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Twin town sends sixth ambulance to Ukraine

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Steve Challen A row of people standing in front of a white, green and yellow ambulance. Two of the people are wearing elaborate traditional hats. Two of the others are holding documents which they are showing to the camera. The scene is on a road in front of some trees.Steve Challen
The ambulance was handed over in Lviv to Artur, Tetiana and Snizhana Rudnik (third, fourth and fifth from left) by Steve Challen (second left) and Alex Donaldson

A town that twinned with a city in Ukraine last year has delivered its sixth ambulance to the war-torn country.

The vehicle, packed with medical supplies, left Towcester in Northamptonshire on Sunday and arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday.

Towcester's Rotary branch paid for the ambulance using cash collected during last year's British Grand Prix.

A gift from the people of Towcester was handed over to the mayor of the city of Zhydachiv to celebrate the twinning agreement.

St Lawrence Church in Towcester started sending aid to Ukraine in March 2022, soon after the Russian invasion.

With the help of the local community, they have distributed an estimated 30 tonnes of humanitarian and medical supplies.

Fundraising efforts for the latest trip began with a concert featuring Towcester Studio Band and a local singing group, The Songbirds.

Steve Challen A line of people in front of an ambulance. A man (Damian Reynolds) is wearing a mayoral chain, while three of the others are wearing Rotary medals. They are standing on a gravel driveway. There are Rotary flags on the ambulance.Steve Challen
Dignitaries came to wave the team off including Towcester's mayor Damian Reynolds and MP Sarah Bool
Steve Challen Cardboard boxes and plastic crates piled on top of each other in an ambulance. There is also a spare tyre. A Rotary Towcester banner is visible to the right.Steve Challen
The ambulance was full of medical supplies, including bleed kits and ventilators

On Sunday, the marathon journey to the beleaguered country began.

The ambulance was driven 1,350 miles (2,173km) to Lviv by Alex Donaldson, who was making his sixth journey to the city, with Steve Challen.

From there, they travelled another 40 miles (64km) to the city of Zhydachiv, a place that is keen to develop its twinning relationship with the similarly-sized town of Towcester.

They collected formal twinning documents to take back home and presented the mayor with a gift on behalf of his opposite number in Towcester.

Steve Challen Three men in an office with a wooden desk and flags in the background. Alex Donaldson has short light-coloured hair and is wearing a grey jacket. Steve Challen has short dark hair and a dark jacket, and Volodymyr Levko has short white hair and a dark jacket. Mr Challen and Mr Levko are holding documents up to the camera.Steve Challen
Alex Donaldson (left) and Steve Challen (centre) met the Mayor of Zhydachiv, Volodymyr Levko
Steve Challen Alex Donaldson with short light-coloured hair wearing a grey jacket sitting next to a woman with long red hair and glasses. Mr Donaldson is speaking into a black and silver microphone.Steve Challen
The team from Towcester were interviewed on local radio in Zhydachiv

Returning to Lviv, the two men met Rotary members and handed over the ambulance and its contents to Tetiana Rudnik, who founded the Ukraine aid organisation, Ukraine-Mother.

She drove 335 miles (539km) to the capital, Kyiv, where she planned to deliver the supplies to various hospitals, paramedics and individuals.

The medical equipment included life-saving bleed control packs, purchased through fundraising, and 14 children's portable ventilators.

The ambulance was then due to be handed over to military paramedics in the far east of Ukraine.

Steve Challen A cardboard box full of grey bags labelled "Bleeding control kit". They are branded "Rhino Rescue"Steve Challen
The supplies delivered to Ukraine included bleed control kits

Mr Challen said: "Thanks to the goodwill of Towcester Studio Band, the Songbirds and Towcester Rotary, we have been able to deliver an ambulance full of medical items which will help save countless lives.

"We came to deliver a lifesaving ambulance today, but have been overwhelmed by the gratitude and hospitality we have been shown during our stay in Zhydachiv and Lviv."

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