A BUSINESSMAN who has just returned from taking much needed supplies to war-torn Ukraine has spoken of the 1200 mile journey across Europe in a vehicle that broke down just ten miles after setting off from London.
Raph Cohn joined a convoy taking clothes, medical supplies, tools and wind turbines to Ukraine where he met stoic and proud people determined to carry on the fight against Russia, following its invasion of their country almost four years ago, in February, 2022.
People in Bradley rallied round Mr Cohn, whose parents live in the village, with donations of clothing, medical supplies and cash, after he put out an appeal in October.
"We had a wonderful response to donations; we raised nearly £3,400, more than covering the cost of the trip itself," said Mr Cohn, who lives in Keighley and had been inspired to do what he could because of his own family history and after meeting Ukrainian soldiers at a conference in Manchester, where they had gone to garner support.
"As a result of the article in the Craven Herald, a woman - who I'd never met before - together with my father and Bradley Methodist Church organised a collection of clothing and medical supplies.
"We received over 50 items of new or nearly new winter weather gear, including boots, outdoor jackets and more of the very best. Also because of the publicity in the Craven Herald and Keighley News, someone I didn't know came round and handed me a lot of money in an envelope, anonymously. Very, very special."
Mr Cohn drove to London on November 19 with 140kg of donations where he joined a convoy in conjunction with the charity, Ukrainian Aid.
Five trucks were packed up in Woolwich the next day with each truck allocated to a different receiver and point of contact in Southern and Eastern Ukraine.
"We had three donated wind turbines and children's medical braces by the box load. People have been very generous", said Mr Cohn.
The Mitsubishi L200 that Mr Cohn was allocated broke down in South London after just 10 miles, it was repaired and the journey continued later than planned to Dover and onto the ferry to Calais.
It was then through France and Belgium to Liege, stopping several times to repack the load.
Driving, said Mr Cohn was difficult with sleet and heavy rain. Heading towards Dresden on the Saturday - three days after they set off, the temperature dropped to minus 5C.
" There was freezing fog and black ice as we crossed through the Eiffel region, but the scenery was beautiful - as if nature was giving us a reward for our work," said Mr Cohn.
"We discovered our truck's heater didn't work, so we drove with coats and jumpers over our legs.
"Our windscreen then froze, and we used so much screenwash we ran out.
"Halfway through Germany, our truck started to break down - by the time we got to Dresden, I was nursing it in limp mode at 20mph."
On the Sunday, Mr Cohn and his colleagues were forced to transfer their load to other trucks and arranged for their Mitsubishi to be collected after a crucial part of its exhaust system gave up.
He then squeezed into the tiny space left in another of the truck's cabs while some volunteers, who needed to get back, left.
Some trucks were handed over to a Ukrainian team east of Wroclaw, Poland.
" These were wonderful, quiet men in their 50s who'd rebuilt their lives in Poland after the loss of Crimea," said Mr Cohn.
"Ordinary people - a doctor, a heating engineer, a plumber, they gave us a little welcome, a thank you certificate and some gifts of thanks which was much unexpected and very touching."
Mr Cohn drove on with the Ukrainians to the border, taking over a white pickup carrying the donations from Bradley and Keighley.
"We stopped at an anonymous location in Poland to hand over some of our donations to an Ukrainian's children's orphanage.
"We were delayed travelling behind by a convoy of over 25 Ukrainian artics being escorted by Polish police and military units."
At every intersection and at every service station, the police and military would go ahead and block the exits.
"We were followed for a while by what might have been Polish domestic intelligence - in a blacked Toyota land cruiser - they ran parallel and took a good look inside
"We passed through a security roadblock in Poland and two other convoys similar to ours."
When they were 10km from the border, Mr Cohn noticed more and more articulated lorries parked at the side of the road.
"At first, I thought they were drivers taking a break, then I realised they were in a queue, a very, very long queue for heavy freight. One in every six trucks was a car transporter - carrying pick up trucks, 4x4, ambulances and transits.
"Then, about, 5kms from the border we stopped and waited. From the darkness, wind and snow emerged dim figures wrapped up in many layers. At first I wasn't sure, but they came to our vehicles. It was the Ukrainian team to drive the trucks across the border to Lviv. The team was almost all female - the men were all away fighting.
