Peterborough's Friends of Ukraine group unveils new plan of action

A new plan of action has been unveiled by a Peterborough group that seeks to help victims of war in Ukraine.

Helping Our Ukrainian Friends has set out a new schedule for the rest of the year.

The next project for the group, which took thousands of pounds worth of supplies to Ukraine last year, will be in August, when six volunteers will travel to Bucharest in Romania to pick up three four-by-four vehicles.

A spokesman for the group said: “We purchased the vehicles in Romania as it’s much cheaper.

"We will drive these vehicles through Romania, stopping at Chernivtsi, Ukraine, where two families we have supported since we met them on Summer Camp 2022 are based as they cannot return to their damaged homes in Kharkiv, then on to Vinnytsia, which is Peterborough’s twin city, where we hope to meet with the local authorities, and finally to Kyiv.

"We will hand the vehicles over to military units for use in front line medical treatments and evacuations of wounded soldiers and civilians.

"We also have 1,000 Chrome books to deliver to schools and orphanages later this year, donated by Peterborough City Council.”

The group expects that in September it will send a team to Kyiv again to purchase food and supplies for victims of the conflict.

The spokesperson added: “Finally this year, another team will be in Ukraine again in December, organising the delivery of another supply of humanitarian aid donated by people in England.

"Increasingly our programme will be a mix of direct purchases in Ukraine, using financial donations, and delivery of locally donated items.”