My name is Mikey SR and my overriding passion in this ghastly war is to help and support the Ukrainians in every way I can and therefore I’ve started up 'Mikey's Mechanics' (OKA - MM) which drives 1, 2, or sometimes 3, 4x4's from England to Ukraine.
If you have a 4x4 that you would like to 'DONATE' to MM, I will happily take it off your hands and the same goes for a 4x4 which has failed 'ULEZ'. If, on the other hand, I have to buy a 4x4, at a UK auction, it will cost me about £5,000 so I have set up this ‘Crowdfunder’ page to help you give whatever amount you like towards the total.
If you want to give to the next trip, just hit the 'SUPPORT US' or the 'DONATE' button at the top of this page and then follow the instructions - anything, no matter how small, is a huge bonus to MM and every single Ukrainian, so thank you.
3 entities that support MM on all its trips to Lviv are as follows:-
1. Driving Ukraine Ltd - this operation is run by 2 fantastic people, Fynn & Jake, and they’ve been supporting Ukrainians since the illegal war vs. Putin first began. Their 'modus operandi' is to purchase each 4x4’s at an auction (or have them donated), do an MOT, arrange for the 'Chunnel Tickets' and then organise for them to be driven out by 'a team' to Lviv and, eventually, onto the front line as CASEVAC vehicles for wounded Ukrainians.
I did my first ‘run’ with this amazing team at the end of February 2024 and I saw just how much it all means to the Ukrainians and so I now 'work with' Driving Ukraine Ltd (OKA - DU). DU buys each 4x4 that I take out to Lviv and the reason why DU does that, rather than MM, is that DU must be 110% sure that it's 'fit for purpose' before it's sent as a CASEVAC vehicle for the wounded Ukrainians. MM reimburses DU for the 4x4's, by bank transfer, each time we leave for Lviv.
In addition to everything that they do 'in house', they also get ALL the paperwork needed to get the 4x4’s into Ukraine legally and then MM steps up and does the rest. I, with up to 5 of my friends, drive the £1329 miles to Lviv, I pay for all the D, O & L, I pay for all the accommodation, and, finally, I pay for all 'food stops' and any extras that we accrue 'en route'. We each pay for our own flights back to England.
2. Fiona Elverfeldt - I have known Fi ever since I moved to Germany in the 1990’s. She is married to Fides and they have 2 teenage girls and she has been totally ‘anti’ Putin’s war from the outset. She has taken in a Georgian family who now live in 1 of her flats in the ‘big’ house. They are both fully employed by Fi with the wife being a superb cook and the husband being a wine grower and a gardener. It’s a marvellous ‘pit stop’ and I, and my friends, are made fantastically welcome by Fi, her 2 girls, Fides and the Georgian family on the way to Lviv.
3. Lviv Volunteer Auto Service - this amazing operation is run by Maksym and he receives all of DU’s vehicles - to date, he has looked after in excess of 70 x 4x4's and sent them all to the front line. After we arrive in his yard to drop the 4x4’s off we go into the ‘heart’ of his operation - it’s a workshop with 2 ramps for the 4x4’s so he can mend whatever is broken. He has some mementos of the war so we are each given something to go home with. After a short talk in which he thanked us all so much he gets down to the ‘pizza at the ready’, with plenty of specially labeled bottles of Ukrainian beer and the occasional Ukrainian ‘shot’ as well - there was laughter and merriment throughout but it’s a tremendous ‘eye opener’ as to what the Ukrainians’ are going through at the moment and it’s also it’s so inspiring to see the resilience of the Ukrainians.
Finally, we provide 'Humanitarian Aide', helping those who are worse off than ourselves
Anya Baltarovych - Anya is an unbelievable young lady who I met in February 2023 when I, and others, took some aide to her house, about 2 hours East of Lviv. Her story started 1 year before that when her husband was called up to fight against Putin and, at first, she was completely lost but then, as time wore on and winter arrived, she noticed how the people in her region needed Humanitarian Aide so badly and so she started to help by organising jumble sales, with everything given finding its way to the local people and so we ferry out as much aide as possible and donate it all to her whenever we're in Ukraine.