On the road. Instead of an epilogue. By Valdas Bartkevičius.

On the Road: A Journey to Ukraine. Foreword by Vytis Maleckas

In response to a request from the Lithuanians fighting in Ukraine, a group of volunteers embarks on an improvised flash mob mission in certainly "On the Road" by J. Kerouac style, because the road is an emotion that cannot be captured otherwise. Mission purpose is to deliver vehicles and supplies to the front lines.

The journey is fraught with challenges, including Facebook bans, mechanical breakdowns, and encounters with border officials. However, the team perseveres, driven by their commitment to supporting Ukraine's defense efforts.

Along the way, they meet with Ukrainian soldiers, volunteers, and civilians, witnessing firsthand the devastating impact of the war. They deliver vehicles, food rations, medical supplies, and other essential items to those in need, while also sharing stories and experiences.

The mission is a testament to the power of solidarity and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. The volunteers' dedication and selflessness inspire hope for a better future, even as the war rages on.

On the road. Instead of an epilogue. By Valdas Bartkevičius. Photos Ričardas Grigas

"Man, we need a pick-up truck," said Raimondas Urvikis, who is fighting in Ukraine. "You will get it," I answer. "It doesn't matter what the condition of the body is, what matters is a good frame and engine," adds Raimondas. Maybe "Nissan Navara" is better, because it has parts (it turns out it has one in the base for selection).

I start collecting money and coordinating the time of the mission, because my friends have activities, so not everyone can go at any time, especially one of them, Aurimas Navys, who is also participating in the elections to the European Parliament, and another reserve officer, Gintaras Bagdonas, works as a teacher at the General Žemaitis Military Academy.

The first “helm” (driver of the first car) - Aurimas Navys, military expert, member of the Vilnius City Council, reserve officer, who served in the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces (Lithuanian SOF), is a candidate for the EP. He was in Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and this is his second mission this year. A patriot and a great writer. An idealist like me.

I am looking for funds for a car and get a Facebook ban for a month. I have to go around and create a new account, because the Russo-fascists want not only to limit my distribution, but also to disable my account.

Text after text, day after day, and we already have money for one car. But one more cheap one is needed, Oleg Dunda, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, asked for it for his buddies in the 72nd Brigade.

Cheap, whatever. AtA (AtA in Lithuanian means R.I.P.) Tadas wife, Lina, offers this one, an Opel Zafira, which she does not need, but if it is arranged, it will be suitable for non-selective soldiers. I buy a battery and take it to a Russian expatriate car repair shop, who promised to fix it for free, taking money only for parts. Working together is a Ukrainian locksmith who has already finished his war and was commissioned after 6 gunshot wounds. Came to live with a family that fled the war in Lithuania. This is the circle of good versus evil.

The second helm is Pavel Kovtunec. Probably the youngest of our group, an athlete and a communication specialist. This is his 16th or 17th mission to Ukraine, the first ones were to Bakhmut with food delivery convoys, and now he has become a "furist" like me. He is driving a car loaned by Avis car rent, which we will use to return home.

People donated a little more money than needed for Raimondo's car, so I decided to take another one, for another Lithuanian at the front. I continue to collect money, and the collection is unexpectedly completed by the transfer of 1,200 euros by Andriaus Tapinas, received according to the court order from Remigijaus Žemaitaitis. The very next day, I am going to visit farmer Rima in Kaišiadori district. take the car Unfortunately, even after changing the fuel tank, the car's fuel system goes on strike and that car had to be left for full preparation - its technical condition is really good, so it is not worth returning it to the seller, especially since it is fully repaired and with a new TA.

The third helm - Gintaras Bagdonas is a reserve officer, former intelligence director of the EU military staff. He worked not only in Brussels, but also in Afghanistan. A man with an impressive biography. During his travels, he received the nickname "General".

One day the Ukrainian Eldar calls and asks if we can drive a VW transporter to Lutsk, there he will fix it and hand it over to the front. He himself is at the front near Avdiyevka, and he really needs a car. I agree to help, even forgetting to ask what condition the car is in. When I picked up the car, I found out that there was a major fault. Nevertheless, I take it and promise to deliver it, and to the question of how much it will cost the soldier, I answer: "not your problem".

I take it and do it, although I understand that it is not entirely rational, but what if not us?

