Saving lives in Ukraine - Georgetown Today

two men stand outside of a tank — Miller inspecting an armored vehicle outside Kyiv, with the Ukrainian director of a factory, and Zero Line aid recipient, that installs secure communications systems in front-line vehicles. Photo: Courtesy of Ian Miller

As co-founder of Zero Line, a nonprofit provider of front-line aid, Ian Miller (C’09) strategizes how to save Ukranian lives and shorten the war with Russia.

“The third day of the Russian invasion, I was managing an MIT software team watching the news, horrified. So, I flew over to east Poland to try to help Ukrainians,” says Miller.

“When I got to Ukraine, I connected with other volunteers with complementary software, logistical, and military skills. We had a shared desire to provide front-line aid—targeting where most people are dying in the war and aid saves the most lives,” he explains. That summer, with American and Ukrainian cofounders, Miller formalized the nonprofit Zero Line to provide vehicles, IT equipment, and other non-weapon supplies to frontline Ukrainians.

ian with volunteers — Photo: Courtesy of Ian Miller

“My Georgetown professors instilled in me— and many of my classmates—a general belief in the value of public service and foreign service.”

—Ian Miller (C’09)

“What you provide matters. To whom and why is also crucial. We support Ukrainian programs with multiplier effects,” says Miller. With donor funding, Zero Line supports Ukrainian programs that digitally map the front-lines and build defense equipment like jammers.

“The digital maps are used by tens of thousands of Ukrainians to increase the survival rate of operations like evacuating wounded people and moving supplies under Russian fire. And the jammers protect against Russian strike drones,” he says. Zero Line procures and ships these supplies into Ukraine via large aid convoys driven by dozens of volunteers.

ian with tank — Photo: Courtesy of Ian Miller

“Volunteers and donors overlap, and that’s part of our fundraising strategy,” he says. “The convoys safely bring volunteers to Ukraine to provide direct logistical value—driving vehicles, unloading, and delivering aid—and to see things firsthand.”

“Georgetown alumni have been generous supporters of Zero Line’s aid work, both in the first weeks of the invasion and, supporting and joining our autumn aid convoy,” says Miller.

“My Georgetown professors instilled in me—and many of my classmates—a general belief in the value of public service and foreign service,” he says. “I think that’s one reason we’ve earned a lot of support from alumni.”

Looking to the future of Zero Line, Miller says, “The mission remains the same: save as many lives as possible, but get a lot bigger and better at doing that.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Learn more about Miller and his efforts >