53.3300° N, 6.2270° W · DUBLIN → 49.8397° N, 24.0297° E · LVIV

A Petya's Battalion campaign · Dublin to Lviv

Petya's Run ›››

One run. One vehicle. 2,800 km east to the front line.

I'm running from the Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin to Baltinglass, through the Wicklow Mountains, to fund a vehicle my partner and I will drive to Lviv, to be used as a frontline ambulance and to carry aid. This is a shared struggle: what we raise goes straight to the soldiers and civilians on the front line.

◈ Donate now Sponsor the run ›

€0 raised Minimum €5,000

€5,000 puts the vehicle on the road — every euro over it buys more aid.

FIRST DELIVERY · ALREADY DONE

The Iron Horse

Proof it works: our first vehicle is already in Ukraine, on the front line.

Delivered to the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade

The Iron Horse, handed over

We did it once already. We collected The Iron Horse in Edinburgh for Drive to Save Lives (D2SL) and drove it from there across Europe to Ukraine, with Petya riding shotgun.

We handed it directly to our contact in the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, where it is now in service. Petya's Run is about doing it again, and again, so the front never runs short.

The crew handing the Iron Horse to their contact in the 80th Air Assault Brigade — The handover

The Iron Horse kitted out and in service in Ukraine — In service

01 · THE MISSION

What we are doing

Three moving parts, one objective: put a road-worthy vehicle, and essential aid, into Ukrainian hands, to be used as a frontline ambulance.

Run & raise

A sponsored run from the Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin to Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, roughly 120 km mostly along the Wicklow Way, to raise the funds that make everything else possible.

Buy the vehicle

Source and prepare a rugged, road-worthy vehicle in Ireland, ready to be used as a frontline ambulance and to carry medical and humanitarian supplies.

Deliver to Lviv

My partner and I drive it ourselves, Ireland to Lviv, roughly 2,800 km across the continent, and hand it over for humanitarian use on the ground.

02 · THE REASON

Why we are doing it

On the front line, vehicles are used up almost as fast as they arrive, lost to shelling, mines and broken roads. A vehicle that carries wounded soldiers and civilians out in time is the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

This is not an abstraction. Front-line medics burn through vehicles constantly, and no single delivery is ever enough. What keeps people alive is a steady stream of vehicles, kept flowing by ordinary people buying cars, loading them with aid and driving them east, again and again.

I'm doing this alongside Drive to Save Lives (D2SL), one of many volunteer groups doing the same across Europe. We deliver directly to a vetted recipient, with no middleman, and cover our own travel and living costs, so every euro donated goes to the vehicle, the crossing and the aid it carries.

Directly to the front.Delivered in person to a vetted recipient in Lviv, not sold, not stockpiled.
Used where it counts.An ordinary vehicle, prepared in Ireland and put to work as a frontline ambulance.
Aid on board.The vehicle travels loaded with medical supplies and equipment, not empty.
Full transparency.Costs published, receipts kept, the journey documented from Dublin to Lviv.

One vehicle is a drop. A steady stream is a lifeline. This run is one part of a wider, decentralised civilian effort: volunteers across Europe raising money and driving vehicles east, over and over, so that Ukrainian medics never run out of wheels.

03 · THE RUN

How it starts: the run

One runner, the full route: I'll run every kilometre from the Embassy gates to the Wicklow hills, with friends welcome to join me for a stage. Sponsor a kilometre or sponsor the lot; every pledge puts the vehicle on the road.

~120 kmDistance

7Stages

~3,800 mTotal climb

Late AugRun date · weather depending

Road approach Wicklow Way West to Baltinglass

Embassy to the trailhead

~9 km

Ballsbridge out through Milltown and Rathfarnham to Marlay Park, where the Wicklow Way begins. Roads and parkland to warm the legs.

Marlay Park to KnockreeWicklow Way

~21 km

Up over Fairy Castle and the Dublin uplands, through Glencullen and Curtlestown Wood into the first real hills.

Knockree to RoundwoodWicklow Way

~18 km

Past Powerscourt, the boardwalk climb of Djouce, and high above Lough Tay before dropping to Roundwood.

