OPINION: Harald Omland: Unshakable Support From Norway

Harald Omland describes his motivation to support Ukraine:

When I see all the brave soldiers doing their job and I see all the people these women stand behind, they could flee and get a pass to Europe, but they stay to build the country. They are true heroes of this war. It is not just a wish; it is an obligation for us, the whole world, to help –

Omland, a Norwegian filmmaker and volunteer for Ukraine, comes from the small beautiful town of Skien in Norway. His professional background is varied and includes serving in the military for eight years and then engaging in a number of businesses, including filmmaking. Creating documentaries and live productions has stayed his passion to this day. Supporting Ukraine became Harald’s initiative, a big share of his activities, and a family effort too, since his relatives couldn’t stand aside either. 

Magnetized by Ukraine once and forever

Harald Omland’s first encounter with Ukraine was in 2014, during the Euromaidan Revolution. As the Norwegian volunteer recalls, he found out about the Revolution of Dignity on the news and felt that he needed to go to Ukraine. Seeing how fiercely Ukrainians fight for freedom conquered his heart, he confesses:

I went down there and stayed on Maidan for like five days, and I fell in love with the people, with the country, with the city. It was something totally special.

The connection to Ukraine grew stronger with the years as Omland observed the invincible Ukrainian spirit closely. On Feb. 15, 2022, Harald came to Ukraine to support his ex-partner’s family amidst the turmoil of suspicion about the possible attack. He stayed till the bleak day of Feb. 24, 2024, when the biggest fears turned into reality, and Russia started the full-scale war against Ukraine. Omland is close with the Ukrainian Sport Orienteering Federation, and the “Sever” orienteering club, in particular. Harald also met the leader of “Sever” Olexandr Sheremet, who was murdered in Irpin.

It shook me, a lot of other orienteers have been killed because a lot of them are soldiers now. I decided to try to help. And why? Well, when you have the opportunity and experience, you have to try to do something bigger than yourself.  Because it is your calling. And you can’t ignore it, explains the Norwegian volunteer. 

Getting the momentum to help Ukraine

After Harald Omland and his ex-girlfriend left Ukraine safely at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he returned home and contacted his friend Jan Brønsten. Together they joined efforts and funds to buy cars, and Harald immediately headed back to Ukraine to bring more help. 

Brønsten as Omland’s co-founder of the Fiodor Foundation/BBrave and a close friend continued raising money and donating from personal savings too. Harald says it may seem that the fundraising they had done is not too big on an international level, but it was an important start. After about five months of donating and collecting funds together, Harald and Jan gained the trust of the people who got lots of testimonies and photos demonstrating that those who need the support most – the civilians and Defenders in Ukraine – receive all of it, shares Omland:

“People help with donations because they see what we are doing, we share everything on social media. We are showing that what the supporters are giving is reaching frontline areas or internal refugees in Ukraine. And I think this is the most important thing we can do – to help the army and help the people.”

Harald adds it was necessary to come up with an official title for the organization to register it. The volunteer used the name of a one-year-old baby, Fedir,  Harald’s ex-partner’s grandson, whom he saved from Kyiv with the rest of the family when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. The boy’s cheerful spirit inspired Omland:

“It was chaos on the streets, it was a long trip from Kyiv, and it took six days to get to Vienna. It was really slow. And this kid was really a light for everybody. He was smiling all the time, he was laughing. So that’s why, it is the Fiodor Foundation.” 

Omland gradually plans to turn the Fiodor Foundation into BBrave since, as he reiterates,  so many times, Ukrainian people showed courage, more of which he could observe during his humanitarian trips.

Omland adds that over the years the support decreased but still they have two major ways to keep the activity of the organization going. The first one involves asking some companies for funding for specific projects with a monthly payment towards completing them. The second half of the funding comes from the supporters who follow the activities of the BBrave/Fiodor Foundation and send donations or supplies. Some people give €10, while others constantly send €100 -200. Every cent matters, as Harald explains. Given the fact that the BBrave is a small organization with no office or administrative costs, all the funding and contributions can go to Ukraine, concludes Omland.

