Ukraine is at war. It is defending its right to exist and protecting every street, home and community. In this struggle, alongside the courage of the Armed Forces, another powerful force is holding the rear and front lines. The power of civil society. The power of volunteers.

Decentralisation is about more than just finances, roads, and infrastructure. Above all, it is about the ability of communities to organise themselves, find their own internal resources, and take responsibility for the future of their territory. During the war, this principle is particularly evident.

Today, communities are much more than just administrative centres that ensure the functioning of society. They are also humanitarian aid hubs, coordination centres and rear bases for thousands of displaced people, as well as logistics hubs for the army. This work would not be possible without the invaluable support of volunteers, the heart of civil mutual aid.

Who are these people? How do they manage to build effective aid networks from scratch? How do they find resources and people? Most importantly, how can local governments cooperate with such organisations to strengthen both themselves and these organisations?

To answer these questions, we are publishing an interview with a person who embodies the new Ukrainian reality of civic courage and organised volunteering. Volodymyr Moseiko, a former paratrooper, is now the head of the largest volunteer organisation in western Ukraine. His story is about how a children's club and a patriotic idea evolved into a powerful organisation that feeds the army, rescues displaced people, educates children and delivers everything necessary to the front lines promptly – from drones to the ‘taste of home’ in a jar of salad.

This conversation focuses on the practice of cooperation between volunteers and local governments, the mechanisms of trust, joint projects and the power of communities, which form the foundation of our resilience today. This publication is about both heroism and work. It is about how Ukraine is being built to stand strong. Ukraine is being built on the foundations laid in every city and community through the joint efforts of the authorities and ordinary citizens.

By Dmytro Syniak

 

On 2 August 2013, the Day of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, veterans of the Afghan War, paratroopers, and other patriotic citizens gathered at the monument to Afghan War veterans in Ternopil. Among them was Volodymyr Moseiko, who served in the Airborne Forces of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine at that time and had made 20 parachute jumps. Since 1988, he had also led the ‘Young Paratrooper’ children’s club for military-patriotic education.

On that day, Mr Moseiko met Oleksandr Lishchenko, an active promoter of Cossack traditions and customs who had been the commandant of the Zhovtnevyi Palace during the Orange Revolution. Mr Lishchenko suggested that Mr Moseiko establish a large, nationwide organisation dedicated to educating young people, particularly by taking them to historical sites and involving them in environmental campaigns. Thus, the Dmytro (Baida) Vyshnevetskyi Cossack Environmental Centre was founded.

The centre received its first official document, a ‘registration certificate’, on 6 October 2013. Its first baptism of fire came two months later with the Maidan. At that time, the centre had its own sotnia (hundred) in Kyiv and was also protecting the Ternopil Maidan, organising a warming and feeding point for participants in one of the buildings at the Ternopil National Technical University.

The necessary products had to be sourced, so Volodymyr Moseiko started negotiating with entrepreneurs. Over time, these ties grew stronger. When some of the troops joined the army and found themselves in the thick of battle near Sloviansk, the centre began providing Ukrainian soldiers with everything they needed. Then they began to provide other Ukrainian military personnel as well. To make this provision more effective, Volodymyr Moseiko founded the public organisation ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’ (Airborne Cossack Troop)

At that time, Mr Moseiko only had six volunteers, but now they number six hundred! Thanks to this growth, his organisation has become the largest volunteer structure in western Ukraine. Mr Moseiko told Decentralisation how it works and how it cooperates with local authorities.

 

Volodymyr Moseiko, a former paratrooper, is now the head of the largest volunteer organisation in western Ukraine, the Dmytro (Baida) Vyshnevetskyi Cossack Paratrooper Environmental Centre (‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’)

 

The name of your organisation is somewhat unusual: the Dmytro (Baida) Vyshnevetskyi Cossack Paratrooper Environmental Centre. What meaning is conveyed by the words ‘paratrooper’, ‘Cossack’, and ‘environmental’? And what does the word ‘rii’ (swarm) in the name of your public organisation refer to?

All of these words belong to Oleksandr Lishchenko. A ‘rii’ (swarm) is a Cossack unit, but the term also has connotations of bees, meaning that we should all work together like bees. Our main areas of work are helping the army (which is why our rii is an airborne unit), national, patriotic, and responsible education for young people (which is why we focus on Cossack and ecological themes), and helping displaced persons. As this area was only recently added, it is not reflected in the name of our organisation. Nevertheless, we do a lot for displaced persons. I will not mention the distribution of humanitarian aid, as this goes without saying. For instance, we have our own mobile kitchen which we often use to provide refugees with food. In the event of drone or missile attacks, we take it to destroyed buildings to provide food for the residents, as well as for the rescuers, police officers and military personnel who arrive there.

What was the Cossack Paratrooper Environmental Centre doing before the full-scale invasion?

We started by going to Donetsk Airport, Debaltseve, Stanytsia Luhanska, and Shchastia to provide our military with everything they needed. I am proud that we were able to contribute to the strengthening of the Ukrainian army, laying the foundations for the powerful military force Ukraine has today. We later joined forces with the Khmelnytskyi and Horodok Cossacks in the Khmelnytskyi region. When we celebrated Ukrainian Unity Day with them in 2018 at the junction of the Teofipol and Lanivtsi districts, on the old Polish border, we had the idea to create a recreation and training centre there. We named it the Podilsko-Volynska Sich and immediately signed cooperation agreements with all state institutions.

Do you mean local governments and the regional administration?

