The horrific scenes that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine has galvanised two friends to take on a 36-hour drive to bring supplies to help victims of the war. The mission will see them drive more than 1,400 miles over the two days.
Joe Begley, 41, from Swinton in Greater Manchester, and his colleague Rob Tinning, 32, set off for Lviv on Monday night with a van-load of donations. Clothes, vital first aid equipment, baby food, and sleeping bags are among the items stacked up in the back of their van.
After delivering the supplies to people living among the warzone, the pair aim to drive back into Poland, refill the van with food and water before then returning to Lviv. Their supplies will also be used to support the millions of refugees currently trying to escape and cross the borders with Poland, Hungary and Moldova.
"This was all very last minute, so we were able to borrow my brother's van," said Joe. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he explained that: "Of course we are driving into the unknown, but we anticipate lots of people will be coming out of Ukraine and not going in.
"We are going into this mainly blind but all we know is we just want to do what we can to help. We set up a funding page which has raised almost £8,000 which will more than cover our expenses and gives us good amount of money to spend on whatever is needed for these people when we arrive."
The pair, who drive vans and lorries in their day jobs, met up near the hometown of Joe's family in Warwickshire on Monday evening, and headed to Dover. From there, they then caught the ferry and are travelling across Europe.
Rob had asked manager and friend Joe for time off work to travel to the largest city in Western Ukraine - and was surprised when he actually offered to join him on their mammoth journey: "We will also be in a position to offer people a lift over the border in our empty van on our way back. We have all seen the sheer desperation of these people who are literally fleeing for their lives, and when I heard Rob wanted to do this, I just had to join him and couldn't let him do it alone.
"This is a small drop in the ocean, but it will make a huge difference to some families that will have lost everything. I want us to be able to do our little bit in looking back and realising we helped in this awful moment in history. Of course, we realise the danger and severity of what we are going into, but at the end of the day, we have our passport and a right of passage to come home - these people don't have that.
"We have had so many donations and just been so overwhelmed by the support and response from people, it's heartwarming to see everyone's kind words of support. The humanity is amazing and has made us even more determined to do this when we arrive."
Rob, who lives in Hinckley, Leicestershire, said: "Millions of people have had their lives turned upside down over the last week following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Having listened to the news on a daily basis, I was getting increasingly frustrated at feeling unable to help. However, I was recently inspired by those going above and beyond to actively support the people of Ukraine, and knew I wanted to do my bit.
"Our plan is to head for Lviv in Ukraine, which is currently overflowing with refugees waiting for transport into Poland. Many have had to leave at a moment’s notice, and leave all of their belongings behind. The van is filled with nappies, clothes, baby milk, first aid kits all to be delivered to Lviv.
"I knew this was something I wanted to do, and when Joe offered to come with me, I knew it would be much better with two of us. We may be able to help twice the amount of people and we can share the driving on the long journey. Ultimately, this is all about trying to help people as much as we can. Of course there is apprehension there and we don't know exactly what the need will be when we arrive, whether that be people on the front line or at refugee centres along the border.
"In everyday life, you often feel like you're on a hamster wheel and don't feel like you're making much of a difference, so this will give us the opportunity to know we did what we could to help during such awful times."
To maximise the success of their trip, Joe and Rob were appealing for donations online, and have so far raised almost £8,000 towards their trip. All excess donations will be given to charities supporting the Ukrainian refugees.
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