May 3, 2025
Ben Cohn volunteered to drive a donated truck from Estonia to Kyiv as Ukraine fought to resist the Russian advance. With U.S. support uncertain, Ben invites you a virtual fund raising event to rally aid, with a showing of his short film and a conversation with leaders of groups struggling to keep Ukraine equipped for defense.
With Trump’s Betrayal, Private Assistance Can Avert Disaster
At the moment Trump and Vance ambushed Zelensky in the Oval Office, Ben determined to organize a virtual screening event that would create a new community of concern for supporting Ukraine. The event will include a virtual a showing of Ben’s short film, and a live discussion with the leaders of three leading private groups providing assistance to Ukraine, as well as other special guests.
How Ticket Proceeds and Donations Will be Sent
All profits will be sent equally to Assist Ukraine, United Delivery Mission, and the Sabre Training and Tactical Group. Our production and marketing costs will be capped at $1,500, with any budget overages to be covered by us. You can donate directly to each group from this site, or to Everyone’s War for us to transmit the funds after the event.
Do your part to keep Ukraine free.
The virtual event will give you a rare chance learn more about Ukraine’s struggle direct from Kyiv and the front lines. You’ll see Ben’s short film about his drive from Estonia to Ukraine, featuring the activists you’ll meet at the event.
You can donate to the organizations shown in the film at the screening. Or now.
Three Groups That Need Your Support
Ben was moved to action when he learned that United Delivery Mission, an Estonian NGO, needed drivers to take retrofitted trucks from Tallinn to Kyiv. In Ukraine, Ben met with the leaders of the Sabre Training and Advisory Group, a Canada-based organization helping fighters on the front line. In preparing to cover the Ukraine story, Ben met United Ukraine’s Olga Shpak while she was on a fundraising tour in the US.
United Delivery Mission
- Provides repurposed vehicles to the Ukrainian military
- Delivered 269 cars to the front line
- Total equipment delivers of 2 million euro.
- All staff in Estonia and Ukraine are unpaid volunteers
- Full list of vehicles delivered here
- Direct donation info on UDM site
- Website: uniteddeliverymission.com
Sabre Training and Advisory Group
- Equips soldiers with NATO techniques and tactics
- Provides training to field medics
- Team includes 30 veteran instructos
- Has trained almost 4000 soldiers and medics
- A registered Ukrainian Community organization in Canada.
- Website: sabretag.org
- Direct donation: sabretag.org/donate
Assist Ukraine
- Provides humanitarian aid and critical life savings supplies.
- Staff lives close to the front lines and respond to changing needs on the ground.
- Built and operates an orphanage for children from Kharkiv and Bucca.
- Delivers critical essentials, protective equipment and medical supplies.
- All donations fund operations, normal overhead covered by founders.
- Website: Assist Ukraine
The Participants
Riivo Anton
United Delivery Mission
A UDM founder, Rivvo is a tech investor.
Kevin Leach
Sabre Tactical and Training Group
A veteran of the Canadian military, Kyiv-based Kevin is the director of Sabre.
Olga Shpak
Assist Ukraine
Assist Ukraine Director Olga Shpak works out of Kharkiv, her native city, which is just 19 miles from the Russian border and often under attack. The organization provides front line humanitarian assistance across the zones of war. Before the war, Olga was a noted whale biologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. She resigned after the invasion and returned to help people in Ukraine.
Ben Cohn
Filmmaker
Ben is a journalist and filmmaker based in Denver and New York. He has previously made films about the youth vote in presidential elections. He began his career as a street reporter for the New York Post.
Kevin Siim
Volunteer Driver
Kevin bravely answered a Reddit post to join Ben on the drive to Kyiv. At the time, Kevin was driving a cab. He has since moved to Australia.
The Drive
Event Details
What will the event include?
Our event takes May 3, 2025 at 12 pm EST. The event will include a screening of the film (TRT 17 mins) plus a panel discussion featuring some of the subjects of the films, other invited guests, fighters speaking from the front, and filmmaker Ben Cohn and his driving companion Kevin.
What will be discussed?
Our conversation will focus on the role that private organizations have played in supporting Ukraine, and will role they are likely to play in the future. With the sharp reversal in US policy, private organizations are likely to play an ever-larger role than they have already.
How to attend and support the event?
To attend the event, we ask that you purchase tickets in advance on our screening platform, Eventive. At the same time, we encourage you to donate to the two private organizations featured in the film and described on this site. Donations can be made in advance, during the event, and in the days following the event. Of course we want to have as big an audience as possible, but getting support to Ukraine is more pressing.
The Power of Private Support
For information on how you can help private organizations support Ukraine, please contact us.