Toledo native not letting up Ukrainian aid efforts

It has been four years since the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia, yet Jeff Hartman and his partners at Ukrainian Action remain hard at work helping those affected.

“Time is passing, people are going on with their lives, including people in Ukraine,” said Mr. Hartman, a Toledo native and graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School who lives in the United Kingdom.

“People are surprised to see there is a functioning society in Ukraine despite the challenges of missile attacks, drone attacks, and power outages,” he said.

Still, some things for Mr. Hartman’s nonprofit have not changed. As it did when it started in 2022, Ukrainian Action continues regular supply runs every two weeks, trucking in supplies more than 1,000 miles from the United Kingdom to Ukraine.

The number of convoys completed since then is now up to 93. The “supplies” have an emphasis on vehicles like ambulances and pick-up trucks which are used for medical evacuations. These vehicles then carry things like power banks and generators to people in need.

“Realistically, the shopping list has not changed in four years,” Mr. Hartman said.

The group has since expanded and diversified what it offers as well, through the help of donors in the United Kingdom and United States alongside a few foundations. Mr. Hartman said the donor base is strong because people see where the money is going.

Roman Oleksenko, a volunteer with Ukrainian Action, is a Ukrainian Army veteran, and a friend of Mr. Hartman’s going back decades. He works to identify recipients of aid in Ukraine, and communicate needs to the Ukrainian Action team in London.

He said nearly 100 supply convoys have shown the group a lot of things over the years.

“Initially we did not have a clear idea of how the system would allow us to be efficient and effective in delivering aid to Ukraine,” Mr. Oleksenko said. “There was a lot going on but we were not really keen on the process.

“In the past four years, we have almost a full understanding of what is required to be a responsible player in Ukraine and operate within the law,” he said.

In 2024, Ukrainian Action started working with Ukrainian veterans on a unique program involving skiing and recovery.

“It is modeled after similar programs in the U.S. and U.K., which use sports and recreational therapy to treat veterans with physical and mental trauma sustained during warfare,” Mr. Hartman said.

The program, based in the Carpathian Mountains and called Ukrainian Action Heroes, also includes group therapy sessions and psychological self-help tools to deal with post-traumatic stress. The spouses of veterans are involved as well.

“The government is rightly so focused on eliminating the invaders from the country that it doesn’t have as many resources as it probably would like to support veterans that have been negatively affected,” Mr. Hartman said.

“After witnessing my own personal friends just go back to work with their injuries with no real break, let alone any support,” he said, “it was apparent to me that there was a big opportunity to support the men and women that were serving their country.”

The skiing program has helped more than 60 people this year across four sessions that concluded in March.

More than 200 people have been helped since the program started and there is also a summer session that involves hiking instead of snow sports.

On top of this, the group hopes to get into more reconstruction projects in Ukraine going forward.

As a Ukrainian, based in Kyiv, Mr. Oleksenko said he sees the war through a certain lens. He notes Russian aggression in 2014 as the beginning of this war, and laments periods of inaction from allies around the world including the United States at various points in the last 12 years.

“We have learned to be reliant on ourselves when it comes to resisting the invasion,” he said, “obviously without help from our partners, including the United States. ... We have been able to slow down the enemy, buy ourselves some time, but also buy everybody else some time.”

That time, the volunteer said, is needed for those around the world to realize and prepare for the threats being presented in eastern Europe and, by extension, globally.

“Our goal is to make sure that Russia does not have the means to continue waging this war,” Mr. Oleksenko said.

Those interested in donating to Ukrainian Action can do so at ukrainianaction.com.

Contact Vincent Lucarelli at

vlucarelli@theblade.com.