Ambulance Destination: Sumy, north-eastern Ukraine.
For my first journey taking an ambulance to Ukraine, I teamed up with Iain Gordon who had already undertaken 14 trips supplying vehicles, medical equipment and supplies, together with other humanitarian aid to the most needy regions at the very front line of the fighting and devastation.
Iain was to be my co-driver and would show me the ropes, introduce me to his contacts and generally guide me through the sometimes difficult bureaucratic process of exporting a vehicle across many borders. His organisational skills were excellent and his knowledge proved essential in making the journey as trouble free as possible.
The whole trip, there and back, was to take 10 days, with a lot of very early morning starts to avoid traffic and potential border crossing delays. We left Kirkcudbright at 5am and our first stop was Hull, where we loaded a further 21 boxes of humanitarian aid to our already packed supplies and then on to the ferry port for the night crossing to Rotterdam.
Iain had arranged assistance from P&O so that we were parked in a good position for quick disembarkation, which meant we cleared the Netherlands then Germany and had crossed the border into Poland through a little known border crossing by nightfall. Another early start and we crossed Poland and made it through the EU border with Ukraine and as far as Lviv by nightfall.
Not wanting to put too much strain on an ambulance, which was unlikely to be used to such long drives, we limited our daily runs to around 9 hours which meant we made it to Kyiv the next day with ease. As we neared Kyiv, Iain pulled over to show me the burnt out twisted metal remains of the Amstor Shopping Mall which was hit by a cruise missile on 27th June 2022 at 3.50pm, a busy shopping time. Some 20 civilians were killed and at least 59 wounded. This building was about the size of a large Ikea and was my first encounter with the devastation Russia’s so called military targeting was having on the general population. We drove around the city and stayed in the north-east outskirts so we could make an early start for Sumy and avoid any heavy traffic. That night the sirens sounded around 10.20pm and, though I heard no explosions, you could clearly hear the crackle of gunfire, presumably targeting drones.
Iain had expected the roads would be heavily potholed as he had seen elsewhere but fortunately much of this had been repaired, so we made good time. Even so, the evidence of a country at war were starting to emerge. Several bridges had been destroyed and their replacements were not entirely finished with the road leading up to them in a perilous state. I dropped the speed to 20mph but still managed to hit a large crevice. Even at 10mph or less there were numerous areas where road travel was still perilous. As if driving on the ‘other side of the road’ and the unfamiliar road markings, signs and lights was not enough to take in, there was so much more to look out for, I really had to concentrate hard to avoid any accidents. All along the route there were makeshift pill boxes, military vehicles and security guards, a further reminder we were heading into a troubled area.
We were relieved when we reached our hotel and were shown to our rooms by very friendly staff. I suppose they don’t get many visitors, mostly soldiers taking a brief leave to be with their loved ones, and the organisation to which we were delivering the aid had arranged a massive discount. From my balcony on the 3rd floor I had a panoramic view of the city, a great vantage point to watch for any activity. That night the sirens wailed around 9.30pm, though by 11pm there had been no explosions so I went to bed. I was awoken around 4am by a loud bang which I later found out was an entire factory destroyed by a drone.
The next day we drove to the offices of the charity organisation which had been set up to speed up the distribution of humanitarian aid and evacuation of civilians throughout the region. They were very pleased to see us and had lots of volunteers at the ready to help us unload the 50+ boxes we had brought with us. We talked at length about the work they were doing and they helped us with the multi-lingual paperwork for the transference of the ambulance in two day’s time. We were not permitted to travel to the front line, some 25 miles away, but we were invited for a meal that evening and to meet a young soldier, currently serving in Kursk. We were also offered the opportunity to visit a privately owned museum. The founder had built up the collection over 15 years and it varied from items over 1,500 years old to recent sculptures and paintings. There were carved masks, ancient armour and weapons, old maps and photographs, copies of 1,000 year old clothing, furniture, dolls, electronic equipment including an old reel-to-reel tape recorder which still worked; indeed a fascinating eclectic range. That evening I had my first taste of borscht, which I quite enjoyed. Yet all this felt surreal when you consider how close to the front line we were.
The following day we asked to see some of the damage done by the numerous strikes, so we were given a short tour which included many destroyed or badly damaged apartment blocks, a students accommodation block, an apartment block which took the brunt of an attempted attack on a military hospital and a civilian hospital where two doctors and seven patients were killed. When you look at the severity of the destruction and the burnt trees and cars you can’t help but notice the disproportionate number of schools, hospitals and homes hit and question Putin’s claims that this was not intentional. It is nothing short of terrorism, meant to destroy morale.