The fourth helm is Vytis Maleckas. He called a day before leaving for Kaunas with a Zafira, and when I got the right-hand drive car, I already knew who would drive him to Ukraine. Mr. Vytis lived in Ireland for many years, so I suggested that he go along. He agrees. I can't even describe his life experiences in a few sentences, that's why I call him a "Visionary"(Later Ričardas called Vytis “Moses”. Vytis calls himself in English “Chase” what exactly literally translates google his original name – Vytis). He is also a candidate for the MEPs, as Aurimas is.

As the mission approaches, not only the number of cars, but also the tires that need to be delivered to the border increases. Pickups are very good for this. “Adventika” is giving away a new 3D printer, it will be very useful for drone manufacturers. The other one did not fit into the overloaded vehicles, so you will have to think about how to transport it.

Asta Martišiūtė donates as many as 104 jars of honey. Brother's friend asks to take the parcel his my mother in Poltava, if it is not on the way, „Nova Poshta” will do it for us. Someone asks to take a passenger and I agree without thinking, although I regret it later. Cars are loaded with things and the Kaunas Foundation is located in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, whose yard is the main point of departure.

Ričardas Grigas is a member of the Lithuanian Union of Journalists. "Freelancer" from Kaišiadoriai, regularly travels to Ukraine, has been to the border many times. It's his job to capture and document our journey.

During the delivery of the Opel Zafira to Kaunas, Vilma Pelytė called and asked if it was possible to drive the donated SUV to the Lithuanian soldiers to Kramatorsk. "Of course," I answer. After leaving "Opel" we run to Vilma, we meet her live for the first time after almost two years of "friendship" on Facebook and in the Lithuanian Legion group on the Telegram channel. It seems that we have known each other for a hundred years.

Right-hand drive car. It is not known whether there will be a driver who is used to such.

The fifth helm is Modestas Šlapšinskas. From Vilnius, the Carpenter. Later Vytis gave him nickname - the “Saint”. Despite the fact that the construction season is in full swing, he chooses to drive his car to Ukraine, paying for the fuel himself, to help transport the cargo and bring people home. This is not his first mission to Ukraine and certainly not his last.

When it was already clear that the convoy would be long, Laurynas Baltrūnas "Oblius" from the Lithuanian Legion called. I won't get into discussions about who he is and how everything is around, but the request is clear - to drive the SUV to the Lithuanian instructor. The car is in Vilijampolė, the fuel will be (provided by Blue Yellow), so please deliver it to the Base in Kaunas. The car was not cleared by customs, so I will drive it across the border myself, because there are still risks, and I don't want to pass them on to others. Only later do I find out that Lukas gets it for temporary use, for whom the Opel is broken down, and Romeo, who was driving the pickup truck, is receiving treatment for his injuries in Lithuania. We're driving a pickup truck, so we'll take even more tires and pack dry food rations for soldiers and sacks to make camouflage clothing for snipers.

Sixth helm - Ričardas Savickas. Communication specialist and entrepreneur. Ukraine has been at least 30 times since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. An active off-road rally participant, so fate brought him to me for a reason, because I have to drive the most problematic car - a VW Transporter, whose engine is barely alive, and the Ukrainians themselves promise to repair it.

The mission starts on May 18th at 6:00 AM. We leave Vilnius in two cars which purposed for the return to Lithuania. The first crew is a “Mitsubishi” of Modesto, and the second is a “Toyota” driven by Pavel. We gather everyone from various places in Vilnius and its district. We are going to Kaunas like “herrings in a barrel”. In Kaunas, local volunteers led by Tatjana Narkevičienė are waiting for us, and instead of the pickup intended for the Lithuanian, we will drive a “Nissan X-trail”, which is also intended for Ukraine, but it needs to be left for repair in Warsaw. "Ford" remains for the next mission.

The seventh helm is Žilvinas Svitojus. Communication specialist, well-known blogger and volunteer, has been living between Lithuania and Ukraine for the past two years. Over 36 missions!

We finish loading the shipments, the drivers check the lubricants, we discuss communication methods and the route. Moving in a convoy is inconvenient, some cars are faster and others are slower. Stopping at the last Lithuanian gas station near Kalvarija, we take a shorter and slower route through Bialystok. We must reach the border of Ukraine even with the “VWs” already dying engine.

Everyone gets to the gas station without any problems. A group photo of the mission participants and we move forward. The day is for the road and the night for sleep, we must arrive in Lviv before curfew.

The first incident was already in Poland, when "Rover" ran out of fuel. Modest stopped the pickup truck driven by Vytis to the gas station. While pouring gasoline to the top, a defect appeared in the tank - it let fuel somewhere at the top. Uncritical. Without major incidents, the first group reaches Zamoste, although we are also slowly arriving, although the Volkswagen is already sighing with deathly sounds. There is still a bit left, about 50 km to the border. We pray for success. The machine consumes more oil than diesel, the engine stalls in just 20 km. to the border. We hang on a very short rope and continue flying until it gets dark. We hope that the Poles will allow crossing the border in this way.

