We are a startup non-profit organization I started early in May, and it is a “digital community” and network of Ukraine’s supporters who are following the illegal invasion of the country by Russia.
The Mission is to provide information to the appropriate Ukrainian officials (focused on assisting Ukraine), specifically logistics capacity & throughput with a strong focus on transloading capacity for UA grains and agricultural products onto the EU rail network and access to all/any EU port connected to it.
Vladimir Putin has a chokehold on Ukraine’s grain logistics and export potential impacting the world’s global security.
We [at Ukraine’s Grains & Trains] are focused on the chokepoints to alleviate existing physical constraints of Ukraine’s logistics capabilities never constructed for a complete blockade of their primary access to global markets and the world’s most at risk populations and nations.
OUR VOLUNTEERS & TEAM MEMBERS
Our volunteers come from many countries, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, United Kingdom, France, Canada and my home country, the United States.
Our supporters are global and we have over 2,500 social media “Followers” on Twitter @UkrainesGrains where more timely and relevant information and updates, plus connections to relevant organizations and people were known to be active and engaged in the current events in Ukraine.
We have requests from Media Outlets, both voice & print, filling our mailbox and unfortunately have not had the time to conduct any since going unexpectedly “viral” early in our development based on a “thread” I created and posted May 22nd, 2022.
UKRAINE’S GRAINS & TRAINS IS NOT JUST ME, BUT WITHOUT “SOME GUY FROM AMERICA” IT WOULD NOT EXIST
“We“/me UG&T was recently featured & humbled by its inclusion, in a Kyiv Post article about OSINTs – Open-Source INTelligence by our friend, Jason Jay Smart, due to my efforts amplifying message for the Ukraine Electric Grid Operator, NPC UkrEnergo in February/March and a Twitter parody account I created called “Russian Bridges Go Boom!” in March/April with +2,400 followers I used to springboard the creation of Ukraine’s Grains & Trains.
“UkrainesGrains,” an OSINT account primarily seeking to assist in “moving grains and wheat to accessible ports around Russia’s coastal blockade,” relates that he is a newcomer to the OSINT world, but that he was outraged by the “business as usual” attitude of Europe regarding “the gravity for Ukraine as an invaded nation if the electric grid ‘fell’ and Ukraine ‘went dark.’”
You can read it here.
OUR CONNECTIONS & ALLIANCES
We also have direct communications with the UA Railways, themselves, and currently working to harmonize our efforts so we can best provide beneficial assistance and not counter any efforts they have on-going. UA Railways, their team & leadership we are communicating with, are inside an active war zone, we are not.
We fully respect their priorities and time considerations, so we limit our on-going communications in complete understanding of current and ongoing needs of UA Railways inside Ukraine, not those of us at Ukraine’s Grains who operate in safety around the world.
We are in communication(s) with Ukrainians in the agricultural industry and grains exports/markets sectors. They are our liaisons with what is happening inside Ukraine currently and a vital link to real-time information on what is needed now.
UKRAINE’S GRAINS & TRAINS’ OUTREACH & PROMOTION
We’ve held several discussions, recorded some of them available here…
- MAY 26 – Twitter Space held by Ukraine’s Grains & Trains
- MAY 28 – Twitter Space held by Ukraine’s Grains & Trains
- MAY 31 – Twitter Space held by Ukraine’s Grains & Trains on SoundCloud
Our volunteers are just beginning to make progress working effectively in a “digital workspace” crossing time zones, language constraints and geographies as they incorporate their individual “Super Powers” into UG&T’s Mission and Project Scope.
UKRAINE’S GRAINS & TRAINS IS READY TO GO & MOVE ON REAL PROJECTS
We already have locations along the UA border inside Hungary, Poland, Romania & Slovakia – our NATO partners, that have been verified and we have the specifics identified where “shovel-ready” projects could be implemented today, not in 3, 6 or 12 months. To do so is beyond our capabilities alone, whether just simple (turning information into presentations) or more complicated (aligning US & European business, government and military leaders on common cause & purpose).
