A relief mission carrying emergency supplies from Newcastle to Ukraine has set off on its 2,000-mile journey.
Two vans filled with donated food, medicines, and other essential supplies left Tyneside on Monday afternoon, in the hope of reaching families still hunkered down inside the war-torn nation.
City councillor Nicu Ion launched the donation drive after watching the horrific scenes since Russia’s invasion and is making the two-day journey himself to the country’s border with Moldova.
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While more than 1.5 million civilians have fled Ukraine to escape the conflict, Nicu and fellow activists are hoping to reach people who have not yet left and plan to drive into the city of Odesa if it is deemed safe enough for them to enter the country.
Since issuing a plea for donations last Thursday, the Elswick ward councillor has been inundated with offers of support.
There have been around 50 drop-offs of donations, including some large collections from businesses and churches from as far away as Darlington, so many that the group had to move their storage base from Benwell to a larger HQ in Walker.
Before starting out on the long journey, which the group of four hope to make in roughly two days, the 42-year-old praised the generosity of the Geordie public.
He said: “There has been so much positivity and solidarity for Ukraine, it gives us the motivation and energy to do this. We know it is risky to travel, but we are thrilled with the response we have had.
“It has been amazing, I am overwhelmed by the kindness of people in and around Newcastle.”
Nicu, a Romanian who moved to Newcastle in 2012, added: “I wanted to motivate people to get involved and give them a way to support Ukraine, I feel like a lot of people want the chance to do more to help.
“This is not just something we have done, it is the people of Newcastle coming together as a city.”
Two vans have been filled with food, medicine, nappies, first aid kits, and other items donated by generous city residents and businesses over recent days.
They will drive across Europe this week to reach the Moldova-Ukraine border, where Nicu’s contacts are already stationed.
From there, the Labour councillor hopes to be able to get inside Ukraine to bring vital supplies to families in need – but the ever-changing situation on the ground means that might not be possible.
He said: “Odesa is still the plan, but it might change – we might pick another city once we are there.
“We don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. We are not going there to be heroes, we are going to help people and show our support for Ukraine.
“If it is too risky then we are not going to put our lives in danger unnecessarily.”
