Ledbury man delivers bulletproof vests to Kyiv, Ukraine

Ian Jackson made his first trip to the war-torn country a month ago, taking three vans full of donated items to the Ukraine border before going into the country and ferrying people back towards Poland.

He eventually headed home after a rocket attack on Lviv Train Station, just a couple of miles from where he was staying, but immediately declared he hadn’t done enough and started planning another mission.

Ian, who makes the journeys with friends and family members using their own vans, has spent time in both the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the historic city of Lviv this week.

Lviv has been subjected to repeated Russian airstrikes targeting its infrastructure, including a rocket attack on a military training base last month.

And Ian says Kyiv is braced for more attacks.

Ian Jackson saw scenes of devastation in Lviv and Kyiv

“The Ukrainians in Kyiv are preparing for a possible second attack,” he said. “They are reinforcing and erecting more counter measures around the city.

“We have delivered bulletproof vests, mine detectors, trauma grade medical equipment and some dried food to a medical centre in the middle of Kyiv,” Ian said on Wednesday, adding that he was heading back to Lviv.

Raising funds to buy an ambulance for Ukraine

A GoFundMe page started by Ian has so far raised almost half of its £5,000 target. Ian wants to buy a decommissioned ambulance or fire engine and deliver it to Ukraine.

In an update on the page, he said: “It is extremely heartwarming as to the generosity of everyone, thank you so much.

“The donations are destined for a surgeon on the outskirts of Kyiv.

“Oleksandre, who we met two years ago on our way to visit Chernobyl, sent a message to us asking for any support we could give, having seen our posts from the last trip. We are determined to assist in his request as much as possible.

“We are committed to helping the Ukrainians who are being displaced, many of whom do not know where they are heading. They are just looking for a safe haven until the trouble is over.”