Leeds charity volunteers deliver vehicle and aid to Ukraine's front line

Trustees from a Leeds charity have travelled to Ukraine on a mission to deliver a donated pick-up truck and humanitarian aid to support injured soldiers.

The Leeds Ukrainian Community Association (LUCA) supports Ukraine through humanitarian aid, supports Ukrainians living in Yorkshire, and offers moral support for Ukrainian troops training in the UK.

The trustees set off for the front line on Saturday, June 6, joining an aid-filled five-vehicle convoy with Lithuanian partner charities Sesios AM and the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union. They travelled through Poland into Ukraine, carrying hundreds of kilograms of aid, with four of the vehicles, including LUCA's, being donated to Ukrainian soldiers.

LUCA has delivered over 40 vehicles and more than 2,600 documented aid items to Ukraine since 2022, while supporting over 1,500 Ukrainian families in Yorkshire.

Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley and UK Trade Envoy to Ukraine, said: “LUCA is at the centre of Leeds support for Ukraine. As both a Leeds MP and the Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Ukraine, I am absolutely delighted this mission took place and commend the bravery of the volunteers who were in Ukraine during some of the worst air attacks on civilians by Russia since the war began.”

During their mission, the group visited Ukrainian troops training in the UK as part of Operation Interflex, made an aid delivery in Lviv, Poland, and had the donated vehicle signed by Iryna Zakharova, Mayor of Borodyanka, near Kyiv.

The group went on to deliver medical supplies to volunteers in Poltava and to a hospital in Izyum. In eastern Ukraine, they also saw a car donated by LUCA on an earlier mission still in active use, and visited a charity in Kramatorsk that has previously received food aid from LUCA.

They also visited the Lithuanian Ukrainian Lyceum, rebuilt with funding from the Lithuanian government. LUCA donated sports equipment to the school last year, which doubles as a bomb shelter for local 700 residents.

Ben McDougall, a trustee at LUCA, said: "We were proud to help drive this donated vehicle from Leeds to Poland on behalf of all of our volunteers and supporters. Our LUCA volunteer then travelled on into Ukraine with the vehicle, working with our trusted partners to help deliver life-saving aid to schools, hospitals, local aid teams and people operating in some of the hardest-hit areas. Every donation from Leeds helps keep that support moving."

LUCA is already raising funds for its next aid mission this autumn, with donations accepted through Just Giving.