On 26 January 2015 Canadian Minister of International Trade Edward Fast a visited the offices of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) humanitarian initiative Patriot Defense in Kyiv, Ukraine. During the visit, Director of the program Dr. Ulana Suprun presented the first 100 Improved First Aid Kits (IFAKs) that have been earmarked for funding by the Canadian government under an assistance package that was announced on 26 November 2014 by Minister of Defence Rob Nicholson.

The Government of Canada will be providing the IFAKs for Ukrainian soldiers who will complete Combat Lifesaver training by instructors from the humanitarian initiative of the UWC Patriot Defence.

“We are grateful to the Canadian government for the support of the men and women defending Ukraine’s people and territory from a foreign aggressor,” expressed UWC Director of Humanitarian Initiatives Dr. Ulana Suprun. “These IFAKs will undoubtedly save many lives.”

The Patriot Defence initiative conducts tactical medicine training for Ukrainian soldiers with Combat Lifesaver courses based on the standards of the armed forces of Canada, the United States and NATO.  Since May 2014, over 12,000 Ukrainian military and volunteer battalion soldiers have completed the training and over 9,500 NATO-standard IFAKs have been distributed.

Patriot Defence (patriotdefence.org) is a humanitarian initiative of the UWC and is funded by generous donors from Ukrainian communities in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, United States, Poland, Ukraine and many other countries around the world.