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07
Mar 2022
Ripon man helping Ukraine says ambulances are being shot by Russians
Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has told the Stray Ferret that ambulances in Ukraine are being attacked by Russian forces.
This is among the latest in a growing list of breaches of the Geneva Convention committed by the invading troops, as the situation for civilians trapped in towns and cities under siege becomes more horrific and desperate by the hour.
The targeting of the emergency vehicles follows a weekend in which fleeing refugees came under attack during a supposed ceasefire in Mariupol.
Lewis Edwards and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska pictured at Christmas in Kyiv
Speaking from Slovakia yesterday afternoon, Mr Edwards said:
Oksana Pron (left) and Kristina Simalova are part of the team sending items such as medical supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.
Mr Edwards, 33, and his 30-year-old Ukrainian partner Tanya Bogdanovska — both teachers who had been working at a private school in Kyiv — fled the Ukraine capital on February 25.
After crossing the border into Slovakia a week ago, they teamed up with eight other volunteers to help people seeking sanctuary in countries including the UK.
As well as helping refugees — mostly women and children who are arriving in Slovakia each day — they are continuing to do all that they can for Ukraine people, including friends and family, who have been unable to escape.
In addition to sourcing ambulances, they have supplied a generator for an area without electricity and have assembled a shipment of essential medical supplies that will be setting off to Ukraine tomorrow.
Read more:
- Ripon family's plea for city to help the people of Ukraine
- Much-awaited memoirs of a former mayor of Ripon
Fundraising continues in Ripon
In Ripon, a gofundme page set up by Mr Edwards' family to support the work with refugees has now raised more than £11,000.
His mother, Ali Edwards, said:
On Saturday evening, The Magdalens pub on Princess Road, Ripon is hosting a fundraising evening to raise more money for the Ukraine Shelter run by Mr Edwards and his colleagues.
The rock and roll bingo music quiz starts at 7.30pm and the £7.50 cost of entry includes five bingo games and a pie and peas supper. There will also be a raffle.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the pub, from tomorrow.
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