A man who has delivered aid to Ukraine four times said his experiences had “changed some things” inside him.<\/p>\n
Ian Russell, 35, from Coningsby, Lincolnshire, said he had supplied 20 tonnes (20,000kg) of aid to families, animals and people on the front line since his first trip in 2023.<\/p>\n
He said his deliveries had included long-life bread to troops, a washing machine in the city of Sumy, and aid to animal shelters.<\/p>\n
He is now appealing for help to get a new van after his previous vehicle broke down on his return from Sumy with driver Bob Dutcher on 18 April.<\/p>\n Mr Russell unloading aid from the van, which broke down on the road out of Sumy [Ian Russell]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Mr Russell works as a tour manager for musicians. He said he was homeless for three years from 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n He decided to deliver aid in 2023 after seeing a BBC video about a girl trying to flee Ukraine.<\/p>\n Carrying just a backpack, he flew to Krakow, in Poland, and then crossed the border to Lviv, in western Ukraine, to meet a friend and offer his help.<\/p>\n “At this point I was just a guy that wanted to help. That cascaded into me meeting proper aid workers,” he said.<\/p>\n