Later we were invited to spent time helping a group of women make camouflage netting some 4x6 metres in size. All had husbands and sons on the front line and this is one of the ‘pastimes’ many such groups do to help out and also take their mind off the war. There was no doubt in my mind of the resolve of these extraordinary people who, under such adversary, insist that as near to ‘normal life’ continues regardless. Oh yes, and another bowl of borscht.
We later returned to the hotel to meet with a Commander who was in charge of the support services. Currently ambulances are few and far between and they were using all forms of standard vehicles to get wounded soldiers and evacuees out, so he was very grateful to us for the donation. He spoke good English and gave us more information of what was most urgently needed and suggested ways we could help.
Amstor Shopping Mall Hospital Wing Student Accommodation
That evening the sirens went off early at around 3.30pm. I watched from the balcony but could only hear the distant booms of cannon fire. I tried watching TV but there were only Ukrainian spoken or dubbed programmes. I could barely make out the results of the US elections and the likely effect of Trump’s lack of support for Ukraine being debated. This was not good news.
I heard one large explosion that evening and learnt that the sirens go off as soon as Ukraine detects missile and drone launchings. Sumy is so close to the border it is impossible to know at this point where the Russians are targeting. Likely these flew over our heads, aimed at other unfortunates, but that is when complacency creeps in and you start to feel safe - it’s not a good idea to let your guard down.
Our final day in Sumy was spent visiting the city centre and shopping malls before our train journey that evening. I visited a museum and art gallery which I had expected would be closed but three rooms remained open with a small selection of turn-of-the-century paintings, in particular a self portrait and a number of works by the founder of the museum who, in 1937, was taken by the Russians and shot for being a member of the ‘inteligencia’ and for speaking his mind - I guess not much has changed since from the Russian perspective.
We made it back to the hotel by 3pm for the handover to army medical personnel. Iain and I went through the specifics of the Renault Master van and Iain showed them all the additional medical kit he had been able to obtain from donations, including: a Ferno stretcher, four inflatable stretchers, two more rigid stretchers, a wheelchair, a trolley chair, a defibrillator, a life pack, a suction unit, various other medical items and cupboards crammed with supplies of bandages, splints, dressings and the like. The crew were very impressed as much with the level of equipment as the condition of the van itself.
The van was officially handed over and all the paperwork signed off. We shook hands and wished them all be kept safe. We watched them drive off with a great feeling of relief and satisfaction of ‘job done’ and yes, a certain amount of pride in our achievement, made possible by people’s generosity.
There was some time remaining before we would be picked up and taken to the station to catch the overnight sleeper to Lviv, so we both had a well deserved rest, packed our bags and met up in the lobby to thank our hotel hosts for their hospitality. Throughout our time in Ukraine people who saw what we were doing wanted to give us small gifts and feed us. Even when we were picked up and dropped off at the station our new friends from the charity organisation gave us a food package for the journey. This only goes to show how grateful they are for any aid and, just as importantly, for the support of people from other countries confirming they are not alone in this fight against tyranny.
The journey home was likely to be a bit of an anticlimax. A fifteen hour journey in a sleeper cabin was not exactly my idea of comfort but it was the most practical way to travel under the circumstances. The train stopped a few times and for about 20 minutes in Kyiv. Little did we know that a few hours later Kyiv would be targeted by 145 drones, the largest attack since the start of the war.
At the end of the line in Lviv, feeling no more refreshed from our bumpy, noisy ride, we took a coach to Krakow, via the inevitable customs checks, to our hotel. We had a full day to spare before our flight and we had planned to visit Auschwitz. Unfortunately there was no tour that day, as it was Independence Day in Poland, so we toured the city and watched the various displays and parades. I couldn’t help but notice how their celebratory mood contrasted with those people still fighting for their freedom in Ukraine.
The next morning it was a short walk to the coach station, a ride to the airport, a three hour flight to Edinburgh, a coach to Glasgow and then another home. How lucky I felt to be able to sleep in peace, without the wailing sirens, buzzing sound of drones or the roar of missiles overhead, whilst fearing for the worse.
I have written this to explain that I found a lot more goes into simply driving aid to Ukraine. Apart from the amount of preparation and knowledge needed, I had to reconcile myself with what the people I met had to face every day, compared to my own relatively peaceful life. It prays on my conscience that I should be doing more. We all should. I hope therefore that this has stirred something in you to help, however you can. The ambulance we took over, for example, was mostly bought from the sale of Christmas cards, which only goes to show that every little helps and will actually save many, many lives.
Note: You may have noticed that we have omitted peoples’ names and specific place names for obvious security reasons.
Update: I’ve just heard that the ambulance crew have named her Mira, which translates in various languages to ‘extraordinary, admirable and peace’, which I feel is very appropriate.
