Important Announcement: I Am Back From Ukraine
Hi,
This is Jussi.
I am back from Ukraine and happy to report that the trip went very well!
When we first announced this trip at High Yield Landlord, we only had 4 cars, but thanks to all your generous donations and that of other people, we managed to buy a total of 9 cars, redesigned them for military use, and filled them with ~10 drones, 180 military uniforms, and other essentials.
We then drove them from the UK to Kyiv and donated them to various military units that needed them the most, including the legendary Kraken unit and the foreign legion:
Those units explained to us that these vehicles are life-saviors in this war because Russia is making very heavy use of artillery. Ukraine is today receiving a lot of highly sophisticated weapons from the West, but they often lack basic things like good vehicles, and this is why it is so important that we help them.
You can't believe how touched they were to receive these donations from private individuals from all over the world. Some of the toughest fighters you will ever meet broke into tears in front of us. They explicitly requested that we send thanks to all donors, so again, thank you so much for supporting the cause!
This huge success was in large part because of you! One member donated $10,000, another one donated $5,000, a handful of you donated between $1,000-$2,000, and then many donated $100-500. In total, we collected ~$30,000 from HYL members, and then I put an additional €10,000 myself.
In my mind, this is the best kind of charity because all the volunteers work for free, take all the risks, and top up the projects with their own cash. Typically, if you donate $1,000 to a charity, you would be happy if half of that actually goes into helping people. Here, it is the opposite. We supercharge your donation with our own money and our work - a real value investment.
And it makes a real difference for Ukraine!
To give you an example: one of the cars that were financed with HYL donations went to Ben Grant, a British fighter who is in the foreign legion of Ukraine. He is a former Royal Marine commando and a war veteran from Afghanistan. Here he is talking to the media in March as he was preparing to go to Ukraine:
Ben has nothing to gain in fighting for Ukraine other than helping people. It is extremely risky, it is not his country, but he is still there... because he is a hero.
He has been fighting on the frontlines for months and he is making a real difference as you can see from the headline below:
And now he received a car from us.
He explains that they are desperately lacking good vehicles and that many people have died because of it.
Below, you can see pictures of the car being given to him. We put an American flag on it because most of the money came from US-based members:
So again, thank you so much for your generosity. It is literally saving lives and helping bring an end to this brutal war.
What's next?
We cannot stop here.
Most targets in Ukraine are non-military buildings like schools, hospitals, factories, and apartment communities. Below you can see just a few pictures that I took from a suburb of Kyiv, the capital city:
Civilians die in masses every day because of indiscriminate shelling.
So after seeing this, we are more motivated than ever to keep this going and we are already working on the next convoy, which will take place in late September.
I actually bought the first car last week and I expect to drive again for the next convoy:
This one cost me ~€10,000 and we now still need to redesign it for military use. Ragnar and I will keep putting our own money and time into these convoys, but there is only so much that we can do on our own so any help is highly appreciated. To repeat myself, I think that this is the best kind of charity because the volunteers work for free, take all the risks, and top up the projects with their own cash. Moreover, the cars and supplies really go to the people who need them the most. Ben Grant is a good example.
So we are again trying to raise donations to buy additional cars and supplies for the next trip. I will once more make the trip as they need drivers and share an update with pictures as I return from the trip.
You can make donations in USD and EUR and I put all the details below. If you make a donation, please feel free to send me a direct message here on Seeking Alpha or via email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
I would be happy to thank you and if your donation is substantial enough, we may also be able to add your company logo, country flag, or anything else you may want on the car (More on that below).
USD (from the US only):
Title: LIFT99 UKRAINE
Routing number: 084009519
Account number: 9600002921858737
EURO:
Title: LIFT99 UKRAINE
BIC: TRWIBEB1XXX
IBAN: BE74 9672 6947 0107
Paypal: ragnar.sass@gmail.com
Below I answer some important questions that you might have:
1) Why are you doing this?
I'll skip the obvious part that this invasion is extremely unjust and a tragedy for the Ukrainian people. Beyond that, this is particularly important for me since I come from Finland and live in Estonia. Both countries share a similar history of Russian aggression so it really hits home.
If things escalate from here, my country, Finland, could also be next-in-line,
and as an army reservist, I could get called back into duty. Russia has threatened Finland with "military consequences" and invaded our airspace several times over the past months:
We also have members in Ukraine who need our help. Some of them are active on the chat of High Yield Landlord and you may be exchanging with them without even knowing it. If you are currently in Kyiv, Ukraine, and need something, please send me a direct message here on Seeking Alpha or via email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
2) How long will be the trip? Will you be able to work?
This coming trip will last ~5 days and we will drive the cars from Tallinn, Estonia to Kyiv, Ukraine:
The drive will be about 30 hours including breaks and we will stay 2 nights in Kyiv to help with other efforts before taking a bus back to Poland. I will have my laptop with me and continue to work on HYL-related things during the trip.
3) Can you trust this group? Who is Ragnar?
This whole effort is organized by one of Estonia's most successful entrepreneurs, Ragnar Sass. I know him personally because I work at his start-up incubator, Lift99, and my desk is next to his:
So yes, this group is trustworthy. They are a bunch of Estonian entrepreneurs who want to make a difference by taking action. Ragnar's wife is Ukrainian so this is personal for him. You can learn more about the whole initiative by clicking here.
4) Is there a minimum donation?
No, there isn't. Anything helps. The larger, the better of course. If we can buy additional cars or two for the trip, it would be great. I just bought the first car for ~€10,000 to get it going. Ragnar's friend also bought another one so we have two of them already.
5) How can you donate?
Here are the banking details to make a transfer:
USD (from the US only):
Title: LIFT99 UKRAINE
Routing number: 084009519
Account number: 9600002921858737
EURO:
Title: LIFT99 UKRAINE
BIC: TRWIBEB1XXX
IBAN: BE74 9672 6947 0107
Paypal: ragnar.sass@gmail.com
If you make a donation, please feel free to send me a direct message here on Seeking Alpha or via email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
I would be happy to thank you and send you pictures/videos of the trip.
All people who donate $10k or more may also receive a picture of their own car with any desired customization (country flag, etc.), a picture/video of it being given to the Ukrainian army as well as a badge of the Ukrainian army.
Here is an example with the Estonian and Ukrainian flags:
Here are also some of the badges that Ragnar has already received:

If you decide to make a sizable donation, send me a direct message here on Seeking Alpha or via email at jaskola@leonbergcapital.com
Thank you!