With Ukraine under a constant, brutal Russian assault, the country's medical system would be in critical condition without allies like Vlada Galan.
Born in Odesa, Ukraine, the 35-year-old Ukrainian-American now resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
She whisks into Kyiv every few months to check up on the charitable organization she founded, the International Ukrainian Crisis Fund. Since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, it has distributed more than $8 million in medical supplies — much of it includes specialized medical equipment requested by Ukrainian hospitals and doctors with whom the organization partners.
“We have calls with them almost on a weekly, bi-weekly basis, where they are sending us updated lists of what they need,” Galan told Scripps News. “We have a huge focus on areas that are closer to the hot zone regions.”
RELATED STORY | US, Britain weighing whether to give Ukraine access to new long-range missiles
While there are many non-governmental organizations and charities providing medical aid to Ukraine, one thing that makes Galan’s organization unique is her and her Rolodex of contacts.
“What we focused on heavily is specific needs that are not being supplied by mass organizations,” Galan said.
Galan is an international political operative by day — an election expert whose clients include heads of state and candidates for political office across five continents.
In August, she visited her hometown of Odesa for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. There, she met with her father, who had just received his military draft papers. She also visited the hospital in which she was born, which she says is now overwhelmed with patients, including wounded soldiers, from the surrounding regions.
“I completely broke down after the visit,” Galan said. “It’s the first time I couldn’t hold back my emotions and put on a brave face. It hit too close to home.”
Galan said she is committed to upgrading some of the hospital’s operating room equipment.
Russian airstrikes have hit Ukraine’s medical system brutally hard. Ukraine’s health ministry this week accused Russia of destroying, in the past 30 months of the war, a total of 221 Ukrainian medical facilities and damaging 1,657 others. And with Russian missile and drone attacks reaching a crescendo in recent weeks, and an unknown but vast number of soldier casualties pouring in, Ukrainian officials say the need for both advanced and routine medical supplies has reached a new peak.
RELATED STORY | Top US and UK diplomats pledge almost $1.5B in additional aid for Ukraine during visit to Kyiv
Galan tells Scripps News her organization receives constant requests for whatever supplies they’ve got in stock.
“It's always a bit emotional every time these supplies go out because you think to yourself, 'Whose life is this going to save? Is this going to be a father, a brother, a son to someone?'" Galan said.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of her native country, Galan was on a work trip to Columbia. She says he first instinct was to fly to Ukraine, pick up a weapon and fight.
“I called my husband. He said, ‘You're out of your mind... you can do so much more by leveraging your contacts," Galan recalled.
Galan said her determination has been a key factor in getting donations of medical supplies from the U.S.
“I don't like no for an answer,” she said. “‘No’ is not an answer that I accept frequently.”
Even as the need for medical supplies grows, Galan said sustaining the flow of donations is only becoming more difficult.
“Donors are lethargic from just hearing about the war. And I think that is exactly what Putin wants,” she said. “He wants there to be this exhaustion, this war fatigue.”
Despite the war fatigue, Galan said her group took in $1 million worth of donations so far this year.
“I support part of our staff and operating expenses out of my own pocket for the fund,” she said.
Last year, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense awarded her a medal for supporting the country during wartime.
Of all the supplies that she brings in, one speaks loudest to the violence of this deadly war. Galan said tourniquets, the life-saving device every soldier must carry, are always in need.
“When we get them, they go very, very fast,” she said.
When prompted that each tourniquet may represent a limb that may be lost, Galan insisted, “Or a life that may be saved.”