Polish aid founder says corruption halted ambulance deliveries to Ukraine

Bartosz Rutkowski, a reserve lieutenant commander and head of the Orla Straż foundation, told Bogdan Rymanowski that his group formerly moved relief goods to Ukraine but has largely ceased doing so. He attributed the change to pervasive corruption, describing how border officers would demand a bribe to allow an ambulance into the war zone, holding the vehicle for hours in the cold. Rutkowski noted that Poland had recently limited its overseas humanitarian work to Ukraine, abandoning previous Middle-East assistance.

He expressed skepticism about the proper distribution of aid by Ukrainian state institutions or depots near Lviv. While affirming support for war-affected Ukrainians, he warned that reliance on official channels may undermine the aid's impact.