MotoExplorer UK / Drive Aid – Voluntary work with non-profits and fabulous volunteers who are so generous of their time and desire to help people at a time of need, NGO’s as well as my own drive assists where funds permit.
person to person turning a van into a symbolic message of LOVE AID & SUPPORT from UK to Ukraine
Sprinter van – 2027 We’re attending events and locations to help generate awareness for the aid-gathering and transport needs, here in UK – people can add their own messages directly onto the van.
Help with local aid gathering for re-distribution to/from volunteers, fund raising events, non-profits and registered charities who are involved with the gathering of aid items and bulk transport out to Europe, as well as trusted partner entities within Ukraine.
Events / Fund-raising / Press – pleaseget in touchMany Thanks, Steve Hotson
The van messages
Motoexplorer Sprinter van – A symbol of unity from UK to Ukraine
A/ Write or paint your own message of support to the people of Ukraine > directly apply it on to the van – at events + on drives through UK & Europe
B/ Add your stickers or logos to the vehicle (or we can apply it for you)
C/ Sponsor and take a whole section of the van (Like a whole panel can be sponsored with your details and messages)
D/ Write it / draw it online at – (new online facility tbc) we will transfer it to the van for you. Ideally – it’s better if people can write directly onto the vehicle (we supply the paints!) that way it’s a real physical thing, direct interaction and transfer of a physical action of support > person to person.
We are also filling the van with lovingly supplied kit, constantly much needed things + support and drive it all directly to the people who need it.
If you would like to add a message or sticker to the van, please get in touch and I can arrange it for you. For any suggestions whereby I might attend with the vehicle for fund raising and awareness. Please get in touch. Many Thanks, Steve Hotson
Cover every inch of the van in love
Plenty of useful kit inside – space to sit or lie down – carry people who urgently need some local transport support.
The vehicle is being driven into Ukraine – as 1 big message of friendship and support – directly to the many, many families, children and injured who very much need to keep rebuilding their futures.
MotoExplorer – DriveAidis also organising to kit out a useful transport support vehicle with the end goal of supplying it to a nominated charity or special organisation assisting in/around Ukraine. (tbc) the vehicle is best suited for assisting local communities with transport. It is set up for transporting people, in emergencies, as well as local goods.
A useful resource for the elderly who are struggling to get local goods deliveries, especially in rural more isolated communities. (details of fitted kit and upgrades to follow)
All assistance, sharing etc; it is really greatly appreciated anything you can also help with. Thank you very much – Steve Hotson
WRITE YOUR OWN MESSAGE OF SUPPORT as well as getting it onto ( or into ) the Sprinter Van
Write your support message
Contribute anyway you like to support
Link to your own site / blog / business
DriveAid HGV transport
Aid deliveries from UK for people affected by upheaval and displacement, including Ukraine & surrounding regions
Background
Overland Moto expeditions Ukraine was a key transit region for our Moto explorer overland expeditions. Initially using the southern routes, then as the invasion developed from the south east, we still manage to transit, reverting to the north and central Ukraine regions, via Kiev and Sumy. The local people, culture, roads etc are all very hospitable to us (although bumpy in places!) I feel for the people caught up in the on-going atrocities. Our support is just something small we can do to try and help a little, especially for the children and displaced families.
Voluntary transport Initially using my own support vehicle and resources, plus raising some funds and help from friends, to do our small part to help. Assistance when a truck or van driver is required to take vehicles and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. C1E / HGV & CPC qualified.
Transport Motoexplorer UK / DriveAid / Ukrainehelping Carmen with driving their 15t Daf and special equipment aid from UK into Ukraine
Road transport Ukraine
2026 helping with aspects of Ukraine’s transport needs, both for delivering aid and kit, vehicle / moto related projects, as well as assisting other people and entities who are involved with transport drives to Ukraine and eventually with some re-building and re-housing of people who were forced to flee under duress.
In UK I am pleased to help and recommend the fantastic work being done by Michael Byrne, who founded the non-profit – Driving aid to ukraine in the early days of the conflict, his work continues to grow – alongside the desire to help our fellow European citizens in their time of need.
Driving Aid to Ukraine is a not-for-profit organisation that helps deliver UK aid directly to Ukraine. Given the scale and urgency of the need, and the complexity of the mix of new crisis interventions / helping displaced people recover & restart their lives, a combined effort of all available agencies is required. Mission 1. Resource donations for the Ukrainian people. 2. Transport donations to trusted agents in Ukraine. 3. Connect NGOs in the UK and EU and coordinate aid deliveries
Please look up Drivingaidtoukraine if you are interested to see their work and potentially help in anyway, there is an especially constant need to help towards the funding awareness and gathering for bulk transport out to Ukraine – something that Michael is very experienced and effective with. Gathering aid and bulk transport from UK across Europe to Ukraine.
Sprinter van drive out to Ukraine taking lighter, more urgent items, some packages and warming things for Ukrainians from here in UK – I can help deliver fast to Ukraine. Voluntary driver and vehicle provided. (just some on-going need to help towards the transport costs)
Items required for donating and transport to Ukraine;
waterproofs, coats, trousers
Boots, sturdy shoes
Medical items
Children’s items
Ukrainesupport driver – some informations from previous drives.
What’s apparent is the immense task of continuously funding and organising ongoing transport across to the Poland / Ukraine border region. Once at a local warehouse, they have some good logistics to move goods onwards into and through Ukraine. i.e several small vans and volunteer transport.
