Maritimer ‘dream team’ supplies non-lethal military gear to Ukraine territorial units

Lex Brukovskiy, a lobster fisherman from Meteghan, and Don Bowser, who grew up in New Brunswick, joined forces on Monday

CITYnews halifax \ Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press

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HALIFAX — Two Canadians with ties to the Maritimes have been teaming up to provide non-lethal supplies to Ukraine’s territorial forces.

Lex Brukovskiy, a lobster fisherman from Meteghan, N.S., and Don Bowser, who grew up in New Brunswick, joined forces on Monday, with Brukovskiy providing transport from Poland into Ukraine after Bowser gathered up the gear for a delivery.

Bowser, a law enforcement and security adviser, has been raising funds and buying supplies that include bulletproof vests, helmets and night vision equipment for Ukraine’s territorial defence units.

The 54-year-old consultant said he recently heard about Brukovskiy’s work driving humanitarian supplies to people in besieged areas of eastern Ukraine and contacted the Nova Scotian to ask for “a lift” from Poland to bring in gear he has bought.

Reached on the road during their trip together on Monday, Bowser said the shipment includes electronics, radio batteries and military clothing for Ukraine soldiers.

The two connected after Brukovskiy recently returned from a trip delivering generators and humanitarian aid to the outskirts of Pokrovsk in southeastern Ukraine.

In some of their social media posts, they’ve taken to referring to their collaboration as “the dream team.”

“We equip them with gear they don’t have. The territorial units are in their street clothes in some case,” Bowser said of his mission.

Bowser said his crowdfunding donations are mostly coming from Atlantic Canada. Brukovskiy’s humanitarian supplies have also been largely funded by small fishing communities on Nova Scotia’s southwest coast.

Brukovskiy had focused on delivering humanitarian aid and ferrying displaced Ukrainians to safety, but as a result of connecting with Bowser, he decided to help his fellow Canadian with delivery.

“I had a vehicle, so here I am. I had two days between my last trip and my next trip. So I had yesterday and today off, and I took the opportunity to make the run to Poland and give Don a hand,” the fisherman said.

The two often read the western news, including the recent disturbing documentation of atrocities against citizens in towns around Kyiv that had been occupied by the Russian army.

Bowser said the images motivate him to work longer hours to provide help. “For both of us, it makes us all the more determined to stay here and do the job,” he said.

“Somebody has to do this, and so at the end of the day, the more horrors you see, the more urgency there is to deliver.”

Brukovskiy said he believes Ukraine is bracing for a second onslaught of Russian attacks and continuing bombardments and shelling.

He said he was surprised at the numbers of people attempting to flee the Donetsk and Pokrovsk areas during his voyage there over the weekend. “The lines of cars trying to leave were kilometres long,” he said. “People are preparing for the worst in that part of the country.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press