Mission 3
The convoy crewed covered more than 3,000 miles there and back. It made four aid delivery drops and left two vehicles – a Ford Ranger and a Mitsubishi L200 – behind for vital supply work.
We drove the long drive from Lviv to Kyiv past fields of sunflowers and black earth to reach the clinic of a senior front-line doctor and unloaded.
A briefing left us in no doubt of the necessity of supplies. Artillery was still inflicting serious injuries. Casualty rates were high. Brave Ukrainian soldiers were returning to the front as quickly as possible after treatment.
There was also a sad moment when we parted ways with Mark and Graeme from Ranger One as the vehicle was handed over.
Two then headed to find an apartment before their coach journey back to Kyiv the next day and the Ford Transit “Big Blue” and “Lima Two” went onto Dnipro.
On Tuesday it was onward to Kharkiv and a rendezvous with the Kraken volunteers in Freedom Square.
Two then headed to find an apartment before their coach journey back to Kyiv the next day and the Ford Transit “Big Blue” and “Lima Two” went onto Dnipro.
More boxes were unloaded, more aid was delivered, more respect was given to the medical workers at the sharp end and those running centres for Internally Displaced People in Dnipro – and some excellent tea was drunk.
We said goodbye to the Mitsubishi being left behind for ferrying vital supplies and headed for a roadside hotel. By Wednesday we knew the end was in sight. With just the Big Blue on the road and two others of us being driven by a local contact we did the five-hour trip to Kherson and the long discussion of the war and what was needed.
On Tuesday it was onward to Kharkiv and a rendezvous with the Kraken volunteers in Freedom Square.
Two then headed to find an apartment before their coach journey back to Kyiv the next day and the Ford Transit “Big Blue” and “Lima Two” went onto Dnipro.
More boxes were unloaded, more aid was delivered, more respect was given to the medical workers at the sharp end and those running centres for Internally Displaced People in Dnipro – and some excellent tea was drunk.
We said goodbye to the Mitsubishi being left behind for ferrying vital supplies and headed for a roadside hotel. By Wednesday we knew the end was in sight. With just the Big Blue on the road and two others of us being driven by a local contact we did the five-hour trip to Kherson and the long discussion of the war and what was needed.
We delivered the last of the supplies to a hospital, received briefings from City and regional leaders and had some excellent borscht, fresh salad and fruit in the city famous for producing the world’s best watermelons.
It was easy to forget this was a city that spent months under Russian occupation but the ruined buildings nearby and the video by one of our hosts of the shells landing was a sharp reminder of the realities.
The reality of the lack of official aid getting into Ukraine was also starkly illustrated during the return leg to Dnipro. Of the hundreds and hundreds of trucks passed heading towards the front line, no British aid truck was seen and only one American.
After another night in Dnipro, Big Blue carrying Marcus and with the never-tiring Grant behind the wheel departed on Thursday to pick up some computer equipment and begin the long journey back to base.