Family effort and family concern

“My family thought I lost my mind, and my daughter didn’t like it. But then my niece said: ‘It is kind of crazy but we can’t stop him, so let’s help him. It is the right thing to do.”

Those dear to Harald – his sisters Astri and Gunn-Ingeborg, brother Oddgeir,  nieces Kari-Anne, and Linda, and daughter Stine – joined efforts to collect clothes, food, and other forms of donations. It became their family mission with a deep message and goals.

The initiative to help Ukraine united not only relatives but also friends. Omland met Pål Wiik-Wøien,  one of the extremely loyal supporters of Ukraine during some of the film productions some time ago. Pål stands with Ukraine and shows it through actions by helping Harald with driving the van. Pål Wiik-Wøien also contributes some funding but most importantly – his care, time, and dedication:

Pål drives my van with humanitarian aid from Skien, my little town, down to Kraków or Warsaw. And it is like 1,500-2,000 kilometers (932-1,243 miles), it is quite a way, it takes two days. Pål covers his own tickets and diesel for the car, he buys stuff he puts into the car, and pays for his own food. He drives the van there so I can take a plane from Norway to Poland, and go to Ukraine after. And the same happens during my return trip, Pål picks up the car in Poland to get it home.

But with a common family mission to be there for Ukraine comes a common concern for Omland’s protection and well-being. When the full-scale invasion started, Harald’s daughter Stine called him to check if he was safe and sound in Kyiv. Despite the horrible worrying, she managed to ask her father to fulfill the family’s most important wish, as Omland shares:

She said, “Daddy, promise me one thing. Don’t put on the uniform. Don’t take the gun. Don’t go to the frontline. I know you, I know you!  She does know me. This is the war, it is the right thing to do when you have skills and you are a trained warrior. If you get in the right mood now, you put on the uniform, you go there and you volunteer to fight because you can.”

Harald’s relatives managed to motivate and persuade the man to assist through the humanitarian effort instead of the army and help as much as possible. Omland admits it wasn’t an easy thing to do since he was certain his military experience would be so much in handy. He was in situations like this in the Middle East and had the motivation to share knowledge, but he had to control it:

“I made and kept that promise, and sometimes, it is hard. Because, especially in the first year of the war, I saw there was so much I could contribute – to train and teach the soldiers. At the very start, [Ukraine] had like 40,000-50,000 good soldiers. But the rest are just ordinary people, they hadn’t held a gun in their hands before. I had orienteering friends asking if I could come and teach them to shoot. But I realized I couldn’t do it. If I had started training them, I would have ended up at the front line because it is in my blood.”

When on humanitarian trips to Ukraine, Harald has a daily mission of notifying his family, particularly his daughter that he is safe – at least twice a day. If the response is late – a flurry of question marks from her will follow in the chat. Omland keeps a balance of keeping his relatives posted on the events and not oversharing about people’s sufferings. He does explain things and stories, but never goes too much into details or shows images. It concerns both humans and animals, only the ways to help and assist them effectively are a matter of the conversation. Spreading the word is important, but seeing too much pain brings no change, while accumulating action to change things does, as states Omland.

Harald explains that worrying has to do with not being here and not getting the full picture. Being out of situation, observing from the distance can be more stressful than being a part of the mission and doing something on the ground because when in Ukraine Omland focus on completing his task not just being anxious or preoccupied about the safety.

Harald Omland admits that taking into account the way the things are portrayed in media with click-bait and bad news selling better, it is not surprising his family was terrified. Though given that such a terror was happening in a democratic country in the 21st century, the shock was reasonable.  The Norwegian volunteer explained that a twisted image can mislead people into thinking that things are not the way they actually are. The danger is always present but all of that is changing and relative depending on where you are in Ukraine, notes Harald:

“Before it was taken, I had been to Bakhmut three times. And the shelling was terrible. I have been to Avdiivka, Kherson, and Kramatorsk, and to many places like that. There are people living hundreds of meters away from the enemy. The closeness to danger there is bigger for them. I tell my family that I take all the precautionary measures. I do quite a few things, so my relatives feel secure that I am safe and taking care of myself.”