Yes, of course. In particular, the Podilsko-Volynska Sich signed memoranda of cooperation with the Head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Administration and the Head of the Ternopil Regional Administration. We also have memoranda with the leaders of various communities: Teofipol, Lanivtsi, and others. They have jointly addressed a number of infrastructure issues at Sich. We implemented many interesting ideas, such as developing a tourist route along the old Polish-Soviet border. Another area of our work was the rehabilitation of military personnel. They rested at Sich with their families and received treatment and psychological support there. We also worked with children living in tents on the Sich grounds. The 10-day programme in our tent city usually included military-patriotic education, cultural activities, sports and tourism. The children learnt Cossack songs, ran, played various games, and even shot bows and arrows.

 

Classes with children in the Podilsko-Volynska Sich

 

Commemorative photo received by children from one of the shifts at the Podilsko-Volynska Sich

 

Emblem of the public organisation ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’

 

And then came 24 February 2022...

We immediately strengthened our volunteer component by opening our own volunteer centre in Ternopil, for example. As people trusted us, we were able to quickly increase the amount of aid we provided. Every day, 10–15 buses left for the east carrying humanitarian aid and returned full of refugees. We also began opening centres in almost every district centre in the Ternopil region. At the same time, we signed agreements with several foreign partners. The American United Support Fund Ukraine provided more than USD 64 million in various forms of aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine through us alone. We also have logistical assistance agreements with four brigades, including the renowned Third Assault Brigade, now known as the Third Army Corps. Just today, we sent 10 tonnes of various volunteer aid to them in accordance with submitted requests. We fulfil small requests from a total of 70 brigades.

What is logistical support?

It is the delivery of military equipment on our flatbed trucks to workshops and its subsequent return. But that is not all we do. We have a very wide range of capabilities. For example, we manufacture various combat drones ourselves.

 

Delivery of aid to the military in Popasna

 

In the premises of the ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’

 

A volunteer from the ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’ at work

 

Do you receive a salary at your volunteer organisation? After all, this work must take up a lot of your time.

None of our employees receive a salary. This is one of our mandatory conditions. Instead, we have a management and marketing department comprising farmers and entrepreneurs. When we require 800 litres of diesel fuel to refuel a truck travelling to a frontline region, for example, we turn to them. We also have a department responsible for relations with foreign partners, who provide us with various forms of assistance. As we have a centre at Ternopil National Technical University, many of its employees join us as soon as they have a free hour. I myself teach military training and military intelligence at this university. I am not sure if a volunteer certificate can be considered a salary, but even that is not given out for free – to receive it, people must work with us for at least a year.

How much can you accomplish in an hour of free time?

A lot! For example, I can pack a dozen boxes for our soldiers on the battlefield. Each box contains coffee, tea, canned meat, canned salads, jam, cookies, and, of course, children’s drawings. Wherever I go, whatever units I visit, there are always children’s drawings. They even stick them inside tanks and armoured personnel carriers. This way, our boys and girls are constantly reminded of who and what they are fighting for... We have work for everyone. Pensioners make dumplings and entrepreneurs buy Starlinks. We sent ten of them just yesterday. Finally, many of our volunteers work with children, which is a whole other story: sessions can last as little as an hour.

What is the most difficult part of your volunteer work?

I would answer with a quote from the film ‘Only “Old Men” Are Going into Battle’: ‘The hardest thing is waiting.’ I have been waiting for almost twelve years for this bloody war to end. At the beginning, my dad asked me if I was afraid to go to the battlefield. I told him that the scariest thing for me was transporting the body of a fallen soldier to his mother. I hope no one ever has to go through that!..

What inspires you the most?

The gratitude of the military! Imagine this: in Avdiivka, a soldier eats our salad straight from the jar and cries. He apologises for his tears, saying they just flow. He says that we have given him a ‘taste of home’. Moments like these keep us going, even when things are really tough. The military are never short of gratitude, though. In fact, we probably have the largest flag museum in Ukraine. There are over 70 flags! We not only conduct tours of the museum, but also hold mine safety classes. The museum is mobile, so we take it to different schools from time to time.

What is the most valuable exhibit in your museum?

This is the engine of a russian S-400 missile, which can cost up to USD 6 million depending on the type. This perfectly illustrates the values of the ‘russian world’. Had the russians given Ukraine all the money they have spent on killing our people and destroying our homes, we would have welcomed them with open arms. Give USD 6 million to any Ukrainian school and they would build a monument in your honour! But no – a missile of that value flies into a school and destroys everything. How barbaric! But that is exactly what the muscovites do because destroying our state and killing us is more important to them than being friends with us. That is their choice.

What are you most proud of in the work of your volunteer organisations?

These are the people who have been helping us for many years. They are genuine Ukrainians, both by passport and in spirit. I am also proud of the volunteers who went to defend their country, ensuring that the history of the Cossack era and the period of the Liberation Struggles would not be repeated. Roughly speaking, back then we took a wrong turn and ended up with 300 years of serfdom in one case, and the Holodomor in the other.

What goals does your organisation set for itself?

Our only goal is for our descendants to live in a happy, powerful, peaceful, and prosperous country. To achieve this, we must work with our hands to build something good, rather than just talking about it. At the same time, we must not steal or accept bribes. Some say that the volunteer movement has died down and that it is difficult to raise money or collect food nowadays. We have not noticed this at all. Today, for example, we brought ten sacks of potatoes, eight boxes of pickles, as well as carrots, onions and cabbage from Khmelnytskyi. This applies not only to food. We also deliver vehicles, household and office equipment, tableware and more to the military. This is because we have the support of a whole army of kind, sincere and genuine Ukrainians!

 

Volunteers devote a lot of time to their work, but they do so without pay. This is one of the main principles of the ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’

 

Viacheslav Nehoda, Head of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration, during a visit to one of the offices of the ‘Desantno-Kozatskyi Rii’