Rob Rinder has announced he is travelling to eastern Europe to help bring his Strictly Come Dancing partner Oksana Platero’s grandparents to safety.
The Good Morning Britain presenter outlined his ambitious mission in a series of social media posts.
“Oksana Platero my Ukrainian dance partner on @bbcstrictly gifted me so much,” he tweeted.
“Right now her grandparents are a week into their struggle to find sanctuary in a safe country. I’ll be trying to meet them on the border next week. They’re just a few of the millions who need us.”
He followed this up with a second tweet which stated his intention to reach Poland by Monday, stating: “Depends on where they make it to but I’ll be at the Polish border from Monday.
“If they cross into Hungary the next step will be getting them to safety with their family.”
The criminal barrister then posted a photograph to his Instagram profile on Thursday lunchtime of him wearing what looked to be a bullet-proof vest with the words “press” emblazoned across the front.
He captioned it: “‘The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.’ St Augustine. At the Polish/Ukraine border from Monday @talkradiouk.”
Numerous celebrities commented on his posts, with dancer Platero writing: “You truly are an amazing person and an incredible friend, words can’t express my appreciation.”
John Barrowman added: “I am in tears reading this. Rob you beautiful soul”, while Gaby Roslin simply wrote: “I love you”.
The 43-year-old spoke about President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine during Good Morning Britain on Wednesday morning, saying: “I don't like the word evil, it lacks nuance, but if the cap fits. It seems to be, it's time to call him out for what he is.”
Rinder, who is a descendent of Holocaust survivors, also referenced comparisons that some commentators have made between Putin and Adolf Hitler.
“We have to be careful about making sure that when we use parallels like that, that they're right,” Rob told co-presenter Susanna Reid.
“One of the big issues here is that people have been picking up that stone of Nazism, Putin especially, and using that as a pretext to invade.
He added: “This isn't just tragic, this is a breach of international law.
“It seems to me now is the time to stand up.”
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