There are no queues and we quickly line up in a column at the border checkpoint. It's just a few minutes to 8:00 p.m. and the border woman screams without hiding her anger when we stopped at the STOP line. While talking further, she finds 4 FPV drones, luckily not a StarLink, she still doesn't allow me and Vytis to drive, because the Irish Drivers License - Irish law doesn't apply??. A miracle still happens and she realized that they are valid throughout the EU. Richard is taken away by the other officers because he looks like reminds them somebody they are wanted to arrest. Later they laughs and lets him go. We cross the border. The wheel of the pick-up truck driven by Aurimas is beating more and more, we don't really understand what was being repaired at the Kaunas car service.

Customs procedures in Ukraine take some time, but it is only a matter of time, because no one even looks at what we are transporting and trusts the submitted declarations.

We leave the Volkswagen at the first gas station, because driving to Lviv at night is difficult, especially since the road is not ideal, and the distance to the accommodation is 67 km, which we reach already after midnight.

Kaunas volunteers. Ukrainian Tatjana Narkevičienė has been in the support supply chain for ten years, since the Maidan Revolution, when she was there supporting the protesters. For M. Žyznevskii, the first Gudas who perished in Maidan, he sewed a Ukrainian flag, which was used to cover his coffin.

Sunday morning. Although the planned departure from the hotel is only at 9:00, we are often already on our feet. At least half of the group got to know each other by exchanging crews yesterday, and the rest will have to experience it on the second day of the trip.

Jonas Ohman calls and says he'll be there soon, something needs to be delivered to Kyiv, because he and his family are already moving home. It's a pleasant surprise for the team, we stop for a group photo with John and his volunteers.

We are moving to unload textiles and canned goods in nearby Lviv site near Nazar. We only keep tires with food rations, although space is still limited. The sun is shining, the day promises to be beautiful.

Kaunas volunteers. Agne Jociūviene. We met over the phone the first winter after the full-scale invasion began, when she asked to deliver a stove to Ukraine. A year later, we already transported more than 30 of them. Agnes works non-stop in aid collection work, she lives by it. In the name of victory.

First stop in Rivne, where we need to leave the Lithuanian Legion car for Luke. He works as an instructor somewhere near Lutsk, and that time he was visiting his colleagues, so not only he, but also his brothers in arms welcome us. There is a war going on all over the country and it is a mistake to think that only those in the trenches are heroes. War is not only front line trenches, it is also training, and logistics, and air defense, and special rescue operations, and construction of fortifications. A lot of everything.

My friend, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr Alikseichuk, is also coming to the meeting. The latter loves Lithuania very much, even his shirt shows that. He is a member of the Lithuanian-Ukraine interparliamentary group. It's lunch time and he quickly finds a restaurant with the best borsch, where he not only reserves a table, but also pays the bill.

We are keep going further.

Kaunas volunteers. “Undinė” (“Mermaid”). A sincere girl who not only volunteers but also works on her farm. I don't know when she works there, because every time I go to Kaunas, I see her working with support in the basement of the Basilica.

Halfway between Rivne and Zhytomyr, Aurimas Navys, who is driving faster in front, calls. A wheel burst. It was not the gimbal that beat, the seller was right when he said that the wheels were bad. In a message to the general "chat" he writes: there is no spare wheel. Heck, I honestly didn't even look when I bought it, so I'm writing and asking the seller, how come?

We are probably the first to arrive. Aurimas and Ričardas are waiting neatly parked at the bus stop. I fly under the car, I know where the spare should be. Without panic, you just need to unscrew it. I've never done this to a car like this, but together we manage. Black hands and just a little bit of anxiety. The results of teamwork are excellent. Let's keep going!

Kiev is coming, Vytis calls, he didn't stop at the bus stop, but he himself was stopped by an exploding front wheel.

We are the first to arrive again, it is not worth waiting for the others. There is a backup, but there are also cookies, and we cannot find the special safety “nut” key to turn them back for a long time. Don't panic, but I'm calling Vilma, maybe she knows? I do the first "search", but I can't find the key. The second Pavel. Huray, there is! Changing a wheel on a small SUV is a no-brainer. The evening and Kyiv are not far away. The printer and the tires sent by the attaché of the Ukrainian Embassy are already waiting there outside the hotel. We are still in a hurry for the first meeting with my friend Anton, while the others are resting. Tomorrow we will move on.

