Kiwi K.A.R.E founder and chairman Tenby Powell has been awarded Ukraine’s Order of Merit, one of the country’s highest honours.

The award recognises the New Zealand charity’s humanitarian work during the war.

Powell received the award from Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a ceremony in Kyiv, a media release said.

The honour recognises Kiwi K.A.R.E’s frontline support since 2022, including the evacuation of more than 7000 people, the production and distribution of about 8000 stoves and water boilers, and the delivery of more than 3500 tonnes of medical aid to Ukraine.

That aid has included 75 ambulances and support vehicles operating in some of the country’s most dangerous regions.

Myroshnychenko said the organisation’s efforts had helped save countless lives.

“It is a significant humanitarian effort which has helped save countless lives in some of the country’s most dangerous regions,” he said.

Powell said the award belonged to the wider network of volunteers and supporters.

“This award is a profound honour, but it is by no means mine alone,” he said.

“It belongs to every member of the dedicated Kiwi K.A.R.E teams in Ukraine, supported by members in New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Romania and the US.”

The award comes months after Powell was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

The presentation was held in front of a Kiwi K.A.R.E ambulance struck by a Russian drone in the Kherson region in 2024. Since then, the charity has been targeted six times, losing three ambulances.

The damaged vehicle is now displayed in Mykhailivs’ka Square in central Kyiv alongside other civilian vehicles damaged during the conflict.

“Drones have arrived and the rules have gone,” Powell said.

“Anyone and everything is a target, including a well-marked civilian ambulance, the destruction of which is a war crime.”

Kiwi K.A.R.E operates without New Zealand Government funding and relies on donations, philanthropic support and volunteers.

Powell thanked supporters for helping sustain the organisation’s work.

“Put simply, you have helped save lives. That is the real achievement,” he said.