A group of aid workers from Bury travelled to Ukraine to spread Christmas cheer and put smiles on the faces of children forced to live in underground bunkers as Russian invasion continues.
Youngsters received gifts from the UK volunteers - and were even visited by iconic children's character Peppa Pig. Wendy Warrington, a nurse, midwife and humanitarian aid worker from Tottington, Bury, helped organise the visit to Ukraine.
Wendy and others - all independent volunteers - set off to areas in Ukraine including Irpin and Bucha on December 11 with presents including crayons, cuddly toys and clothes in time for Saint Nicholas Day, which falls on December 19 and is celebrated in eastern Christian countries.
One of the places they visited was Saltivka, on the edge of Kharkiv, which suffered heavy missile attacks and where children are still living with their families in an underground metro station.
Children were given presents including chocolate, winter jackets, colouring books and sweets - and even got a surprise visit from a dragon.
"My friend Jakub (Sochujko), who is a Polish volunteer from Cornwall, but is based in Kharkiv, dressed up in a dragon outfit and was entertaining the kids," Wendy said. "The children absolutely loved it."
"We want to be able to spread a little Christmas cheer - it is not going to change the world, but for an hour or two it is going to give the kids a bit of reprieve and a sense of normality."
Volunteer Angie Sutcliffe, also from Tottington, Bury, paid a visit to children in a bunker underneath a school close to Kyiv dressed as Peppa Pig.
"Her and the other volunteers were all entertaining the kids as sirens went off outside, and handed out presents", Wendy, 56, added.
She said that, as a grandmother, seeing the children's eyes 'light up' when they received the gifts was a 'worthwhile' experience.
"Christmas is the most important time for most children and seeing children not have to worry about what is going on in Ukraine for a little while and just being allowed to be children for that short period of time and play and engage with other children, makes everything feel so worthwhile," she added.
"For those children, playing in an underground bunker becomes a norm, but it’s not normal. The reason why I volunteered was because of my grandchildren – I would want someone out there to help them if they were in that situation."
On Christmas Day, the group have organised a festive party for around 300 children in Kharkiv to spread more Christmas cheer.
The visits come as Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank Americans for helping to fund the war against Russia. In a speech to Congress, he said the money is 'not charity' but an 'investment' in global security and democracy.
The whirlwind stop in Washington - his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February - was aimed at reinvigorating support for his country in the US and around the world at a time when there is concern that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies.
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