Even opening simple dialogue and direct communications with our (my) government and business leaders in the US & Europe, who are directly involved in assistance efforts across the spectrum needed to support Ukraine is challenging being “just some people with a Twitter account” that most/many of us are at Ukraine’s Grains & Trains.
We are ready to move now, to deliver tangible logistical assistance to Ukraine to increase throughput capacity for military & humanitarian aid, including desperately needed refined fuel products & ammunition, into Ukraine, as well as the 20-22 Million Metric Tonnes of grains & agricultural products out, not to mention another 60 MMT by years end.
UKRAINE’S GRAINS & TRAINS ARE FOCUSED ON SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO UKRAINE, NOT WISHFUL THINKING & HOPING FOR MIRACLES
We are already connected and communicating with our Ukrainian friends in the UA agricultural and exports sectors, and know their needs right now, not in 6 months or a year. We have already done our research and made connections with appropriate experts in the field. We don’t need to research or connect with additional Ukrainians in need to understand the need in more detail. We just need to get 100 km of rail re-laid or rehabilitated on existing railbeds or converted from 1435mm to 1520mm gauge to get UA trains outside of Ukraine near the border and safe from Russian attacks where NATO Article 5 prevents this from occurring. There are more than 19 locations currently where this could occur, but we have narrowed down to fewer that are literally 5-10km of track required and new rail lines open immediately.
There is no need for EU 1435mm to be built into UA as the 22 MMT of agricultural products and grains are NOT at the western border and the 60 MMT by years end is not in western Ukraine either. Everything is in central & southern Ukraine requiring UA trains to cover hundreds of kilometers of high-risk rail, to then transload inside Ukraine where Russians can attack the transloading facilities, rail infrastructure and trains themselves? This is absolutely an absurd expectation of UA Railways to perform and build during a war for Ukraine’s survival and makes no sense whatsoever across any metric imaginable.
Challenges, constraints, limitations and opportunities, have already been assessed and mapped out.
The last of which, opportunities, we call UG&T’s “High Potential Opportunity Zones” or HPOZs. Literally, all they need is a bit of “jazzing up” and packaging into actionable presentations to move them forward into the next Ukraine’s Grains & Trains phase… connection with our US & EU governments & businesses to start these “shovel ready” projects.
UKRAINE’S GRAINS & TRAINS IS NOT JUST A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT
We are not “just” or “only” a Social Media account who had some success “going SM viral“, that is just what we did to gain direct communications with those who can assist us and provide aid and relief to our friends in Ukraine.
We have progressed beyond “marketing our brand” to obtain initial recognition as a viable organization for consideration in partnering in a common purpose to assist Ukraine during their unsettled and troubling times.
We at Ukraine’s Grains & Trains are ready to move, act and work with our valued business and government officials and allies to assist Ukraine and our friends at UA Railways & the Ukrainian agricultural community immediately.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN AS A VOLUNTEER?
The easiest way to join and connect to us, is through our Twitter account – @UkrainesGrains
or via LinkedIn & [my] profile
While not ideal, both provide us some necessary security online, but we can establish more direct lines of communications through Twitter or LinkedIn with our friend and allies with good intentions.
Also, we can establish direct communications at UGT’s secured Slack digital communications platform, once verifications and intentions are confirmed through initial conversations on Twitter or LinkedIn.
If you are a journalist, or representative of print, radio or television media, we appreciate your interest in Ukraine’s Grains & Trains, as well as your time constraints & needs also. We appreciate your outreach, but in full respect of our time and yours, please understand our Mission & Project Scope is narrow and we cannot provide you every detail or current event occurring with the unfolding global grain crisis or specifics of any one sector or announcement by global leaders during the horrors happening in Ukraine the last 100+ days. But we can talk about what we are doing and who our partners and friends are inside and outside of Ukraine assisting us in our common cause and objectives.
Hans Hyde 