Roundwood to GlendaloughWicklow Way

~13 km

Forest track and open hillside down into the monastic valley of Glendalough and its two lakes.

Glendalough to GlenmalureWicklow Way

~14 km

Over the shoulder of Mullacor into the deep glacial valley of Glenmalure, under Wicklow's highest ground.

Glenmalure to AghavannaghWicklow Way

~14 km

Beneath the eastern flank of Lugnaquilla to Aghavannagh, the last point where our route rides with the Way.

Aghavannagh to BaltinglassWest branch

~20 km

Leave the Way and turn west down the Slaney valley, through Knockanarrigan and Donard, to finish in Baltinglass.

Route is indicative and still being finalised: it mostly follows the waymarked Wicklow Way (Marlay Park to Aghavannagh) before branching west to Baltinglass. Distances are estimates. Note the Glen of Imaal army artillery range on the western side is closed to the public on firing days, so the finish keeps to public roads via Donard.

04 · THE ROUTE

How it ends: Dublin to Lviv

Once the vehicle is bought and loaded, we drive it east ourselves by ferry, motorway and border crossing, roughly 2,800 km to Lviv.

Ireland 🇮🇪

START · Rosslare

Collect and equip the vehicle, load the aid, and drive to the ferry port.

Ferry to France 🇫🇷

~20 hrs at sea

Rosslare to Cherbourg by ferry, the crossing that skips the UK and lands us on the continent.

France → Germany 🇩🇪

~900 km

North-east across France and into Germany, running the autobahn corridor east.

Germany → Poland 🇵🇱

~700 km

Through Germany into Poland, staging near Kraków / Rzeszów before the border.

Poland → Lviv 🇺🇦

FINISH · ~350 km

Across the Ukrainian border and on to Lviv, where the vehicle and aid are handed over.

Petya on the road

Petya, the knitted bear, beside a pint of Guinness on the ferry — On the ferry

Petya in front of Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland — Poland · Kraków

Petya at the King Danylo monument in Lviv, Ukraine — Ukraine · Lviv

05 · THE COST

Where the money goes

€5,000 is the minimum to buy a road-worthy vehicle and drive it from Ireland to Lviv. Anything raised beyond that is a stretch goal: more aid for the front. Figures below are our current estimates.

◈The vehicle€2,500

A rugged, road-worthy 4×4 / van, purchased and checked in Ireland.

⛽Fuel across Europe€800

Diesel for ~2,800 km, Ireland to Lviv and the crew home.

⚓Ferries & tolls€700

The Ireland to France crossing plus European motorway tolls.

▤Tax, insurance & documents€500

Short-term road tax and cross-border insurance for a month or two, plus paperwork.

✦Contingency€500

Repairs, spares and the unexpected on a long drive east.

✚More aidStretch goal

The €5,000 minimum puts the vehicle on the road. Every euro past it buys more medical kit and humanitarian supplies to load aboard — the more we raise, the more aid rides east.

Minimum target

€5,000

Stretch · every € over buys more aid

€5,000 is the minimum we need to buy the vehicle and drive it to Lviv. We fund our own food, lodging and personal travel, so donations pay only for the vehicle, the journey, and the aid it carries.

RECEIPTS KEPT · COSTS PUBLISHED · JOURNEY DOCUMENTED

06 · BACK THE MISSION

How to donate

Any amount moves the vehicle east. Pick whatever is easiest for you and every euro is accounted for.

⚡

Revolut

The fastest way to give: scan the code to send a card or Revolut payment straight to us, no fees.

Revolut · scan to give

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Bank transfer

For larger gifts or if you prefer a direct transfer.

IBAN IE 45 REVO 9903 6082 1143 06

REF PETYA'S BATTALION

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Why give direct?

We take donations straight to us by Revolut or bank transfer rather than through a crowdfunding site. No platform fees come off your gift, and we're not bound by crowdfunding rules that limit what the money can support.

Sponsor the run

Back the effort by the kilometre or with a flat pledge, payable when we reach Baltinglass. Get in touch and we'll set it up.

✉ Pledge sponsorship

Write on the vehicle

For a donation, have your name or a message written on the body of the vehicle. Your words ride with it to the front line and stay in Ukraine, a small mark of a shared struggle.

✎ Claim your message