IDF Vice President Dr Iryna Vlasenko, who lives in Kyiv, is helping organise RideUkraine 2023. Since February 2022, when the war began, Dr Vlasenko has been coordinating humanitarian help from the international diabetes community through IDF. She will welcome the RideUkraine cyclists when we arrive in the Ukrainian capital.

Starting from Greenwich Park, London on 26th August 2023, I will cycle to Dover, and then cycle through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, and into Ukraine. Ride Ukraine will stop at cities and towns along the way to collect donations and raise awareness about diabetes in wartime Ukraine. Volunteer cyclists can sign up to join the ride for an hour, a day or as long as they wish. The contact email is: rideukraine23@gmail.com
If successful, I will be the oldest person (62 years old) with Type 1 Diabetes to complete such a tough endurance challenge. We hope to reach Kyiv by 19th September, cycling up to 150km a day.

I know you have read a lot about this illegal invasion of Ukraine. I know you have read about the suffering, the cruelty, and the brutality of this war. But maybe you do not know how a young Ukrainian child will feel having to experience everything the Russians are inflicting on her, and yet, in addition, have to also deal with the real difficulties of living with Type 1 Diabetes. Please think about children you know, then imagine them having to spend night after night in dark, dirty, and dangerous air raid shelters. And during every day wonder if they will receive the medication they need just to live.