A former British soldier turned elected representative is leading the charge in Derry on getting humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Councillor Ryan McCready, who sits on Derry City and Strabane District Council, is a former member of the Royal Irish Regiment.
The Faughan representative, who was part of Operation Orbital which involved training the Ukrainian military in 2015 and 2016, said he plans to get the aid sent to the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Read more: Belfast appeal for donations for Ukraine refugees
Cllr McCready said he had been inundated with much-needed emergency supplies already but urged those considering donating to go to a collection point in the city and give what they can.
"These people are just regular people like the people of Derry," said Cllr McCready. "They were living their normal lives and their world has been turned upside down.
"Put yourself in their shoes right now. Normal life has been disrupted and their lives have changed.
"So by donating things like nappies, toothbrushes, blankets, coats quilts, and sleeping bag, which is a high-demand item, it makes all the difference to them because they then know that the international community around the world are with them.
"When they arrive at a border crossing and they see all of this stuff waiting for them, they know that people are with them from Northern Ireland and across the world."
McCready insists there is no room for political debate when international crisis looms over Europe, inviting people from right across the city to contact him if they have donations.
"There is a wide variety and diverse lists of locations that have set themselves up as collection points," McCready added.
"I've had schools contact me and they are now collection points, political offices, youth clubs, religious institutions, among other places and they are doing a vital job."
The Ulster Unionist, who defected from the DUP last year, said from his time in the now war-torn country, the people were 'strong, resilient and very welcoming', liking them to people from Northern Ireland.
"These people are no different to what people are like here in Northern Ireland," Cllr McCready said.
"When I was there the people were very welcoming and in Kyiv the residents there were very friendly to me. They appreciated that I was trying to speak the language and they'd go out of their way because they knew I wasn't from there.
"And to see it in the state that it's in now and that's why the humanitarian aid is important."
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