Supporting through education

“Ukraine is going to win this war and after that, we are going to build and continue a historically amazing country. And we have to do this, with and through knowledge. And how do we start? With kids.  Education and knowledge are the foundation of any democracy. The nation cannot work without it.”

Omland adds that the fact that schools didn’t work during the pandemic, and so many of them were destroyed during the Russian attacks, leading to kids having little knowledge and skills. Harald supports six schools in the Fastiv region with the help of local educators and the community. English teacher and local activist Oksana Tryhub created a system to organize and manage these schools and activities for kids and led the process of making it all happen. Having joined the efforts with her colleagues and Harald, they continue to bring the light of knowledge and the joy of unity in this community. Now kids get more core skills in reading and writing in Ukrainian, English as a foreign language, and Mathematics. There are internal refugees, kids of the Defenders, and orphans among the students of these extracurricular classes. There are also lots of creative activities, theater workshops, and a chess club supported by the B” in this community. Everything the kids learn, they get to show at different holidays with games, concerts, and performances, which Harald gladly attends when he is in Ukraine to see the fruit of the support. Besides, kids bring him so much joy, as he confesses.  People in this group are deeply religious, their gatherings are moments to pray together, tells Omland:

“We are supporting and hope to get more of it to help kids to come through traumatic times – instead of psychological meetings. I believe in the good of doing something together and engaging in some kind of activities – it could be football, dancing, chess, karate, theater, boxing, it doesn’t really matter. It is so crucial to make sure the kids get together and can train.” 

Harald definitely created a varied scheme of sport activities for children. To name a few, the Bbrave supports a football team,  and continues activities with kids from “Sever” orienteering club and its leader Olena Dotsenko. He says:

It is about getting children together. Socializing will help them heal the wounds of the war. And they can make friends. And it all leads to knowledge, to friendship. It leads to peace and a better world.”

Invincible Ukrainian spirit as an inspiration to support

Harald Omland is currently working on a historic documentary about the connections between Scandinavian Norway and Kyivan Rus, but apart from the historical foundation presented in this film, it is really about the truth about how things really were, and also the lies spread by propagandists to deny and twist the reality over hundreds of years, as the Norwegian documentarian points out. For him, the problem with the deep-rooted effects of propaganda is terrifying, as Omland shares:  

“The propaganda machinery is huge, and Moscow has used it for 20 years now. They influenced the brain and the thinking of so many people in Western countries that it is frightening to me. Some smart individuals believe this propaganda too. And even friends of mine sometimes challenge me when I tell them how things really are. And I don’t know how to fight this. And the main question here is: Is it possible to resist propaganda?” 

Omland adds that sadly a lot of people don’t question lies and fakes, and it often infuriates him how individuals can be blinded by someone and something so disgraceful, especially given how in front of the whole world the ideals of freedom, democracy, and sovereignty are being undermined at so many levels:

“I get mad at everybody who believes Russian propaganda. Ukraine is not Russia, this is not even a part of Russia, not even a historic part of Russia. This is just a totally different type of people – different in culture, their way of thinking, and in the way they want to be. They are not imperialistic, they are more European style. This is not just their fight, this is all OUR fight for freedom, the fight of people who believe in democracy and that tyrants should not rule the world.”

Being here, Omland gets inspiration from Ukrainians more and more. As he elaborates, he is impressed that there are so many Ukrainian people who stayed, and that there are also many of those who had moved abroad long before the invasion – both in 2014, and the full-scale in 2022 – but returned home when it started, so they can help their motherland. The Norwegian volunteer adds that such invincibility amazed and impresses people all over the world:

“Nobody expected this. Nobody expected such resistance, bravery,  fighting, and your willingness to even die to protect yourself. I met soldiers, defenders, I met hurt people who are just civilians, firefighters who stay here very close to the frontline and directly in the frontline and continue fighting. Ukrainian resistance, Ukrainian bravery, and Ukrainian fighting are captivating.”

