'The need is so overwhelming': New Brunswicker in Ukraine procuring bulletproof vests

A New Brunswick man on a mission to procure and supply non-lethal military items to Ukraine says the need is overwhelming.

Don Bowser is an international law enforcement and security advisor.

He’s currently stationed between eastern Poland and western Ukraine where he’s crowdfunding to procure bulletproof vests, helmets, night vision equipment and other non-lethal military equipment and supply them to Ukraine’s military.

"I’m specifically trying to target units where we know it would do the most good," Bowser said.

"So we’re trying to rush it to areas that are the hottest at the moment."

A major problem in recent weeks, said Bowser, is that some of the humanitarian and military assistance stays within western Ukraine and it doesn’t get to the south and east.

"So what I’ve been doing is try to supply units in Kyiv as well we’re trying to get it out to the Donbas region which is going to be the next big fight," he said.

Bowser has been spent a significant amount of time in Ukraine for more than 30 years, including living in Kyiv for six of the past eight years.

All of his friends are either on the frontlines or are helping people who are. He was compelled to return to the region to set up his own operation.

Bowser said while weapons might be flowing into Ukraine in large volumes, most units have had to rely on themselves to get non-lethal equipment they need.

"The need is so overwhelming. Every day the requests that we get are far more than any one organization can do this and we’ve talked to many more organizations that are doing the same," he said.

"People are fighting in their street clothes. People don’t have proper boots and most importantly, people don’t have protective gear."

Most of the money he’s crowdfunded has been thanks to generous Maritimers. He’s raised more than $21,000 but said it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed.

"We just need to scrounge every day," he said.

This week, Bowser also supplied Lex Brukowskiy, a lobster fisherman from southwest Nova Scotia, with protective gear. Brukowskiy had been trapped in Chernihiv, a city under siege, for about 5 to 6 days before he escaped.