The People of Ukraine Urgently Need Thousands of Bikes

Bikes4Ukraine.org is a Danish non-profit who fundraise donations in order to send used bikes from Western Europe to Ukrainian cities, where they are desperately needed by citizens. The humble bicycle is a vital tool in bombed out rural and urban areas, helping people get food, medicine and humanitarian aid, as well as transport to clinics and schools. If you like bikes and bike-friendly cities and want to help Ukraine in the most human way possible, then we would appreciate your financial donation.

The invasion of Ukraine continues and the challenges faced by the people are many. There is a gas crisis, cars have been destroyed or sent to the front, public transport has been destroyed in many places and with the current bombardment of energy infrastructure, the electric trams and trolleybuses aren't reliable.

VERSION FRANÇAISE //  VERSIONE ITALIANA  // VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL

Why Does Ukraine Need Used Bikes?

In countless Ukrainian cities that were bombed, occupied and are generally in ruins, people have issue with basic urban mobility.

- There is no public transport: The Russians destroyed buses and trolleybuses, or the Ukrainian Army uses them to transport troops. In rural areas, people need bicycles to get from towns to cities to access shops, pharmacies or doctors. In cities, people in bombed-out neighborhoods need to get water, food, medicine and humanitarian aid.

- Destroyed roads: Many roads, both in rural areas and in cities, have been destroyed by shelling or by military vehicles, making it impossible to drive on. A bicycle can navigate them much more easily.

- Gasoline shortage: There is a fuel shortage in Ukraine. In addition, the Ukrainian Army needs what little gasoline is available to defend the country.

- Shipping issues: Due to shipping issues caused by covid-19 and the difficulty in getting in and out of Ukraine, even if they could get the bikes, they would not be able to bring them into the country. Instead, we have established logistics routes from Europe to Lviv.

- Internally Displaced Persons: In the city of Lviv, there are some 150,000 internal refugees, many of whom live in refugee camps. They need a way to get around – to the supermarket, to the doctor, to school, to job interviews, etc. With our Ukrainian colleagues, we have set up a bike-sharing system in refugee camps in the city with the bikes we bring along, as well as donating bikes to the refugee camps.

Bicycle are Lifelines

Bikes are a veritable lifeline for many people. Our bikes are used by social workers and NGOs in the country, delivering food, medicine and humanitarian supplies to vulnerable citizens in de-occupied areas all over the nation. Bikes can save lives and help make daily life easier for many citizens in Ukraine. You can follow regular updates about our bikes and our work on our Instagram. Mikael Colville-Andersen, founder of Bikes4Ukraine, has been in Ukraine on six trips totalling more than four months since June 2022. He has seen how grateful Ukrainians are to receive the bikes and how useful they are in making life easier in some of the most war-torn parts of the nation. You can read this article of his about The Bicycle as a Vital Tool and Symbol in Times of War & Crisis.

No Upper Limit to How Many Bikes Ukraine Needs

Since July 2022, we have delivered over 900 bikes from Copenhagen, Berlin, Gent and Budapest to over 30 cities and towns in Ukraine. Every single bike is in use daily to deliver food, water, humanitarian aid and medicine to vulnerable citizens in de-occupied areas - including those that are still being shelled by Russia. We now have received appeals from dozens of more cities that desperately need bikes: Lviv, Chernihiv, Bucha, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Kherson, Kharkiv - and the list goes on. There will be a need for bikes well into the future. We like the sound of "One Million Bicycles for Ukraine" but that will take some serious work and fundraising. :-) 

Your Financial Donation is a Powerful Tool

The fundraising we receive from around the world goes directly to our work in getting used bikes to Ukraine. This includes paying for shipping, logistics and transport of the bikes to cities in Ukraine. It helps us get to Ukraine to deliver the bikes and to pay for the low administrative costs associated with our non-profit. Every little bit helps. 

You can follow the delivery of the bikes - thanks to your donation - on our social media and see the people who receive them, how grateful they are and how the bikes are put to good use.

Please Help Us Help Ukraine

Please help us make it happen. Below are some of our bikes used by volunteers and social workers to bring out good to their fellow citizens. Our bikes empower Ukrainians to help each other. Slava Ukraini!

Visit Our Main Website

Bikes4Ukraine is registered as an association in Denmark and has permission to collect donations from the Danish authorities.