Rob and I served in the 82nd together and we recently just reestablished contact with each other. Our group of friends spent many long weekends road-tripping to Georgetown from Ft. Bragg, staying very cheaply at Ft. Myers, and clubbing at the 9:30 Club, et. al.
I was surprised at what he was doing:
How American serviceman opened culinary studio in Lviv and helps Ukrainians affected by the war
Robert Nuey, a former U.S. Army serviceman with 22 years of service, recently launched the Senses Chef Table gastronomic studio in Lviv. In an interview with NV Food on Feb. 23, he discussed his journey to becoming a chef and his efforts to support Ukrainians through his studio.
Despite the fact that the chef was born, raised and lived in the United States, in 2004 he visited Kyiv for the first time, where passion for Ukraine began. Robert Nuey spoke about his love of cooking, his military service, and the beginning of his volunteer work after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Rob founded UA Lifeline, whose mission statement is:
UA Lifeline
Our mission is to serve displaced Ukrainian families suffering from the effects of Russia’s invasion. We maintain living facilities and provide safety, shelter, medicine, hot meals, and much more to these Ukrainian refugees. We are a charitable humanitarian operation run by a U.S. military veteran.
The Ukrainian Freedom Fund (www.theUFF.org) is proud to serve as the 501(c)3 nonprofit fiscal sponsor for UA Lifeline. All contributions are tax-exempt.
I’m going to cut and paste a lot from his interview, I’m going to let Rob speak to you in his own words.
— Who exactly does UA Lifeline help?
UA LIFELINE was created to help Ukrainian people during this terrible war started by Russia. We started by helping the massive flow of internally displaced people coming from the east. I helped them with housing, feeding them, providing hot showers and warm beds until they could continue their journey west to Europe. Then I created logistics chains that helped bring aid from Poland, the UK, the US and even Australia to Lviv, and then send it eastwards to where it was most needed.
Later, I started delivering this aid to civilians who desperately needed it myself, as well as providing aid to the military fighting on the front lines, in the most dangerous areas near the front line or in close proximity to it. We regularly traveled to Kherson and surrounding villages, Zaporizhzhia, Nikopol, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Chasiv Yar, Lyman, Sloviansk, Izium, and throughout the Kharkiv Oblast.
It’s really strange seeing an Army buddy, someone I personally know, doing great things. Since my separation last Black Friday, I’ve considered going there to join him, wondering if my own US Army Special Forces training would come back. My eleven-year-old daughter, however, was thoroughly against it — not to mention that it probably wouldn’t be good for my own service-connected PTSD and Depression, for which the VA awarded me 100% T&P. My ex strongly suggested that it wouldn’t be good for me.
Rob is mostly on Facebook and Instagram, he doesn’t seem to have a website.
[...] But my plans changed completely on the morning of February 24, when Russia started war against Ukraine. It was at this time that I founded the humanitarian charity organization UA Lifeline. Although I officially registered it only a year later, we started our active work from the first days of the war in Ukraine.
When I realized that donations were starting to come in very slowly, I decided to use my culinary skills to be able to raise funds to continue working in Ukraine. With the help of local chefs, I opened a pop-up restaurant where guests pay a certain amount for a tasting dinner, and some part of that money goes to UA Lifeline.
But Rob doesn’t confine himself to his culinary arts nor to the relative safety of his restaurant, he also distributes medical aid
— How did you choose the concept for Senses Chef Table — Lviv?
This idea came up a few years ago when I was still living in Kyiv. The initial concept was to create a space where I could team up with local, regional, and even international chefs. We wanted to serve international cuisine, hang paintings or photos related to a particular country on the menu, and offer music playlists and live music.
I’ve never solicited in my 20 years here on Daily Kos, but someone asked in one of the Ukrainian diaries who they could donate to. I can personally vouch for Rob, his integrity is impeccable as is his taste in music! If you feel that this is a cause that you may wish to donate, I am sure Rob will greatly appreciate it. Here’s the donation link again.
MAKE A DONATION
UA Lifeline
by Ukrainian Freedom Fund