A Scots Foreign Office worker forced to leave his home in Ukraine with his two-year-old daughter is heading back to the war-torn country with old Army gear to give to civilians taking on Russian forces.
Pitlochry-raised Duncan Spinner is hoping the vehicles that take the equipment over will be used to transport some of his colleagues and their families out of the region to safety.
A former Major in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Duncan, 51, put a call out to veterans asking them to donate old kit including helmets, boots and body armour.
The overwhelming response resulted in two tons of equipment, medical supplies and cold weather clothing being donated.
Duncan and other volunteers from the battalion set off with it from Stirling on Saturday.
Duncan, who has been living with his mum since his evacuation from Ukraine, said: “Right now, Ukraine has brave men and women fighting the Russians. They don’t have supplies, and the logistic battle needs to be won.
“The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence asked for 50,000 helmets and I put out a call to veterans asking for their support which they have given.
“We all left the Army with kit we no longer need but the men and women of Ukraine do need it.”
Duncan, who has lived and worked in Bosnia, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mali and Yemen, had been working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, seconded to the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) in Ukraine for seven years.
He was just leaving the OSCE to work for the private sector when Vladimir Putin began preparing for a Russian invasion.
He said: “I reluctantly left Ukraine under orders but around 800 local staff from the OSCE and their families are currently on the run, many with young children.
“The bottom line is – it’s take this stuff in and get innocent people out.”
