Last Sunday, Alex Donaldson and Mike Bennett left Towcester with the 5th local ambulance donated to Ukraine with the support of St Lawrence Church, Towcester, part of the Tove Benefice.

This was Alex’s fifth drive to Lviv - a journey of 1350 miles which takes 3 days to complete -, and his second ambulance delivery this year.

On Wednesday in Lviv, the ambulance and its contents were handed to Tatiana Rudnik, founder of the Ukrainian charitable organisation “Ukraine-Mother”. Tatiana has since made the 335mile drive back to Kyiv from where the contents are to be distributed to various hospitals, paramedic teams, and individuals in need across the east and south of Ukraine. The ambulance will be passed to frontline military paramedics attending casualties in the far east of Ukraine.

Throughout the year, the Tove Benefice team has continued to collect aid and support other local teams taking vehicles to Ukraine.

Mike Bennett and Alex Donaldon with Tatiana Rudnik and volunteers in Lviv

placeholder image — Mike Bennett and Alex Donaldon with Tatiana Rudnik and volunteers in Lviv

Steve Challen who helped organise this trip said “As Ukraine braces itself for a very cold winter with severe energy rationing, I would like to thank all those who donated warm clothing, blankets, disability aids, and medical items.

"Special thanks go to West Northants Council, Ambulance Response Services, Brook Medical Centre, Silverstone circuit, and of course Specialist Vehicle Solutions for helping source and prepare the ambulance”.

Many end of care items collected could not be reused or accepted back by the NHS, and would have been destroyed, but these items are gratefully accepted and used by the Ukrainian paramedics due to short supply / high volume of wounded.

In recognition of the huge personal sacrifices volunteers make in Ukraine, the team presented Tatiana with a number of gifts from England for her and her family.

The Ambulance full of donated Medical and Humanitarian Aid

One very unique gift donated to the Tove group was a Premiership football played at the London Stadium during the last season by West Ham & Tottenham. Tatiana’s keen footballer son, Artem, is seen here with his Kyiv based team FC Yurivka playing FC Bucha - a town north of Kyiv that featured heavily on the news in the 2022, having been dealt terrible atrocities by invading Russian forces before being quickly liberated again. Whilst the youth of Bucha are able to enjoy their freedom and sport once more, the illegal occupation and restrictions continue in a number of regions in Ukraine.

If you would like to help contribute or be a part of future aid deliveries, please get in touch via the Tove Benefice office on 01327 350459.