OksanaForever: Hundreds of Evacuation Ambulances for Ukraine

When we launched the fundraiser in autumn 2025, it had a clear goal: to raise money for 50 evacuation ambulances and send them to Ukraine as quickly as possible. We succeeded. To date, we have already acquired 150 vehicles. And we are not stopping.

• We purchase off-road vehicles with cargo beds that serve as evacuation ambulances from the front line‍
• In addition to classic ambulances, units also need vans, ATVs, motorcycles, and excavators
• The average age of the vehicles we purchase is around eight years — Ukrainians themselves request older vehicles without electronics, which are easy to repair and for which spare parts are widely available (Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi L200, Ford Ranger, VW Touareg…)
• All vehicles undergo inspection before transport to Ukraine, focusing mainly on the functionality of the engine, brakes, lights, and tires
• Vehicles are purchased by an experienced team of mechanics who are competent in price negotiations. We also source vehicles from Austria, Sweden, and Germany
• The vehicles go to specific units, each car has a properly signed donation agreement, and we personally hand them over.

3 May 2026

Oksana50 becomes OksanaFOREVER

The demand from Ukrainian units remains enormous. During this time, we have mastered the skills of purchasing, servicing, and logistics — we know how to do it, and we feel your support, so we want to continue helping Ukraine. Vehicles save lives. Every convoy, every car, every charging station — all of it matters — we simply cannot stop.

That is why Oksana is changing. From Oksana50 to OksanaFOREVER.

Oksana is not just one destroyed ambulance that we replaced with 150 more. Oksana is a symbol. It is a legacy that will stay with us until the war ends. As long as Ukrainian units need help, we will provide it.

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23 April 2026

On March 24, we delivered 72 evacuation vehicles to Ukraine. Their lifespan varies. The first one was destroyed after only eight days — on March 15.

And thanks only to you, one month later — on April 22 — we delivered a replacement vehicle to the 79th Air Assault Brigade operating in the Pokrovsk direction.

Russia attacks continuously, and we cannot stop helping. It is simple: we know how to help, and we know that it works.

9 March 2026

Since December, when we raised the required 1.1 million euros, we have not stopped. Now, three months later, we have joyful news: the largest volunteer convoy in history successfully delivered vehicles and equipment from our fundraiser to Ukraine!

A record number of 87 volunteer drivers covered dozens of kilometers and got behind the wheel without hesitation to deliver 72 vehicles, which are already serving as fully operational evacuation ambulances in combat zones. In addition to the vehicles, the convoy also delivered 110 specialized medical backpacks and 102 EcoFlow charging stations. Everything that saves lives at the front.

And all of this was only possible thanks to you. What next? We already know that this works. It is not just about “what we know how to do” — it is about the fact that we want to continue. That is why the fundraiser continues.

23 December 2025

We have 50 ambulances! We raised the required 1.1 million euros (26,800,000 Czech crowns) at record speed, beautifully timed just one day before Christmas.

We launched the fundraiser in mid-September. Immediately, we began working on a fairly complex system for finding and purchasing vehicles. We established cooperation with representatives of the main brands we were interested in, hired experts who professionally deal with vehicle purchasing, and started navigating the jungle of the used car market — not only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also in Germany, Austria, and Sweden.

And you kept donating.

By then, we already had around forty vehicles parked in a secure undisclosed location (most of them already serviced and technically inspected) and began planning their transport to Ukraine. In the end, there will be far more than 50 vehicles for the target amount. We still do not know the exact number because we continue purchasing additional vehicles, and some are still awaiting minor repairs and improvements.

What we do know is that the demand from Ukrainian units is enormous. The vehicles go to specific people and units that we personally know. No mass donation. We carefully consider where your money can help the most.

That is also why we decided to keep the fundraiser open long-term. And since we have now learned not only how to purchase vehicles well, but also how to service them and handle all the paperwork, we will use these new “superpowers” to continue helping Ukraine in this way. Because every such vehicle can save dozens, perhaps hundreds of lives. And that matters.

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15 September 2025

We are launching the public fundraiser Operation Oksana 50!

It all started with an idea born beside the wreck of the destroyed Ukrainian ambulance Oksana at the Pohoda Festival in summer 2025.

This is the now-famous ambulance that a group of Slovak volunteers donated to Ukrainian soldiers near Izium in 2024 and which later served near Pokrovsk. There it was hit by a Russian drone, and three people died in the attack. We decided to bring Oksana back to Slovakia and exhibit it as a powerful reminder of the war. That is how it also arrived at the Pohoda Festival, where we said to ourselves that we would organize a joint Slovak-Czech fundraiser for evacuation ambulances for the defenders of Ukraine. And that instead of this one destroyed ambulance, we would send fifty to Ukraine!

We have a clear goal — to raise 1.1 million euros as quickly as possible, which will allow us to purchase 50 ambulances and transport them to Ukraine, where they will save the lives of wounded soldiers directly on the front lines.

We will not buy new vehicles. One brigade commander near Kharkiv recently told us: “God protect us from vehicles with electronics.” It is simple — the more electronics, the greater the risk of malfunction. Moreover, some types of “radars” detect such vehicles more easily than others.

“I need my boys to be able to repair a car with wire and a hammer,” the commander said. We receive requests from specific units for exact brands and production years. It only makes sense to bring vehicles to Ukraine that local mechanics know, have spare parts for, and can repair even under field conditions.

We want to purchase vehicles capable of driving off-road without problems. Pickup trucks where a medic can quickly load a wounded soldier and together they can survive the critical 5–10 kilometers from the contact line. We will also buy a few regular ambulances suitable for transporting wounded soldiers from field hospitals to regular hospitals.

We do not plan to repaint the vehicles into a unified military color — quite the opposite. Every green, olive, or khaki vehicle becomes a direct target. The more civilian-looking the color, the better the camouflage.

Vehicles will be purchased in various places across Europe. Everything is handled by a specialized technical team that thoroughly inspects each vehicle on-site and negotiates a better price. All vehicles then undergo servicing focused mainly on the engine, brakes, lights, and tires. We do not care how the vehicles look or what equipment they have. But all of them will be fitted with towing equipment.

After servicing, the vehicles will be stored in a guarded parking lot. We do not yet know exactly when they will be transported to Ukraine — perhaps at the beginning or end of the year, perhaps sooner, perhaps later. It depends on many circumstances. Above all, on how quickly we manage to raise the necessary funds. And that also depends on you. Thank you!

“Sending ambulances to Ukraine is the smallest act of mercy I can do in this tragedy. At the same time, it expresses a different position from the rhetoric of our government representatives. It is also my personal act of resistance,” says actress Táňa Pauhofová.

Together with Jiří Mádl, she forms the pair of ambassadors of our fundraiser. Their connection is no coincidence — it was Jiří Mádl who directed the film Waves about the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, in which Táňa Pauhofová played one of the main roles.

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‍The project could not exist without the Open Society Foundation Bratislava.