Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine may have displaced 7.1 million Ukrainians, creating the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, but it also created a resolve among Ukrainians who stayed put. Ukrainian reservists, combat veterans and even some civilians who stayed behind were integrated into the country's military as the Territorial Defence Forces (TDF).
Jerry Hultin, a former under secretary of the Navy under President Bill Clinton, says it was the 100,000 members of the Territorial Defence Forces who stopped the drive to Kyiv and put Russia on its heels. The intervention of irregular civilian fighters forced Russia to change its strategy from capturing Kyiv to fighting a war of attrition.
As the Russian drive stalled, Hultin and a handful of veterans, defense officials and logistics experts created Fighting Chance Ukraine, a nonprofit network that helps fund and supply the TDF, who are usually fighting with fewer weapons and equipment than the regular army.
"It was often small groups of civilians organizing themselves that really stopped that drive south and turned the war," Hultin tells Military.com. “That resonated with us. Ordinary people, families joining in. The husband would go to the front line. The wife would take care of the kids, and together, they try to have a life. They teamed up and really changed the war."
Hultin says the TDF makes a huge tactical difference in battles and frees up the regular military to make advances, such as the offensive currently underway in the country's south.
Fighting Chance Ukraine was formed in conjunction with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and is made up of members with diplomatic, military and logistical experience and connections in Europe, including former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst and a former Supreme Allied Commander, Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove.
"We all, for our own reasons, had skills to bring and felt this was a place that we could really make a difference," Hultin says. "There are those who know what it takes to help educate people and get them engaged. We have international relief experts who know how to find things and get them shipped, and we have networks on the ground in Ukraine who tell us what is needed."
After learning from the TDF what supplies are needed, the group raises money and procures those supplies in the U.S. Using their networks, they move equipment to areas adjacent to Ukraine, like Poland or Lithuania. The materials are then shipped into Ukraine and distributed.
Fighting Chance Ukraine has provided everything from basic needs like food, blankets and medical supplies to other non-lethal aid such as helmets, boots, backpacks, flak vests, night-vision goggles, encrypted cell phones, radios, walkie-talkies, drones, GPS, computers and satellite services.
"It's the first time in many years where we're supporting a country where there's real depth of support inside that country for providing freedom and supporting democracy," Hultin says. "I fought in Vietnam, and we didn't have the support that we should have from the South Vietnamese. We've seen some of that be true in Afghanistan and also in Iraq, but Ukraine's different. We've really seen the population create new ways to approach things and volunteer."
For Hultin, the fact that Ukraine has not lost its resolve and has pushed Russian forces back is significant. There may come a time where Russia determines that a continuation of the war is not in its best interest.
"I think we're right on the cusp, and that's why Fighting Chance Ukraine is so important," Hultin says. "First, it allows American military families to support Ukrainian military families, and secondly, it encourages and keeps the capacity of Ukraine to win and push back the Russians."
Americans identify with Fighting Chance Ukraine, Hultin believes, because they can identify with a fight for freedom against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. Young Americans who still want to do something to help look for organizations like Fighting Chance Ukraine.
"It's part of our history to defend democracy," says Hultin. "Those of us who are veterans, who have fought in our wars from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan know what combat's like. They know how hard it is on the front lines. In Ukraine, citizens are on the front lines, and they need the kind of support that American military families and American veterans can provide."
To learn more about Fighting Chance Ukraine or to donate money for nonlethal support to the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces, visit FightingChanceUkraine.org.
-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.
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