“You can imagine using such a bus in a scenario such as the Volendam fire (the deadly café fire on New Year’s Eve of 2000-2001, ed.), where a lot of victims have to be stabilized at once,” says Pol.
Protect Ukraine Foundation has been bringing vehicles and other equipment to Ukraine since 2023. According to vehicle coordinator Arjen Joustra, they weren’t actually even looking for a bus. “But when René came up with it, we thought: it could be very useful. We then asked if there was a need for it on the Ukrainian side. The response was quickly positive.”
The ambulance bus is deployed in Ukraine just outside the front line. In the event of a rocket or drone strike with many casualties, the bus can be used on site.
In Lviv, Joustra experienced drone attacks hitting the city. He spent part of the day in an air raid shelter. He then traveled to Kyiv to hand over the ambulance bus to a Ukrainian partner.
There he saw another Dutch ambulance that had been completely destroyed. It now stands on a square in Kyiv as an example of Russian aggression. Joustra is now back in the Netherlands.
