Brothers in alms: Members of Hull to Ukraine aid convoy tell their dramatic story
‘BROTHERS’: From left, Paul Cocker, Pandi Qerriti, Boris Glikin, Chris Seaward, Lukasz Rybus, and Tony Ademi
By Simon Bristow
A convoy carrying humanitarian aid from Hull has been delivered to a hospital in Ukraine, where wounded soldiers and children with burns are being treated.
The much-needed supplies, including medical equipment, generators, nappies, walkie-talkies and female sanitary products, were donated by people in Hull, Lancaster, and Belgium following an appeal on BBC Look North by Boris Glikin.
Boris, who was born in Russia and became a British citizen in 1999, rapidly enlisted a group of volunteers to transport the aid, driving it themselves in a convoy of five vehicles, which arrived at St Luke’s, the main hospital in Lviv in western Ukraine on Friday morning.
It was an epic six-day journey in which they encountered the grim realities of war, the generosity and resilience of the Ukranian people, and formed such a strong bond they now consider themselves “brothers”.
How much the supplies were needed was confirmed soon after they set off back, when they received a text from their contact at the hospital saying they were now “all in use”.
“Me and Chris [Seaward] have never cried that hard,” said Boris.
VITAL: Boris Glikin receiving medical supplies from Gijske van Alphorn in Belgium
That was why they risked life and limb by driving into a war zone, without really dwelling on the dangers.
Asked if he had realised how dangerous it was, Chris said: “I think the morning we set off to the border I was slightly apprehensive and nervous, and that’s the first time I ever thought am I putting my life in danger?
“Possibly. But with the thought of what we were trying to do that came secondary.”
Chris, the managing director of MRN Digiprint in Hessle, had never met Boris before seeing his appeal on TV. A friend asked him if his company could supply a van, and Chris decided to drive it himself.
The bulk of the donations came from people in Hull, with contributions also coming from Caton Baptist Church in Lancaster, and Dutch couple Jaap and Gijske van Alphorn, who gave medical supplies from a clinic Gijske works at in Belgium, which were picked up en route.
Arrangements and planning were finalised over the previous weekend, with most of the logistics and paperwork being expertly handled by Chris’s colleague Gareth Rooney.
GETTING READY: From left, Lukasz Rybus, Gareth Rooney, Nigel Dewhurst, Simon Berry, Oliver Glikin, Pandi Qerriti, Tony Ademi, and Boris Glikin
The convoy left Hull last Tuesday, with the team comprising Boris, Chris, Paul Cocker, Pandi Qerriti, Lukasz Rybus, Tony Ademi, and Boris’s son, Oliver.
They had intended to take a ferry from Dover to Calais on Tuesday night, but because of what Chris called “a nightmare of red tape”, could not leave until 2.30am on Wednesday, on a ferry bound for Dunkirk instead.
By then they were already without Oliver, who had to stay behind because of his vaccination status. Boris said he was “glad” his son’s trip ended there as he is only 19. Oliver was given money and left to make his way home.
From France, the convoy travelled through Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Poland before finally arriving in Ukraine.
As they approached the border they bore witness to the enormity of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Ukraine - the mass of refugees heading the other way.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than three million people have fled the onslaught from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, in what is now considered Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
“You started to see hordes and hordes of people coming to the border in desperation,” Chris said.
DEFENCE: A checkpoint on the road to Lviv
The people trying to get out were invariably women and children; the men having stayed to fight.
The Polish side of the border was a mass of waiting cars, either having brought people out or waiting to pick others up.
And in the middle of it all, the surreal experience of a man sitting at a piano in the open air playing Piano Man by Billy Joel.
“The first thing we saw was a piano player,” said Boris, who filmed that and other parts of the journey on his mobile phone.
As they headed into Ukraine they were impressed by “what a beautiful country it is”, with ornate churches in every village, and pastel-coloured houses.
