Addingham parish councillor takes humanitarian convoy to Ukraine

It has already been fitted with a heavy machine-gun designed to shoot down slow-flying Iranian Shaheed drones attacking the Ukrainian town of Ivano-Frankivsk.

“It was quite a trip, including a seven-hour delay getting across the Polish-Ukrainian border,” said Chris Cobley, “but the vehicle was very warmly welcomed by the Ukrainian Army, which is desperate for as much useful equipment as they can get, and are enormously inventive.”

Chris was part of a six-vehicle convoy carrying much-needed humanitarian aid, blankets, hospital beds and other medical equipment. The convoy was organised by various branches of Rotary, and specifically the Rotary Club’s charity organisation, Fast Aid Support and Transport (FAST), which in total has taken over a million pounds worth of essential supplies to the war-torn nation since the conflict began in February 2022.

The convoy in Ukraine (Image: Chris Cobley)

Chris’ vehicle was donated by a friend of his, David Southworth, with whom he co-drove the 1700 miles from Yorkshire through Rotterdam to Lviv.

“It was just a pity the landscape wasn’t more interesting, but apart from a few hills in East Germany it is as flat as a pancake, with miles of pine forest. Driving for 15 hours through that was pretty boring !” said Chris, “but well worth the effort, knowing how much our vehicle was needed by the Ukrainians.

“Lviv is a very beautiful city, fortunately far enough West to have escaped the worst bombing. But Ivano-Frankivsk was hit by four Russian hypersonic missiles the day we should have arrived, but for the border delay – a lucky escape ! If we hadn’t had that delay we might have been in the thick of it. As it is the only sign of the war as far West as Lviv is the protective screens put up round their fabulous Roman monuments and the most important buildings.

The damaged buildings in Ivano-Frankivsk (Image: Chris Cobley)

"By extraordinary coincidence the Mitsubishi came from Spaldington, a tiny hamlet in the East Riding, and once home to a branch of the Vavasour family, which in the middle ages owned all of Addingham. That family came over with William the Conqueror – another brutal invader, who famously harried the North of England and burned all his troops could find up here. Over in Eastern Europe history is again being repeated by the even more brutal Russians."