The journeys and aims explained
Firstly, let me explain that raising funds, organising aid, buying vehicles and driving them out to war torn Ukraine is only part of our job. We are all volunteers who pay our own expenses and want to help wherever we can. We see, listen and learn about what is needed most for the next trip.
Ukrainians are a determined people and make do whatever the situation, but taking out much needed humanitarian aid, medical equipment and supplies, as well as vehicles such as ambulances, minibuses and 4x4s, to help wherever we can, is what we do.
But it does not end there. We take an interest in what is actually happening in war torn Ukraine, those events too small to be reported by the media but have a huge impact on peoples lives. We are often invited to museums, art galleries, libraries, churches and view magnificent sites which give us a much better insight into the Ukrainian culture and history. It explains why Ukrainians will not give up their fight and want to hold onto their culture and freedom.
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Ambulance & Minibus Destination: Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine.
Our destination - Kharkiv, one of the most devastated regions in Ukraine with the city constantly under bombardment by Russian missiles and drones. The amazing aid organisations there are stretched to the limit and in constant need of supplies. Many people have left or been displaced. Those remaining, including orphans, elderly, infirm and those injured in the war, are in dire need.
We also look to learn from our experience and how we can help with morale and distractions from the war. On this trip Iain and Sean (an Irish writer, singer and musician) arranged many visits to entertain and distribute warm clothes to orphanages and communities, as well as a minibus with a wheelchair lift, full of humanitarian aid. My job was to deliver an engine replacement for a vehicle delivered in 2022 and a 4x4 car to Ivan, an injured ex-soldier who now helps other injured soldiers in need.
We left on the morning of 24th January, the day of a powerful 80mph storm, the worst of which we wanted to avoid by leaving at 4am. We met up in Dumfries then headed to the ferry in Hull to hear that the A75 had been closed due to falling trees, so it was just as well we had made an early start. By the time we sailed the storm had blown out and the North Sea was very calm.
The journey through Holland, Germany and Poland was pretty much the same as before, though by driving longer hours we made it through the Polish/Ukrainian customs border and arrived in Lviv by the third night. We had hoped to catch up on our sleep but a noisy wedding kept us awake until 1am and singing woke us up at 4am. So another early start to reach our accommodation in Kyiv late that afternoon. Finally, a good night’s sleep.
The next morning we were show around Irpin, just outside Kyiv, by a musician named Vitality. We visited the art gallery and library there, soaked in its history and walked along an avenue of hundreds of tall 4-sided stands, each side displaying a photograph and details of members of the armed forces from this region who had ‘fallen’, from the start of the hostilities in 2014.
Vitality then took us to a bridge where he had found the wood to craft his ‘bandura’, the 12 string Ukrainian national instrument he played. Across from the bridge was Bucha, the small town which became synonymous with the Russian atrocities in the early days of the war. All of the houses destroyed on Vokzalna Street had been replaced with new builds paid for by various donations and trusts.
Then it was on to a local school where Vitality and Sean entertained around 60 students with Ukrainian, Irish and Scottish music, engaging them as they did and sharing out snacks we had brought with us. Everyone was enthusiastic and this whole event went down very well.
On the way home we stopped to view a massive pile of burnt out cars, though a Ukrainian artist had decided to defy the aggressors by painting sunflowers on the rusted remains.
That night I could not help but contemplate just how determined the Ukrainian people are. They will never accept being ruled by Russia or a puppet President. The want their own culture and freedom.
The next morning we set off early for Kharkiv. The roads got gradually worse as we neared the city, though we stopped short to meet Andre (Iain’s contact) and deliver 73 large bags of warm clothes to Olena for her community. All these bags accounted for less than a third of the minibus’s total content. Then it was on to a British themed pub, in the middle of the town, for dinner and vodka.
Our accommodation for the next three nights were apartments in an unfinished complex. It was in the most bombed region of Kharkiv and had shrapnel damage and around a third of its windows boarded up but, going on the premise of ‘lightening striking twice’ and ‘beggar’s can’t be choosers’ we offloaded our suitcases and settled in. That night and the next morning sirens were sounding and explosions were going off all over the city.
The next morning the three of us met in the car park at 7am to shuffle bags around so we could get to the engine in the back of the 4x4. Andre arrived at 8am and we set off for the restricted area, not usually open to anyone but the military, though Iain had arranged special permission as he had been here before.
On our way in we passed through thorough security checks, then passed a pickup with a machine gun on top shooting at drones we could hear buzzing overhead. First we pulled into a makeshift garage, the yard full of destroyed military vehicles, and three big guys lifted the engine out. Two days later we were sent a video showing the van engine running, they had managed this in a single day!
