Trawden For Ukraine

It's been quite a journey. The Red Squirrel, a 25 year old Toyota Corolla safely got us to Odesa. Some 2500 kilometres. I arrived late last night, 20th July , after 6 days on the road. It was 17°C when I left Trawden. Along the way there was torrential rain in Holland and Germany. Except for the traffic holdups, and the usual wait at the border the journey was good. Along the way I was able, on some nights to stay with friends.The final leg was a challenge with the temperature reaching 35°C. And no air conditioning. On the journey, I was able to pick up some really useful medical aid which I will take to a hospital. Whilst here I will be supporting an orphanage, a small community in Kherson and a dog sanctuary. We will deliver some aid at the weekend. On Wednesday I also start my English lessons with Ukrainians. This will, on this occasion be with beginners. Looking forward to this as it's often a lot of fun. Ukrainians generally have a good sense of humour. ...

Whilst Fiona and I are no longer working together we both remain fully committed to assisting Ukraine in any way we can. To this end, I will on the 15th July be setting off from Trawden in " The Red Squirrel" going overland to Ukraine, taking and collecting aid on the journey. I would like to thank Brookside Garage for giving my car the once over. The journey to Kherson is some 2200km. I will be collecting medicines, as well as other much needed items along the way. Once in Ukraine I will have the use of a vehicle. I hope to be able to make good use of the vehicle, both in delivering aid, and when required, evacuating people who need to move away from the front lines. Today I went to visit this organisation. They have been involved in delivering aid since the start of the war. The work they do is amazing. They have already donated several ambulances and other vehicles to help in Ukraine, as well as clothes, pans, sanitary items ...

I remember when we first went to Ukraine, we thought we'd better hurry up and get over there to help before the war finished, and there'd be nothing for us to do. How naïve were we? The situation in Ukraine at present has got even worse, especially in the areas in close contact with the Russian forces, although with the constant Shahed and missile attacks nowhere is safe. Kherson has become particularly difficult, and delivering aid there is a direct threat to life. Any vehicle or person can be targeted by Russian small killer drones. This week, a vehicle that is used to deliver aid that we have sometimes used, was attacked and badly damaged beyond repair. Miraculously, the driver, a person I know survived but suffered injuries.  The occupants of a bus were not so fortunate. It was attacked, 3 people died and several more injured. It's really terrifying.  What's really sick is that the Russian's then post o...

I just want to start by saying another successful run was completed to Kherson, where the physical situation remains mainly unchanged, with the constant attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. However, there is a heightened level of fear and uncertainty in Ukraine as a result of the political outcome in the USA. I don't usually write about politics in the blog, leaving this to more knowledgeable commentators, however these political developments are impacting, at least to my mind,  immediately on Ukraine.  First of all, since the Trump victory in America, the level of missile attacks have grown tremendously. Odesa is now being attacked daily. 30 shahed missiles aimed at the area on Thursday alone, completely destroying amongst other things, a secondary school. And these attacks have continued everyday since the election result, leading to more deaths in Kherson and Odesa. A lot of infrastructure has been once more hit with power cuts now once more the norm. There is ...