But gradually as they drove further in, the number and frequency of checkpoints, fortifications, and barricades grew. “The tension started rising then,” Chris said.
CROSSROADS A sign showing the way to Kyiv and Lviv
Boris, who served in the Israeli army after emigrating to Israel in the early 90s, noticed that the checkpoints were manned by “battle-hardened kids” aged between 18 and 22. They had been withdrawn from the frontline to recuperate, he said.
He described the camaraderie among the defenders of Ukraine he met as extremely high, and said: “The young boys and girls, they have no doubt [they are going to win]. It’s hell for Russian soldiers at the moment.”
They also passed posters proclaiming defiance to the Russian invaders - one commemorating the defenders of Snake Island off the coast of Crimea, whose commander famously responded to a demand to surrender with the words: “Russian warship, go **** yourself.”
Another said: “We are on our soil but you will be in our soil.”
“They are really proud people,” Boris said.
They found it affecting to see a semblance of normal life continuing amid the horror or war, with children on swings and playing football, and “a man skateboarding down the street”.
On arrival in Lviv, they were warmly received when they reached their destination, which is also known as “Hospital No 8”. But before their supplies could be accepted every box underwent a security check, with tensions high and constant fears about Russian saboteurs.
WE MADE IT: At St Luke’s in Lviv. From left, Tony Ademi, Chris Seaward, Paul Cocker, Pandi Qerriti, and Boris Glikin
One of the most highly prized items were the walkie-talkies given to hospital security staff, who had found their own inoperable in bomb shelters.
They saw a soldier being brought in with leg wounds. The hospital is also a specialist burns centre, whose patients include children injured in war-related accidents.
Chris said “A lot of people in shelters are trying to keep warm using old gas bottles that children don’t know how to work and they are exploding. It’s very cold there.”
They set off back with night falling, and had one of their most anxious moments when their navigation device stopped working. The group had been told to return to a particular checkpoint by 8pm, but found they had taken the wrong road.
Gareth, who was monitoring their progress back in Hull, again rose to the challenge, helping to direct them back to safety.
Boris said: “Just to hear his voice was like ‘Wow, we’ll be ok’.”
Lviv is just over 40 miles from the border with Poland, and just under 300 miles from the capital Kyiv.
AID: Supplies from Hull delivered safely to Lviv in Ukraine. Hours later they were all in use
Reaching the border at night, the calamity and dangers facing the refugees was more apparent.
It was another moment Boris captured on video, and showed a mass of people penned behind what looked like wire cages. They only began to move when a Polish border guard waved a red light, which was followed by the heart-rending sight of small children dragging suitcases behind them.
“People in cages!” said Boris. “They are refugees - why do they have to keep them in cages? Little kids pulling their own luggage.”
“They are so traumatised,” said Chris.
They said they also saw people whom they believed to be sex-traffickers trying to lure away women and girls. “War is ugly,” Boris said.
Boris filmed as they drove back into safety, having completed their mission.
“It’s been a long day but we are nearly back across to Poland,” Chris says. “But it’s been worth every minute.”
Boris says: “I think vodka will taste like honey tonight. I think it will be the best medicine.”
Boris, who lives in Hull, began his relief effort after being outraged by the invasion. He visited the Ukranian embassy to ask what he could do to help.
Reflecting on the situation and his own experience since leaving Russia, he said: “Ever since then I have been involved in trying to spread the word about the importance of democracy and freedoms, and how democracies never fight between themselves.
“In the last ten to fifteen years I could see the deterioration back home and I felt I had started to lose my birth country. I have an English wife and English kids but you can’t not be shocked by the news.
“I just had to do something to help. People are suffering now and for me to stay sane it was the most logical decision.”
He added: “Nobody wants to die in Ukraine; it’s just one maniac killing children.”
The group are now planning a return trip, hopefully carrying the exact equipment and supplies the hospital has told them it needs. These include a specialist pump to treat blast injuries.
They are considering setting up a charity so it can be properly resourced and funded.