Internet access, military communications and medical equipment are just some of the provisions helping front line soldiers in Ukraine thanks to an aid effort by an island resident.

Anya Nabiulina, a Ukrainian living in Bermuda, has just completed her fifth trip to the war-torn country helping both the military effort as well as providing essential supplies to civilians near the front line.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has forced millions of Ukranians to leave their homes in search of safety. According to the United Nations: “In 2023, the needs inside Ukraine are expected to remain enormous.”

Ms Nabiulina is returning to Bermuda this week from 20 days in Ukraine, and is gearing up for a fundraising event she is organising at The Loren on May 26.

The money raised at the event will go towards Ukrainian Heroes, a charity Ms Nabiulina launched at the end of last year with her brother. Its mission is to support Ukrainian soldiers on the front line..

Speaking to The Royal Gazette from Ukraine this week, Ms Nabiulina said: “We delivered medical supplies, laptops, drones and a 12kW generator, which will be used to power a communications centre.

“We also delivered Starlink [a satellite internet service] equipment to supply internet to as there is no internet for soldiers on the front line.

“The signal can’t be blocked so they can send all the information they need – it’s a broader way of communication. This does help with strategy and has a military use but the soldiers can also use it to send a message to their families to let them know they are still alive.”

Her trip, which included a brief stint in Europe, began a month ago from Kyiv. The first planned trip was to Kharkiv, where she met the Kraken regiment, a highly selective Ukrainian military volunteer unit, to undergo military training.

She recalled: “With our team, there were three people that went to the training. We did training like regular soldiers but they trained us separately.

“We were wearing helmets, bulletproof jackets, ammunition, we got to shoot … for a regular person to come and train it is very hard.”

She said one exercise involved volunteers being woken up at night to go on a three-mile run.

“It’s a good tool to keep people on their toes, make sure they don’t relax and are prepared for everything,” she said.

“Everyone was super nice, joking – some had already been on the front line two or three times but they don’t lose that sense of fun, they don’t lose themselves.”

From there she made brief stops at cities in the eastern province of Donetsk Oblast. The group she was with travelled within eight miles of the front line as part of the mission.

Another possible provision being considered by the Ukrainian Heroes is a remote controlled stretcher currently being designed to safely evacuate casualties from the battlefield.

Ms Nabiulina explained that when soldiers were trying to pull a stretcher with a wounded comrade on it, they were visible targets.

She said: “It is very hard to get guys out – if you are wounded you might have to wait in a trench for a couple of hours before you are rescued. With this radio-controlled bed, you can strap the person to the bed and get him out as soon as possible.

“We had a conversation with a commander about their needs and we were asking, do you need a car, more drones … as soon as we mentioned the radio-controlled beds, he dropped everything else and asked for that. That touched me because you could see he really cares about his guys.”

The beds are being tested this week and if testing goes to plan, money will be raised through the charity to supply them to front lines.

During this trip, Ms Nabiulina also met Jason Rhind, a Bermudian who moved to Ukraine last May with the US charitable organisation Task Force Yankee to help transport and deliver medical supplies.

He later left the organisation to provide medical training to civilians as well as units from the Ukrainian Army and Territorial Defence Force.

Mr Rhind accompanied Ms Nabiulina and her group taking Easter bread to the conscripts and met her family for an Easter gathering.

Bermudians at home have also helped by raising funds for previous trips.

Ms Nabiulina added: “It’s nice to know that people in Bermuda care and really want to help.”

She said she had never lost sight of why she continued to risk her life to make the trips to Ukraine.

“Conscripts are giving up their lives. They are the reason I am coming here, it’s to help families be able to get their sons back.”

The fundraiser for Ukrainian Heroes takes place at The Loren on May 26 from 6.30pm in the Marée Lounge. Tickets are $200 each, available from www.ptix.bm

The ticket price includes a two-hour open bar on the terrace along with canapés by visiting chef Karla Hoyos (of Bazaar, Miami) who has returned from the Ukraine/Poland border where she has been cooking for World Central Kitchen. There will also be a silent auction and DJs.