We received this news email from our friends at Help99. We felt that both their comment on the Russian Shahed attack on Poland, and this story of a Polish woman wanting to help Ukraine are important to share, so with their permission we’re sharing their email here as a guest post.
Remember, you can support Help99’s convoys of trucks and equipment to Ukraine by visiting their funding campaigns here. They send out wonderful patches to supporters and are doing amazing work directly supporting the front lines in Ukraine.
From Help99:
This night Poland was invaded by up to 20 russian Shahed drones. Poland has now switched the entire country into a higher state of readiness and invoked NATO article 4 (NATO Article 4 is a provision for mandatory consultation among member states when the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any member is threatened).
Make no mistake — this was not an accident. russia is testing the West. First, one drone. Then two. Now twenty. What will NATO do? What will happen when it’s 200… or 1000?
This is the reality: russia has no interest in peace. It remains an aggressive state, threatening not only Ukraine but all of Europe.
How do we stand against it?
The answer is simple — unity. Ukraine proved it in 2022, when against all odds it held back the invasion. Unity saved Ukraine, and unity will save Europe.
Let me share a story from our last convoy that shows what unity looks like in practice.
The story about one Polish Lady
We had already been on the road nearly 14 hours, preparing trucks in Estonia, combining them into convoys, and driving them across Latvia, Lithuania, and into Poland on the way to Ukraine.
It was evening. The highway ended, and we found ourselves crawling through a small Polish town, stuck in traffic. Narrow streets, tired drivers, long lines at the traffic lights. Only a few cars could pass on each green.
Suddenly, a woman — maybe 35 years old — knocked on the truck window. At first, we thought she was upset about the way we were parked. We rolled the window down, and the conversation began:
Polish Woman: “Are you going to Ukraine?”
Driver: “Yes, we are. How can we help?”
She searched quickly in her bag, pulled out some bills, and placed them on the dashboard.
Polish Woman: “Please take it. It will be more useful in Ukraine.”
And before we could react, she was gone.
It was just 200 złoty (~47€ / 55$). But for our whole convoy, the impact was indescribable.
At a time when mass media says “Europe/World is tired,” here was proof that ordinary people are not standing by. They do what they can, in their own way, in their own moment.
This is unity. This is strength. And it is clear to us: the only way russia will not dare to cross further into Europe is if Ukraine remains strong. Supporting Ukraine is not only solidarity — it is the best guarantee of peace for all of Europe.
