Why this Seattle man and his dog have spent the last 2 years in Ukraine

Two years ago, Seattle resident David Tagliani and his dog left for what was supposed to be a short aid trip to Ukraine. It was the first time Tagliani's work has taken him to an active warzone.

They've been there ever since.

Tagliani is a first responder EMT who specializes in search and rescue, along with his canine companion, Libby.

He became an EMT and started volunteering with Eastside Fire & Rescue in North Bend, and with an international search and rescue group called Empact.

He later wound up in Poland, helping people crossing the border from Ukraine in the days after the Russian invasion.

Tagliani brings Libby with him when he heads east. Even when she's not on the job, when Ukrainians see her, they're happy. Kids come up to play, and adults offer her food.

"It's just that natural need that people have to have this kind of connection to nature and a friendly face," Tagliani told Soundside last year.

RELATED: A man, a dog, a mission to Ukraine

Now, Tagliani works with a Ukrainian NGO called Stay Safe UA, which provides evacuation services and aid to the front lines. He said that in the last year, that front line has expanded to include Southern Ukraine, as well as the east.

Tagliani said Stay Safe is trying to meet the moment in Ukraine by changing the aid they provide to include wheeled, remote-controlled drones that can be used to get the injured off the battlefield, without putting other soldiers in harm's way.

Now, Stay Safe has been contracted by Ukraine's Ministry of Defense to provide more of these drones.

Like much of Stay Safe's work, these drones are being built with limited resources. The remote control is a Steam Deck, a type of video game controller. Most of the other parts were purchased from the online mass retailer Alibaba.

All of the drones are built in Ukraine, by the Stay Safe team and contractors.

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — through a massive loss of life on both sides of the conflict — Russia has managed to hold on to about a fifth of Ukraine. The 1,000 kilometer front line barely budged in 2023. Some reports suggest Russia is just waiting for Western attention to fade before winning a long, protracted war of attrition.

In the U.S., attention on the war hasn’t so much faded — more like, it’s been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict, and captured by a partisan quagmire.

"The Israel-Gaza conflict hit on Oct. 7, and that was a huge blow to Ukraine because basically, they were moved from the second page to the fifth page of newspapers," Tagliani said.

He added that less attention has also meant less funding, which has brought the war to a standstill.

The White House says assistance has "ground to a halt" due to fighting in Congress. Last week, the Biden administration came empty-handed to a meeting of 50 nations coordinating military support for Ukraine.

"Without [funding], it's going to make things much, much harder to even maintain the battlefront the way it is right now," Tagliani said.

Tagliani, who recently turned 66, said the work has felt harder as he’s gotten older. Seeing children dressed in flak jackets and escaping violence is traumatic, along with the many other realities of living through a war.

Last year, Stay Safe lost one of their colleagues for the first time — woman named Kat, from the UK, who was working as a combat medic on the front lines.

Nevertheless, Tagliani plans to stay.

"I'm going to stick to it as best I can, and continue to do what I can for Ukraine," he said.