From my own small glimpse of the challenges they all face, I can see that continuing to hold peoples attention in terms of what’s needed logistically, is a huge challenge. I also think that people just driving over there, with what-ever support you can muster, is all really well received and appreciated.
The flow of transport to and through borders; this was something I wanted to see for my own eyes, to see what looks to be happening with disrupted transport, border flow and trucking back-log. I drove up to 2 border crossings, the first at Shehyni appears the main transit for the large lorries. That isn’t physically blocked. There were no signs of road blocks. I spoke with police right on the border, there was no major issues reaching the border. I was able to drive freely right up to and join the short border queues, (noting it much shorter than when I’d passed that border several times, pre-war, summer time – it used to be very congested) now; the trucks all appear to be getting stacked up well away from the border, through multiple side roads, villages, expressways and truck stops, spreading out 60-70 km away from the border.
There’s a huge amount of lorries and goods being held up, well away from the border. Mainly Ukrainian plated lorries, but also quite a few Polish one’s amongst them. For me, that was a big frustration, knowing what we know, it appeared more political, and or border bureaucracy driven, than anything like a polish blockade. I drove around say 100km all around those border regions and didn’t see any physical road blockades by Polish people or lorries. Just literally a handful of people with flags alongside the border, but they were well away from the road and weren’t preventing anyone from driving by. Maybe they place a limit on how many trucks can drive by? it’s hard to see how just a handful of protestors could cause any meaningful block-aid or delay.
It’s created a really grim additional scenario for those Ukrainian drivers, it’s literally freezing cold and many are parked up with no facilities, on rural roads, run out of food and or the capability to get or make hot food.
Again – local aid guys do an immense amount to directly help those affected drivers, literally spending hours preparing and making big vats of hot food and then doing their best to deliver it to some of the stranded groups of drivers in the evenings. I’m sure a big help, as I saw it myself
What was apparent (and surprised me a bit) was the vast scale and variety of transport and goods that are potentially flowing to and from Ukraine through those borders, by road haulage. (were they not disrupted)
There’s a lot of fuel tankers, not sure which way they were delivering the fuel?
Also various trucks delivering various industrial products out from Ukraine, into Europe. (then getting stranded on the return leg)
The other border, a little further north, looked a less commercial. I was actually waved through to approach the Polish exit customs quite quickly! and almost entered their customs and border procedure. No doubt it would still take a few hours on the Ukrainian side. Given lack of time and resource, I opted to stay on the Polish side. I’d imagine their own local small vans can cross in a few hours, either way, wasn’t any significant delays from what I saw. (given this probably changes immensely day to day) Trains were also running freely, I saw numerous freight trains. (actually got in a little bother from being in that region, close by the border!) but was addressed, as I’d gone there to also drop some of our donated clothes at another donation place, literally right on the border.
Some boxes of toys were sent by, DrivingAidtoUkraine, they were very well received and said to be going directly to Ukrainian orphanages. I was pleased that we were able to help get those out there in time for Christmas.
Within Poland; I got a brief glimpse of the way the Ukrainian people are integrating into Poland. I stayed at a motel not to far from the border. The lady running that was Ukrainian. I spoke with other guests and travellers, there’s clearly a lot of Ukrainians working and settling within Poland. If handled sensitively, I’d imagine those two Nations can both benefit from that collaboration, there’s two vast Countries which can continue to grow their integration with Europe.
Lets support the UK to also build on these relationships and close proximity with Ukraine and the EU.
Keep it fast and simple. Ride or drive for a good cause, rather than just take a moto / motoring holiday tour, or European road trip next year, take a bike or car load of essential gear, drop it off, ride or drive back lighter – with pride for helping your fellow European citizens, showing support for their freedoms. Ultimately, the only way to grow and prosper in a safe world, is to work and live together with all our neighbours, east and west together.
Regions and countries covererd to/from Ukraine including Slovakia / Poland borders. France, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourge, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, Poland
Routes taken by refugees, overland, crossing multiple foreign borders, usually on foot with nothing more than they could carry, in search on a new, safer start.
Imagine setting of in search of a safe place to live – and this is your route map! at the time Hungary was swiftly acting to close access to its borders, creating conflict and humanitarian issues within the EU, leaving just one long harsh diversion, through blistering heat, turning west for the Croatian border.
Europeantemporary / makeshift camp, Hungary EU, for assisting refugees, travelling through the Balkans. This minimalist facility was provided for just a few days only, before Hungary totally closed it’s southern border access thus forcing refugees to endure a much harsher route, back south in Serbia and then a long trek west into Croatia.
PressGo venturers book, has a direct connection to my own family and how my own travels started, as well as the past 15 years of travelling to and through Ukraine.
As motorbikers, we always had an instant connection with the people we met throughout Ukraine. When you pull up at the roadside, as we bikers know – you’re instantly in the community, people connect. So, perhaps we can pay something back of that kinship we always experienced. Ukrainians used lots of motorbikes, we shall see if there’s someway to help, even any riders who’d like to go and show their support, carry some small essential items, it should all be helpful.
Currently helping gather clothing, shoes. children’s toys and items to take, see: (new 2026 link soon) aid drives in 2026 as it’s still needed, so all contributions are always very well received. THANK YOU
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