Harald shares the story of then 20- and now 24-year-old activist Anna he met in Ukraine. She studied international politics and could have easily continued her studies abroad, and to Omland’s question “Why not?” she responded that at this historic moment, she wanted to be here, and later, when her child asks her, she would say she is proud she could help her country. Harald is dazzled by such dedication, and, moreover, with every story or encounter, he feels welcomed and accepted in this community of invincible people, as he confesses:

“When I come here, I really feel good. I feel hope. During one of his humanitarian trips to Ukraine, I wrote on FB that I was sitting in Izyum (Kharkiv region), a town in eastern Ukraine torn by the war. I was sitting in a cellar, in a bomb shelter of the Second World War. I was with my translator and two other people. I felt relaxed, I felt at home. I felt totally comfortable. So it is something about the people here, even if I cannot speak with them, they make me feel at home and feel secure.”

During the most recent trip to Ukraine in January 2025, Harald delivered quite a few wheelchairs and walkers to a community in Izyum. These people had been applying for different support programs but for many years couldn’t get this important medical aid. On that January day, Harald Omland brought the wheelchairs to every home from the group of people who needed them. It was really special because it was not only a beautiful gift over the festive season but a sign that the foreign community was there for them. It is not just a piece of costly medical equipment but most importantly a token of unity.

When in Izium, Harald often visits the dedicated rescuers from Izyum Fire Brigade to support and cheer them up. On that humanitarian trip, Harald also delivered to different groups in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Poltava oblasts, and Fastiv area. Harald says that his goal is not only to bring supplies but to show that the rest of the world cares – and he is here to prove that. And the most special moment when again, without any words, Omland gets to see that people really feel the support:

And I see in their eyes, in their smile, in the way they talk about things that what we do is important . And I hope we can continue.

Harald Omland takes a lot of pictures and videos. And it is not only for socials or showing some reports to the donors. He adds that delivering and leaving something at the storage in Ukraine is good too as long as it is fairly distributed in the community later. But there is nothing like those moments to connect with people, see them receiving something they really needed, knowing they feel supported by the rest of the world.

Omland explains that at the beginning of the war, there were very few organizations that would go to the frontlines to deliver help, and he was glad to be one of those. But most importantly, he got to bring aid to civilians living close in the severely affected and damaged areas, and the Ukrainian Defenders whom he respects dearly.

Once, during the delivery to one of the units in Donetsk Oblast in 2023, Harald passed on all the supplies and was chatting with the Defenders to support them and get to know them better – as always. After he heard that this group of soldiers was collecting funds to get a generator, he rushed to his van and returned with another gift – he donated his personal generator to the unit. The generator helps these defenders to this day. 

As Omland adds, despite all the challenges, the spirit of Ukrainians and soldiers is not brought down or even shaken, there might be pain and scars as a result of this horror, but never giving up:  

“I met so many Ukrainian soldiers. They are defenders of this country. I am happy to be here for them. And even if they see the death of their friends, see the wounded, you don’t see the defeat in the defenders’ eyes, they don’t even talk about it. We will continue helping them.  And they will fight this war, and they will win it. They have to. These people are amazing and really have faith. Ukrainians are brave. And that’s why we call it ‘Be brave like Ukraine.’”

Harald has no doubts about Ukraine’s victory and that it is meant for courageous and invincible Ukrainians. Moreover, it will be the only just outcome of this fight according to Harald Omland:

“First of all, Ukrainians cannot afford to lose because they know their history – if they lose now, there will be another hundred years of tyranny. And secondly, one cannot beat the people who fight on their own ground for their right to live.  This country, these people will win, you can see it deep, deep in their eyes. I love Ukraine, I love Ukrainians.” 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.