Kaunas volunteers. Vilma Pelytė. I only knew her from fb, and in real life she is just as small, but her works are Human with a capital letter. All Lithuanian soldiers worship her like a goddess, because she works for them and in Her Name. Few deserve such respect. He has not even been to Ukraine, because he works in the national defense system.

The third day. At eight in the morning, soldiers from the 72nd brigade arrive to take Tad's "Opel", we briefly talk about the current events of the day, I tell the history of the car. See you again. Vytis finishes the mission and goes home.

And we are moving towards Kharkiv, where Raimondas Urvikis is already waiting for the car, and the delivery of the other one is in Kramatorsk, because Lithuanian soldiers are coming to pick it up themselves. On the way, Pavel carries REB, and I run to the center of Poltava to deliver a small package from a Ukrainian woman living in Lithuania, for whom I found a home in the first days of the invasion. Her mother cannot leave her two disabled parents, and the living conditions are not good because the city is constantly under attack from the enemy. We decide to have lunch in the city. Gogol Street is still here. I have noticed that the more signs of the Russian world in cities, the more heavily they are bombed.

Kaunas volunteers. Aiva Maliauskienė. Worked as usual until the large-scale invasion. After the war, life turned 360 degrees and will never be the same again. In a new life - boxes and road dust, cars with a plus sign on the front and rear windows of the car. Kharkiv is not far from Poltava. The signs of war are becoming more and more visible as it approaches. We hand over the car to Raimondas in the territory of the factory destroyed by rockets. Finding the point was difficult because GPS signals are suppressed almost all over the city. Soldiers' life is simple, the yard is covered with wrecked cars, explosives and home-made rockets are in the rooms. A short excursion. Conversations and shared photos, distribution of food rations. It's time to go to bed, the day has passed quickly, and the Rover still needs to be handed over. To tell the truth, staying in one place for a long time is dangerous, because there are a lot of collaborators in the city and any group is a target that poses a threat. So long. “Vardan Tos!” Lithuanian patriotic expression literally in English mean: “In the name of the Lithuania – For the sake of the Motherland!”

Kaunas volunteers. Sigitas Maliauskas is a former soldier, in the Lithuanian army since the 1995s. Missions in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, training in Sweden. Instructor work in Ukraine when a full-scale invasion begins. There are so many things that it is impossible to list, and his experience in the "Iron Wolf" motorized battalion made him a good trucker". For the sake of the Motherland!

Navigation does not work in the city center either, despite that we found a place to stay quite easily. There is not a single healthy window in the facade of the building. The surroundings are exactly the same, because next to the city hall building, where the rocket had landed. The apartment is on the healthy side of the building, not bad at all, someone can't find the remote control for the air conditioner... how mundane everything is. We go to dinner in an empty and dark street. We are waiting for Lithuanian soldiers. Raimondas sends a photo of a pick-up truck loaded with mines - he is already on his way to the task.

Lithuanian soldiers. "Mažylis", 8 months in the war. Having previously worked in logistics, he is doing the same in Ukraine, only in wartime conditions.

We have dinner until the inn closes. We talk about life before the war, about the reality here, about relationships with people, about bad roads in the dead of night, driving to and from the mission, about drones and the death they sow. More about the future without war. We all plan, often these are dreams that are not destined to come true. We leave the car with food rations, with gifts from the Motherland on which children's drawings with the Lithuanian tricolor are stuck. For the sake of the Motherland! Hell, Lithuanian children draw war! See you again. Maybe tomorrow

Lithuanian soldiers. "Ronin" or simply "Darius", having seen half the world, seen everything and as if that was not enough, arrived in Ukraine in the first days of the invasion. The battles for Kiev, then Bakhmut, and between them endless marches to the darkest place – “the Valley of Death”, to the place from which many never return. Shows photos with friends who are no longer around. Best of the best of the Best.

On the morning of the fourth day, at 6:50 a.m., everyone was woken up by an explosion that hit the logistics warehouse. Another group completes the mission and moves towards Kyiv. Before that, he and Eldorad Butrim visited the border near the Russian border. Almost to Lipcsi settlement itself..

And Žilvinas and I are going to Slaviansk, to the Kartvelians, to take the "sausiakas" -“Chow” Ready-to-Eat (MRE) . Our "General" - Gintaras Bagdonas and "Captain" - Aurimas Navys also ride together. There are always call signs - nick names in the war, and "General" looks exactly as we named him, because he was asked only one time to present his ID documents at one checkpoint, even though we crossed dozens of them.

