We can’t abandon Ukraine, say British aid volunteers amid proposed ceasefire
British volunteers say they feel their services are needed now more than ever.
The “few British aid workers” still delivering supplies to Ukraine have said they are unsure of what they are “walking into right now”, amid a proposed ceasefire deal.
Kyiv says it is ready to accept plans for a 30-day immediate ceasefire, after US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia.
The talks were hailed by many as a breakthrough, after US President Donald Trump’s Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
For British volunteers who have provided aid to the war-torn country, they said that while they are tentative about what happens next, they feel their services are needed now more than ever.
Wendy Warrington, 58, from Bury, Manchester, has been to Ukraine about 27 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Mrs Warrington, who is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, told the PA news agency she welcomes the ceasefire but remains cautious.
She said: “Of course I would welcome the ceasefire, however Russia has to agree to it and that might not happen as they have not shown any commitment to this but instead intensifying attacks on innocent civilians.
“We do not know what we are walking into right now.
“I don’t want to die or put myself in danger, but the unpredictability of the Russian army and drone attacks increases the risk, but I choose to do it because we can’t abandon Ukraine and its people.”
Mr Zelensky said on X that the proposed ceasefire would involve the stopping of missile, drone and bomb attacks in the Black Sea, as well as along the entire front line.
Alongside this, the US also announced it would immediately lift its suspension of military aid to Ukraine and its intelligence-sharing with them.
Mrs Warrington plans to travel to Ukraine on Monday to meet fellow Britons Eddie, who did not wish to share his surname, and Josh Good.
They aim to make their way around different cities, including Lviv, Zhytomyr and Kharkiv across two weeks, distributing about 120 rucksacks containing necessities for newborns, including nappies and wet wipes, which were put together by the organisations Thornbury United Reformed Church and Bristol Aid 4 Ukraine.
They will also be supplying items including children’s clothes, meal replacements and a portable incubator, and a four-wheel drive vehicle and a van to groups including the military.
Mrs Warrington said she has seen fewer British volunteers in Ukraine now compared with when the invasion happened, making the work she and the group do even more important.
“We’ve been doing this work from the start and there are not many people who have stayed the rest of the course,” she said.
“You’ve only got maybe a handful of people who have been involved from the beginning, and it’s very difficult because people may want to volunteer for a variety of reasons, but may be immune to the dangers.”
Eddie, 59, from Liverpool, has delivered aid to Ukraine in his van about eleven times. He told PA he felt it was important he supported those in the war-torn country.
“None of us are walking around like Mother Teresa, Bod Geldof or Superman – I’m driving a black Transit van – but you do your bit,” the retired rail worker said.
“You see very few British aid workers over here now.
“In the first year (of the invasion), there were UK vehicles everywhere, but now there’s not many of us left, but we’ll keep on.
“With the Ukrainian people, it’s not what you’re taking, it’s knowing that you haven’t forgotten about them.”
Earlier this month, a Russian missile attack on the Central Hotel in Kryvyi Rih, Mr Zelensky’s hometown, left many people injured.
Karol Swiacki, the founder of the Bournemouth-based charity Ukraine Relief, survived the attack.
Eddie said he and fellow volunteers are not “blase” about the risks of entering Ukraine, but the country needed help, especially at a time of fragile war negotiations.
“I’ve got three children and two granddaughters and they’ll worry about me, but if you are worried about everything, then you wouldn’t go at all,” he said.
“We’re going for two weeks but Ukrainians are living the war every single day.
He praised Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, saying he has “stepped up” to support Ukrainians.
“He took the lead with (French President Emmanuel) Macron and has offered more money and boots on the ground,” he added.
Jay Rivera, who is originally from New Jersey, in the US, and has been helping Ukrainian refugees since April 2022, has met Mrs Warrington on several aid trips.
Mr Rivera, 39, who lives in Lviv Oblast, is the deputy head of the charity Volunteer Action, which will be providing food, shelter and medical care to Ukrainians and their pets, and also provides humanitarian aid to frontline regions.
Mr Rivera told PA he thinks the ceasefire is a good start but will wait to see what happens next.
“I think it’s a good first step as a proposed plan but Russia needs to accept,” he said.
“I think we’ll see what arises from it.”
He has encouraged those who want to support Ukrainians to find grassroots organisations to volunteer for or support, or simply keep speaking about the war.
