A local Ukraine aid charity is inviting members of the public to attend a special free event highlighting their work with a live feed from the war-torn country.

Nightingales UK, based in Milton Combe, delivers medical, other supplies and badly-needed four-wheel drive cars for frontline battlefield paramedics.

The pop-in ‘Ukraine Live’ event is on Friday, June 27 at 6.30pm in Yelverton Memorial Hall, on Meavy Lane, where refugees living in West Devon and an ex-prisoner of war will tell their stories of how and why they fled the Russian invasion.

Ukrainians in the war-hit areas of Sumy and Dnipro will also address the meeting live by video to explain how badly needed the supplies and vehicles are and explain how they have helped soldiers and families.

The charity has so far raised enough money over two years to take 12 four-wheel-drive cars and a large van full of high quality medical aid and left them in Ukraine for medical evacuations of injured soldiers. The aid is handed over to charity partner Koridor UA in Prague, who then deliver it directly into Ukraine.

The aid supplies are only possible due to excellent support from West Devon residents hospitals and other health providers. A vehicle was delivered last week and is in Dnipro being prepared for frontline use.

Retired GP Rupert Jones, founder of Nightingales UK, will chair the meeting with Gennady Polonsky, who will join via a live link from Uzhhorod in western Ukraine.

Rupert said: “This is a face-to-face meeting in Yelverton Memorial Hall with the option to join online and open to anyone to pop in. It’s a live event with four speakers in Ukraine including Sumy and Dnipro and Kyiv.

“The audience can ask questions and hear how life is in Ukraine. We have been fortunate to meet some fantastic people along the way and some of them in Ukraine have agreed to take part in our live event.

“There will be moving contributions from Olena Vorona and her daughter Liza, who fled from Sumy to Plymouth. Olena briefly visited Sumy which is constantly shelled and bombed close to the Russia border.

“There will be a live link with Svitlana, a Sumy professor, then Faye Shepherd from Outreach Paramedics in Cornwall, who gives paramedic training in Ukraine to frontline firefighters.”

Nightingales UK hands over donated vehicles to a Ukrainian charity which distributes them to military units or evacuates civilians.

Based in Dnipro, it is run by Nika Chumov, who will speak to the gathering from Ukraine about her work. Finally, Kira Smokova, a veteran of the Azov Army regiment, will tell the harrowing story of how she was captured by the Russians and held for six months before being released. Her husband remains in captivity.

Rupert added: “Ukraine Live will highlight, on a personal level, life in the war-torn country and show how a small, UK-based organisation is trying to help. It promises to be a fascinating and deeply moving experience.”

To join the meeting remotely log in at the following link: https://tginyurl.com/3m39vheh