‘Let’s just do it’: Calgarian joins friend on road trip of a lifetime delivering military vehicle to Ukraine

It was phone call Calgarian Luke Gram didn’t expect -- and an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up.

In mid-May, Gram’s friend Jayme Gordon floated the idea of flying to Estonia and driving a vehicle that will be used for military purposes to Kyiv, Ukraine.

“It’s something we kind of hummed and hawed about and one day we just decided, let’s just do it,” said Gram.

They landed in Estonia on June 12, two of approximately 50 volunteers for Help99, the organization in charge of bringing the 30 military vehicles to the war-torn area. According to its website, it “supports Ukrainian fighters with evacuation vehicles and needed supplies.”

Both had been donating to Help99 since shortly after the 2022 invasion broke out.

Gordon decided to take one step further.

“I was kind of browsing and I realized if you donate a little bit more money, as in buy a truck, you can not only help them out even more, but you can actually join them on one the convoys,” said Gordon. “The cost of the vehicle was $35,000 Canadian.”

Modified for military purposes

Gordon says the vehicles are sourced second-hand and modified for military purposes with a more powerful engine and other accessories. They are used for a variety of purposes, including troop and supply movements, medical evacuations and special forces operations.

On June 14th, at 5 a.m., the two began their 1,896 kilometre road trip, driving from Tallinn, Estonia, a port city on the Baltic Sea, through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland before arriving at the Ukrainian border around 9:30 p.m. on the 14th.

“When we actually first crossed into Ukraine, it was a paradigm of shifting from being in a safe country where there’s laws and everything’s followed, and suddenly you’re in a country where it’s at war,” said Gram.

Driving throughout the night, the two arrived in Kyiv at 9:30 a.m. on June 15th.

“Making our way into Kyiv was really powerful,” Gram said.

On the morning of the 16th, after a little bit of sleep, the two turned the vehicle over to Ukrainian special forces.

“The most memorable part for sure was when we got to hand the vehicle over to the soldiers who would be using them, that was by far the most impactful,” said Gordon.

The two were there when the Russian launched one of the deadliest missile and drone attacks on the city this year, killing 12 people and injuring another 130.

“We were lying in bed and just suddenly heard a rumble in the distance and we opened the blinds and there we go. We saw the air defense guns going up, shooting the burst rounds,” said Gram. “It was something that put everything into perspective.”

The following day they departed Kyiv by train to Warsaw, Poland, to start their journey home, with Gram returning to his wife Keara who was almost eight months pregnant.

“I appreciate the situation is quite an extreme one to put a pregnant wife through, but, it’s one of the reasons I married her,” said Gram. “She supports me in everything I do.”

As for Gordon, well, some of his family didn’t know where he was.

“I didn’t tell my parents where I was going because they would be pretty worried,” he said. “They were thankful that I didn’t (let them know).”

The trip has left a lasting mark on the duo, who continue to fundraise for the initiative.