Wagga's Damian Nye risks his life delivering aid in war-torn Ukraine

It was on his couch in front of the TV that Damian Nye decided he was going to Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022 Russia had just escalated tensions with Ukraine that go back to the 90s and the fall of the Soviet Union, sending its army over the border, launching a full scale invasion and Mr Nye watched on in horror.

"I was sitting down watching the news like a lot of people ... I saw what Russia was doing, and how they were doing it, and absolutely didn't agree with it," he said.

"I found that they were doing some absolutely evil things and pretty much from that point I thought 'there's something I can do about this."

In fairly short order he shared his plan with his wife, booked tickets, packed his bag and left for Europe.

By April he landed in Poland and without any contacts he managed to set up an aid organisation, delivering essential supplies to Ukrainians caught up in the conflict.

And so Funds For Community Aid was born.

"When I decide to do something ... I invest everything I've got into it," he said.

"I only wanted to do humanitarian aid when I got here, but I just needed the contacts," he said.

Head held high

He made those contacts through a journalist travelling in Poland and after loading up on supplies he made his way to Ukraine where he and other good Samaritans braved an unfamiliar nation and, with the help of google translate, got aid to those in need.

In three months in Ukraine Damian estimates he burned through his superannuation helping those in need.

He also received $5000 from the Rotary Club of Wagga and donations from shops, such as Anaconda.

He came back to Australia with his head "held high" knowing he'd done everything he could.

Then Wagga veteran group Pro Patria called and told him that the Ukrainian deputy head of mission Volodymyr Shalkivsky was visiting Wagga and he needed help.

"He said 'I've got people contacting me, I don't know exactly what's going on over there. You've just been over there and have contacts, would you mind helping?'" Mr Nye said.

He returned to the conflict zone in January and has now linked up with Ukrainian Patriot, an NGO registered in Canada, the United States, and Ukraine.

Mr Nye falls back on his experience in the Australian Defence Force as he navigates this new terrain and has been delivering "tons of aid at a time" to villages that have been cut off for months, he said.

The war has displaced 8,054,405 people, according to the UN, around 19 per cent of the total Ukrainian population. It's believed the war has displaced close to six million people within Ukraine as of the end of 2022

"The Ukrainian spirit over here is massive, they have got such a big heart and they're doing it so hard," he said.

And it's not just supplies they're delivering, but a friendly face and some human interaction.

"The drop is half of it, sitting down and talking with these people and letting them know, and finding a list of what they want next time and sincerely caring about their stories is the other half of it," he said.

"Food and everything is great but these guys have got no contact."

War-fatigue

Mr Nye has been back in Ukraine for a few weeks and will spend the next three months delivering aid once more.

The war has had a huge effect on his life, apart from his savings, he is separated from loved ones and will miss the birth of his first grandson.

But mostly, he worries people around the world are starting to experience news-fatigue, forgetting the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the war-ravaged nation.

"The war hasn't ended, it's a massive conflict over here. These civilian people didn't ask for it," he said.

"They don't have a choice where they live and we're here to help them."

He's calling on Australians to pitch in and help. The cost of supplies is high, he said, with a tonne of goods costing between $10 and 13,000 to be sent to Ukraine form Australia.

"I can't do it without the funds," he said. "Guys are dipping into their own pockets."

"Please donate."

You can help here.

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