North Defence has completed its 17th mission to Ukraine, delivering two vehicles to strengthen the frontline work of the Ukrainian rescuers.
CEO and British Army veteran Oliver North once again made the journey personally, handing over a fire truck manufactured by North Defence in West Yorkshire. The vehicle will serve as a rapid response unit, helping rescuers reach incidents faster in the aftermath of Russian strikes.
Alongside it, a Mercedes Vito van was also driven over and donated to the Ukrainian Firefighters Foundation. It marks the first vehicle the Foundation’s own staff will use to transport essential lifesaving equipment to the frontline. The van will also support vehicle maintenance and training drills, work that until now has relied on staff using their personal cars.
“Every time we come here, we’re reminded of the extraordinary courage of the people doing this work,” said Oliver. “These firefighters run towards danger every single day, and they deserve the right equipment to do it safely. We’ve told them, and we’ll keep telling them – North Defence will support them until victory.”
The delivery continues a long-standing partnership between North Defence and the Ukrainian Firefighters Foundation, and follows the company’s earlier visits this year, in March to hand over light mobility and general service vehicles to Ukrainian special forces, and in August to deliver a heavy firefighting vehicle to the State Emergency Service.
“Building this fire truck in West Yorkshire and seeing it handed to the team who’ll use it on the ground is incredibly special,” Oliver added. “It’s a real demonstration of what our engineers are capable of, and of what British manufacturing can rightfully do to support Ukraine.”
