency supplies like hemostatic agents, traction splints, chest tubes, laryngoscopes, ET tubes, etc.
- Medical machines like anesthesia machines, vital monitors, ECGs, etc.
- General hospital supplies like gauze/bandages, IV/arterial lines, sterile syringes/needles, etc.
- Pre-hospital treatment supplies to help civilians wounded during Russian attacks such as pre-made Individual First Aid Kits (IFAK), bulk tourniquets, QuikClot sucking chest wound seals, gauze and bandages.
“Ukraine stands today in defense of democracy, on the front lines of democracy, defending the same rights that the people in the United States fought for and died for,” said Katya Sedova of the UAWS.
It is a fight that has wounded thousands and displaced millions of Ukrainians.
“It is why we will welcome refugees from Ukraine. We are sending medical supplies east now; we will welcome refugees coming west later,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
Earlier this month, Inslee said he’s taking steps to make sure the state cuts ties with all Russian entities doing businesses in Washington. King County is sending a similar message.
“We stand with you. We welcome refugees. We too are ensuring that not one single King County taxpayers’ dollar was going to a company aligned with the Kremlin,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
As the Russian Government further isolates itself from the rest of the world, the connection between the U.S. and Ukraine only grows stronger.