Then we all jumped into the car and followed Andre to the home of Katerina, a 96 year old stubbornly independent lady, who refuses to leave her home despite being only 18 miles from the Russian border and being surrounded by many bombed out buildings. Here we delivered 8 bags of warm clothes and gifts from the people of Stranraer and all their best wishes. Outside we wandered around her massive garden where she still grows grapes, plants vegetables and stores her pile of logs. Have I mentioned how resilient these people are?
After saying our farewells to Katerina we headed back to the garage for lunch and vodka. Then it was back to Kharkiv to deliver some medical supplies to David, a 13 year old who a year ago started collecting aid for the military, though we left him and his young friends to carry this up to the 13th floor as there was no elevator!
On our way back to our apartments we took the time to drive around one of the most devastated part of Kharkiv. Blocks of flats partially or totally destroyed and most riddled with bullets and windows boarded up or non-existent. I tried to imagine surviving such an onslaught but I couldn’t. Most of the flats that remain standing are now unoccupied, though some brave souls remain.
Next stop was a supermarket where we could buy food for the next few days. A quick meal and then bed, though trying to clear our minds of the horrors we had seen so far so in order to sleep was difficult. Then came the inevitable wail of sirens, though by now we were used to them.
The following day we managed to sleep in until 8am then meet Andre in the centre of the city along with tour guide Sergei and interpreter Dasha. They gave us a guided tour of the city, its old fortress grounds, the churches, the fabulous buildings on the main street, the beautiful parks and later, some of the worse devastation close to a modern opera house.
In the afternoon we met volunteer helpers and Iain paid for two large pallets of food for a shelter we were visiting next. Here we met Olga the director, who showed us around were we could clearly see the organisation and care she and the staff offer the residents, a mixture of elderly, infirm and disabled. The centre caters for around 50 residents though the third floor is currently under renovation and, on completion (subject to funds), will hold a further 20.
About 35 of the residents and staff joined us for refreshments and entertainment from Sean on his bodhran (Irish drum) and two Ukrainian musicians; Victor on accordion and Andrew on Guitar. The music lasted for almost two hours and everyone was smiling and clapping along.
On our way home we stopped at Iain’s favourite take away for a meal and felt a lot better for it the next day. This was the day I was to hand over the 4x4 to Ivan, an ex-soldier who had been injured so badly he could not return to his unit. He now helps other wounded soldiers, taking them for hospital appointments and generally caring for and supporting them in whatever way he can.
We met at the house of a famous Ukrainian artist and architect, whose granddaughter Ms Sumtsov still lives there. We sat around a large table as she talked about her grandfather’s art and the history of his family. It was fascinating, though throughout this Ivan was taking calls and working to help his comrades. He was pleased to have a sizeable 4x4 car that he could now use for his urgent work.
Then Andre and Ivan drove us to a hospital, some 50 miles out of the city to a place of greater safety, where we met the surgeon Dr Ivan Skarik who showed us around the facility. The exterior looks old but the interior is new and thoroughly modern with the latest equipment. It was here that Ivan (the soldier) had 30 pieces of shrapnel surgically removed from his body. Again, the work they were doing, considering the circumstances, was nothing short of miraculous.
On our return we pulled in at a tank graveyard, full of burnt out tanks, personnel carriers, 4x4s and massive piles of spent rockets, mortars and bullets. There were lots of ‘Zs’ painted on them and insults to Ukrainians - but no sunflowers this time.
Back at the hotel I packed for the return journey, though Iain and Sean would remain to give out warm clothes, toys, gifts, musical instruments and treats to children in schools and orphanages, whilst Sean would entertain them and work with music teachers for their student’s education.
The next morning we all loaded our cases onto the minibus, as Iain and Sean were moving accommodation, and we headed back into the city where we had been invited by the Kharkiv bishop for a guided tour of the monastery and the two churches within the grounds. We were met by Father Nikolai and given the grand tour, which included viewing several studios where students learned how to paint and gold leaf icons, a great tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
After a short lunch I was driven to the railway station and boarded my train for Poland. This involved 3 trains, for a total of 26 hours, then a 3 hour flight home, followed by 2 coach journeys, another 3 hours and a lift home from Dumfries from friend. A total of 32+ hours on the go, though plenty of time to reflect on all I had seen and ponder why people will fight so strongly to keep often the most basic of homes, their culture and their freedom and not give in to adversary?
A Big Thank You
I wish to thank all who have given so far for your generosity, making this and past journeys possible. May you continue to support us in our efforts to make life more bearable for those most in need. I have more trips planned though funds are now all but exhausted - a bit like I am feeling right now!
The Next Journey
We have had a Suzuki 4x4 donated and are currently sorting it out for the
next journey to Kharkiv in early March, thereafter I hope to take a fully fitted
ambulance and lots of medical supplies to that devastated region.
We desperately need your support for this.
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