Thomas Lukaszuk promised that the bad news of this weekend will only fuel the continuing good work people are doing to help Ukraine.
On Saturday, the former MLA and St. Albert resident announced that two volunteer drivers were killed by Russians while delivering relief supplies to the southern port city of Mariupol. It is believed they were Ukrainian and Polish nationals, but Lukaszuk has another way of thinking about them.
"These individuals are superheroes for putting their own lives on the line," he said, calling the reports of their deaths "horrible news."
The relief supplies were collected here as part of former premier Ed Stelmach's and Lukaszuk's ongoing United for Ukraine aid project. Donated goods collected in Edmonton were shipped via plane into Poland, where they were broken down into smaller shipments by land, driven by volunteers in separate vehicles.
Upon hearing of the tragedy, Lukaszuk affirmed that not only will the effort continue, but it will do so with an invigorated sense of purpose.
"We've got to double down. It was a horrible loss of lives," he said.
"Russians intercept; we double down. Our warehouse has just filled up again, this time with extremely expensive medical equipment. We're looking at shipping about six containers over the next week or so to Ukraine. As much as we are mourning the loss of these individuals, we will honour them by sending even more goods."
"Our hero volunteers’ lives were not lost in vain. More help is on its way," he wrote on a Twitter post, adding that "99.9 per cent" of the humanitarian aid supplies (including medical equipment, dry food, and hygiene items) did reach their destinations in Lutz, Zhitomir, Kryvy Rigg, and Kherson.
There is one major shift in how United for Ukraine is adapting to improve its relief effort. They are now focused on raising money so that goods can be procured in and shipped from points in Europe. Shipping from Canada, he noted, is time-consuming and costly to the tune of about $10,000 per container.
"We're looking at procuring goods in Europe and then shipping it from there, which would be much more economical and nimble."
Those donated funds will be accepted through the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation, a charitable organization that issues tax receipts. People can contact Stelmach or Lukaszuk directly to make other arrangements.