"Darius" calls only after leaving - we forgot to put the car's documents, so we agreed to meet in Kramatorsk. When leaving Kharkiv, I can't find the way to Slaviansk for a long time, because the signs are all painted over, and the GPS signal is suppressed. The town roundabout is like an obstacle course with roadblocks and fortifications under construction, there is little civilian traffic, and as you approach Izium, it almost disappears. Izium is destroyed and no reconstruction work is going on, bridges are blown up. Only homeless dogs and military vehicles are on the streets. We drive towards Slaviansk as if on the surface of the moon, on both sides - minefields, without any signs of life, in some place’s old tanks or the remains of cars. There was no civilian transport left at all.

Upon entering Slaviansk, we are greeted by "posters" reminding us that this is Ukraine.

Kartvel agents-guides are waiting for us in the station square, everything around reminds us of the Kabul market. Sirens wail and cannons thunder in the distance. We drink coffee and move towards the location of the soldiers' deployment. Please stop at the lake, I want to take a bath.

A volunteer car after an accident, but for now it's running, we're trying to keep up. There are not many people at the lake, and those are only military. There is a shower, because the lake water is salty, it is the local dead sea.

Thunderous explosions. Sirens are wailing. They said they had flown to the beach as well. No one has heard the sirens for a long time. We took a bath. We are running to the soldiers.

Lithuanian soldiers. Raimondas Urvikis, who spent seventeen years in the Lithuanian Army. He is fighting in Ukraine because he understands what awaits us if we do not stop the enemy. It's his job to drive and he does it brilliantly.

AtA (R.I.P.) Tadas served together, he accompanied him on the task. “Vardan Tos!” Lithuanian patriotic expression literally in English mean:  In the name of the Lithuania – For the sake of the Motherland!

We follow the battered Opel, passing through a forest full of military equipment. It is a training ground on the seafront and a military camp at the same time. We bring food and a piece of Lithuania. A Kartveli commander from occupied Abkhazia, he is an eternal sergeant and has been in the war for 30 years. We talk and take pictures near the buildings of the Soviet farm. A passing motorcycle crashes. Warrior! Everything is fine, hello. where are you from Answers in Spanish: Colombia.

Time to go. We will be back.

On the way, we stop at a service station where soldiers repair their cars. The master asks for an engine for the same "Rover" that we opened, the same one only with Lithuanian numbers. With the latter, at least a third of the cars are on the front line.

We need a lot of machines, much more than we can imagine, living in Lithuania. I will try to find such an engine. Remind me because I might forget. We drive on.

Lithuanian journalist Eldorad Butrimas. "Freelancer", whose articles are published by LRT. He used to work for Lietuvos Rytas, he speaks Estonian because he worked in Estonia. He worked even more in Poland, which is why he still receives many calls from there, telling Poles about what is happening in Ukraine and Kharkiv, where he has been living for the past two years.

 Kramatorsk welcomes you not only with destroyed factory buildings, but also with beautifully mowed lawns, a neat and lifeless town square.

Darius comes with a guardian soldier who has been in the war like him since the first days. I take a picture with him, promising not to go to social media networks because his family is still in Belarus. He recommends eating at a nearby pub, so we say goodbye and go there. Only soldiers on the outdoor terrace. When asked for a beer, the waitress angrily offers a non-alcoholic one - a dry law in the entire Donetsk region. The food is cheap and quite good, despite the bad mood of the waitress. Who knows what happened, but with sirens wailing and cannons booming, a smile would seem strange. This is not a US made movie. After finishing his meal, he was standing on the street, and a young man came and smiled and greeted him - he recognized him. Saw you somewhere, maybe a taxi driver? I answer that I am from Vilnius. He laughs and thanks for the "anti-humanism" manifesto at the Russian embassy. Really recognized. Not everyone remembers the faces, but the news has spread widely. Great, says the soldier from Chernigov. A short conversation, the message went further about the "anti-humanist" speaking Ukrainian.

The way back will be a little boring, and there are other things to do in Kiev. One more night in Kharkiv, sirens ringing and explosions thundering.

The eighth helm - Valdas Bartkevičius. Father of four children. Former emigrant. The Entrepreneur and activist. Dreamer and idealist. He likes to drive not because he read "On the Road" by J. Kerouac, but because the road is an emotion that cannot be captured otherwise. These people are met for the last time. That's life.

Next, I collect for the pickup truck that is being prepared to drive away the machines and logistics.

Courtesy: Valdas Bartkevičius

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