Ukraine2Power (U2P) wird zur ersten Initiative von WE AID, die sich zu einer eigenständigen Organisation in der Ukraine ausgründet.
Dr. Thomas Gnefkow and Nataliia Fiebrig found a non-profit organization in Ukraine to make an effective local contribution to improving energy security. The non-profit organization in Kyiv is headed by Managing Director Victor Kolesnyk.
Since 2022, the Ukraine2Power initiative (“U2P” for short), initiated by Dr. Thomas Gnefkow, Andrii Gladkiy and Rainer Hönig, has been working to ensure the energy security of critical infrastructure projects in Ukraine. With considerable support from WE AID, the initiative collected donations and procured mobile energy storage units to send to Ukraine, with a particular focus on vital facilities such as hospitals, schools and kindergardens.
The first mobile battery storage units were introduced as a test phase in the Khmelnytskyi region in December 2022. Since then, more than 40 facilities in the regions of Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Slovyansk and near Kyiv have been supplied with mobile battery systems.
Dr. Thomas Gnefkov, founder of the initiative and co-founder of the Ukrainian non-profit organization Ukraine2Power, commented: “In view of the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, we acted immediately, which enabled us to collect donations of over half a million euros in a very short space of time.
Fast and decisive action is crucial to gaining support for our ideas. This has enabled us to provide thousands of people with access to safe and clean sources of electricity. WE AID and PHINEO have supported us in our search for partners and made donations possible.”
Ukraine2Power received support from several partners such as the “RTL: Wir helfen Kindern” foundation, MERZ Pharma, Marquard & Bahls and the Mercator Foundation. WE AID created the legal infrastructure for the initiative and facilitated immediate crisis aid.
Christian Berger, Managing Director of WE AID, explained: “WE AID supports private individuals in their civic engagement and serves as an instrument for short-term charitable aid. Our aim is to make voluntary support possible for everyone without any bureaucratic effort. We are delighted that Ukraine2Power will now continue its work in Ukraine as an independent organization and will continue to support it in Germany.”
Nataliia Fiebrig, project manager of WE AID and co-founder of Ukraine2Power, commented on the current events: “In the spring and summer of 2024, Russia continued the systematic destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Large thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, high-voltage substations and other facilities were damaged or completely destroyed by drones and missiles. As a result, the Ukrainian energy system is experiencing significant capacity losses. In this situation, hospitals are sometimes unable to call for help because there is simply no electricity.”
Ukraine2Power has set itself the goal of focusing more on the affected regions and providing mobile solutions for intensive care and surgical facilities in hospitals.