"The women had crossed the border on foot, and walked to where the light freight queue started, they were the wives and girlfriends of men at the front. They were allowed to cross the border as they weren't subject to conscription, they were all normal people doing extraordinary things; Nina, for instance, ran a software company before the war.
"The queue was over five hours long for them."
Mr Cohn and his colleagues then left, returning to Krakow, Poland, in one car.
"Over the hours of our journey, using a translate app, we talked at length to the Ukrainian men in their 50s. Their praise of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was surprising. They liked that he had stood up for them early in the war.
"It was the time when Trump announced his 'Peace Plan' or 'Munich II' agreement. There were gobsmacked, but adamant - it made no difference. Even if Zelenskyy eventually signed, they would fight on.
"They have no wish to be Russian; they want to be part of the West; they want to be free to live and grow and develop as their own people in their own land. Bluntly, they are stubborn, stoic and quietly strong - they will not quit. They know Russia; they know Russian. Some even lived in Russia before independence.
"Each of them desires to return to Ukraine when the war ends. Everywhere I went in Poland, where people knew of what we were doing or had just done, we got gentle thanks.
"The Ukrainians were grateful and often sad in their eyes - but fiercely proud. After the Ukrainian women arrived in Kiev in the early hours of Monday, other drivers took trucks further. In Kyiv, further splits occurred. Our donations are now with people in the South of Ukraine."
Mr Cohn said he was shocked to hear from the Ukrainians that the pick-up vehicles taken in the convoy to Ukraine would last perhaps just three months before they were destroyed - most likely by Russian drones.
"It is sobering to know that where you are sitting, someone will soon be losing their life. One of the Ukrainians I met described being chased by a FPV (First Person View drone) at 50mph over rough roads in a pickup similar to ours," he said.
Now back home, Mr Cohn says what is most needed in Ukraine are pick-up trucks, power generators, universal power supplies (UPS) and basic medications- that are listed on the World Health Organisation (WHO) list.
Mr Cohn, a technology troubleshooter who helps turn round failing technology organisations, said he had joined the convoy because driving was something he could do to help.
"If I were a veteran, I would volunteer. If I were a nurse, I would tend the wounded. I'm a CTO who fixes companies for a living. But in the face of war in Ukraine, my professional skills felt useless until I discovered what I could do: drive.
"My grandparents were German Jewish refugees who fled to the UK in 1939. My grandmother, one of the first women ever to study chemistry at Manchester University, lost everything: her home, her money, members of her family. My grandfather posed as a tourist, carrying a twin-lens Rolleicord II camera to convince British authorities he wasn’t a refugee, arriving just days before war broke out.
"Small acts by ordinary British people that made an enormous difference. My grandparents told simple stories about the small things that other people did for them that had a big impact. A warm meal. A friendly word. Help to find lodging. Things that, for them, were everything.
"Since then, I’ve wanted to do my bit for others like others did for them."
He said when Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, he had felt the weight of history.
"I remembered Martin Niemöller’s haunting words: "First they came for the trade unionists… then they came for me. And there was no one left to speak out for me".
"The shadow my grandparents fled has returned to Europe. This time, I refuse to stand by. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Doing our bit, understated, in Britain. From Nelson at Trafalgar to Churchill in 1940. Now it's our turn to answer: What did you do to help in the face of conflicts?"
He added: "I vacillated at first. I'm no hero. I can't use a gun. I'm lousy at DIY, to my wife's eternal frustration. How could I do my part.
"Then at a conference in Manchester, I met Jeff, founder of Ukrainian Action, who showed me something tangible: driving pickup trucks loaded with medical supplies directly to Ukraine. I can drive, I thought, its less than a trip to Rome.
To others, this might seem very minor. But it’s me doing my bit. Just as somebody once did for my grandparents. A small thing that makes a difference for others. For people I’ll never meet, and whom I cannot thank."
Anyone wanting to help can visit Ukrainian Action: www.ukrainianaction.com/donate-options; and Raph Cohn's fundraising page is still open at: www.justgiving.com/page/raph-cohn-driving-to-ukraine.
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