OPERATION "KYSELÁČ": OUR STORY
Story so far. Slava Ukraini.
24 February 2022
PUTIN INVADES UKRAINE
On the night of Thursday, February 24, 2022, the Russian army invaded Ukraine. We've been watching the news and Twitter all day and in the evening we went to a demonstration in the Wenceslas Square.
25 February 2022
OPERATION "KYSELÁČ" IS BORN
On the evening of February 25, Adm. Vit, Adm. Martin and Capt. Zenon meet in the Craft House bar and talk about the war. Over a few sour ales, the idea of going to the border with humanitarian aid arises.
26–27 February 2022
FIRST MISSION
On Saturday morning we arrange what time we will leave, we are looking for a car. We finally get ahold of two and Adm. Václav joins us who makes a vlog about the first mission.
On Saturday we spend the night in Spišské Podhradí, then we go to unload the goods to the mayor in Stakčín, and then we go to the border crossing Ubľa, where coincidentally President Čaputová is, too.
April 2022
WE COOPERATE WITH A HOSPITAL IN LYSETS
We begin our cooperation with the First Voluntary Surgical Hospital in Lysets, to which we now direct most of our aid.
The United Methodist Church sends EUR 10,000 monthly to this hospital.
May 2022
AUCTIONS
We auctioned off stamps, plush toys and other items as part of our fundraising for our mission. We raised several hundred thousand CZK.
27 April 2022
VÍT SAMEK IN DVTV
Because of the abortion case, there is a lot of interest in our mission in the media. je o naši misi zájem v médiích, Vít Samek is on DVTV among others. It means a big increase in the funds on our account, and therefore bigger help that we can provide.
July 2022
FIRST TRIPS TO THE BATTLEFRONT
FB status by Vít Samek:
Hi. I have just returned from Donetsk region where my wonderful Ukrainian friend Lubomir and I took an ambulance and other things to the medics about 20 km from the frontline. [...]
After handing over the stuff we went to see even closer to the front and saw a lot. A denazified supermarket and even denazified bushes (congrats, Putin, you khuy, I hope the rocket that landed in the bush was expensive!).
I have written many times about the morale that prevails in Ukraine. Well now I can say that the closer to the front, the morale grows even higher! [...]
Sirens, cool. Denacified petrol pumps, cool. Chopped tanks, cool. Migs and Sukhois flying a hundred meters overhead, cool. But falling asleep to the sound of artillery, that's a whole new feeling.
From the fact that we are still alive, it is impossible to tell whether it was the surgically precise Ukrainian artillery or those clumsy Russian fools, for whom a kilometer is no measure.
At night, the Russians attempted a breakthrough. They were repulsed as they have been so many times. Lubomir and I were so done for that we didn't even wake up and only found out about it in the morning over coffee and a cigar.
I'm afraid Ukrainian morale is contagious and I caught it.
Putin, you pain in the ass of humanity, you are going to make this war unprecedented and spectacular! Oh boy, it's actually happening already, isn't it.
Glory to the Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!
July 2022
KATEŘINA & TOMÁŠ
Two nurses from the Motol Hospital anaesthesiology and resuscitation department (ARO) came to volunteer at the First Voluntary Surgical Hospital Lysec for the summer.
The patients loved them. And not only the patients. Locals invited them to their homes for lunches and Father Fedor, the local pastor, practically adopted them. When they left at the end of the summer, all the patients at Lysets Hospital were crying.
4 September 2022
ORTHOPEDIC AND SURGICAL HELP
Dan Romportl, a friend of Kateřina and Tomáš, supports our mission wholeheartedly. At the First Volunteer Surgical Hospital, there was a great need for orthopedic and surgical items, such as osteosynthesis supplies. So Dan took everything from his then-closed private orthopedic unit, we jumped in his car and brought it here.
12 November 2022
ELECTRICITY GENERATOR
Electricity generator donated by Accace Czech Republic handed over in Kharkiv.
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5 December 2022
AMBULANCE
Our friends Roman & Ruslan from Kharkiv have asked us for an ambulance for their orthopedic institute, as they don't have one and moving patients from pavilion to pavilion and to and from other hospitals is a problem.
So Jára Špaček asked the Methodists, congregations all over Europe and in the US raised money and bought a beautiful ambulance, named Servatius by the Methodists.
23 February 2023
SAVE AN ARM
FB status from 23 February 23:
"Hello! Things are happening at Operation Kyseláč! But before I update you, I'm starting a sub-operation called Save an Arm.
Our friend, let's call him J., left to defend Ukraine in March. [...] J.'s RPG exploded while he was unloading ammunition. Not his fault.
His eardrums were both ruptured, his belly was torn open and his elbow was badly, very badly fucked up. The eardrums has healed quite well, the belly was open, but not wounded inside, but the arm...
J.'s arm can be bent at an angle of about 60° at the elbow and no more. He just needs that arm to be functional. [...]
He was defending Ukraine and, by extension, all of us. He didn't have to. Then he almost gave his life defending Ukraine. And now we're going to help him fix his little hand!"
We raised the necessary 25,000 CZK in two hours.
8 April 2023
CZS LUDWIG VON MISES PAINTED
We invited Ukrainian children in the Czech Republic to a happening at the DOX Gallery in Prague to paint our new van, which will now travel with us to Ukraine.
The van was generously purchased for us by Marek "Slush" Palatinus.
We named the van after Ludwig von Mises, a Lviv native, a refugee, and a great liberal thinker.
May 2023
TATRA
Lukáš "Jackall" Janata donated a Tatra. This car enthusiast bought the Tatra very cheaply, took out a consumer loan, repaired it and brought it to the border, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine (SZU) took it over. The Tatra is still in service in the East.
4 May 2023
EMBASSY BLOCKADE
We came to the Russian Embassy in Prague to present our new van and new tattoos of Adm. Vít Samek's.
June 2023
SOUR ALE OPERACE KYSELÁČ
The microbrewery Dva Kohouti brewed 800 liters of sour cherry / sweet cherry sour ale called Operation Kyseláč. They donated the entire proceeds to our operation.
8 June 2023
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Vít Samek wins a 3rd place in the Volunteer of the Year award ceremony, in the category of small foreign NGOs. The ceremony was attended by the former president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.
22–23 July 2023
CONFERENCE IN IVANO-FRANKIVSK
Together with Student for Liberty Europe, Students for Liberty Ukraine, and the First Voluntary Surgical Hospital, we hosted a conference on the topic of Ukrainian Renaissance.
Summer 2023
MEDEVAC
The MEDEVAC Humanitarian Programme of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic accepted and processed our request for medical material aid worth CZK 5 million. Although the approval took a year and they provided completely different things than we wanted, the aid will not be lost in Ukraine.
January 2024
BEER FOR UKRAINE
Twelve Czech microbreweries provided 200 bottles (2,400 bottles in total), the proceeds of which were donated to our mission.
February 2024
AMBULANCE VAN FOR KHERSON
We donated yet another ambulance ban. This time for a hospital in Kherson.
July 2024
CONFERENCE IN LVIV
We will co-host another conference in July. This time in Lviv.
