A leading Harrogate businessman is expected to cross the border into Ukraine this weekend as part of a major aid mission.
James Rycroft, managing director of Vida Healthcare, is a member of a team taking eight wagons containing aid worth about £2 million for Ukrainian soldiers and citizens who intend to stay in the country.
The journey has been organised by Yorkshire Aid Convoy, a charity which has been running overseas aid expeditions for more than 30 years.
Mr Rycroft said he was travelling in a personal capacity because he felt the need to help. He said:
“It’s a really awful situation for everyone involved. I wanted to do something meaningful to help rather than just make a monetary donation.”
The convoy is carrying a variety of items, including medical equipment, beds and hygiene products. It is also taking a mobile classroom, which will be left in Ukraine.
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Those involved will meet Ukrainian military administrators at the border, where they will be escorted to a secure hub about 20km inside the border to deposit the goods. They will then immediately turn round and head home.
Mr Rycroft, whose company owns several specialist dementia care homes around Harrogate, said:
“I’m apprehensive but positive as I know we have the right people on board.
“There’s an element of risk but it’s a short sprint into Ukraine then back out again.”
Back in UK on Wednesday
Two people in each of the eight wagons are taking it in turns to drive up to 10 hours a day across Europe.
The convoy, which set off yesterday, expects to reach Germany tonight and Slovakia tomorrow before arriving at the Ukraine border on Sunday. The team expects to dock in Hull on Wednesday morning.
Mark and Felix Murphy of Yorkshire Aid Convoy.
Mark Murphy, who founded Yorkshire Aid Convoy, said the mission involved travelling about 2,500 kilometres each way.
He initially ran convoys to Romania but the war in Ukraine has changed the current focus. He said:
“We will meet military administrators and get a police escort to a secure hub.”
