A council worker from Edinburgh has come under fire in Ukraine while helping rescue civilians living under Russian bombardment.
Grzegorz Rybak, a care support worker for Edinburgh council's Health and Social Care Partnership, has been staying overnight in nearby Kramatorsk, delivering aid and rescuing residents by day, in a van purchased by his Edinburgh friends and council colleagues. He says the town is war-ravaged but intact, and that residents have no heating and little food.
Grzegorz, 45, who recently moved to Clovenstone, travelled to Ukraine at the beginning of this month on his own initiative after securing leave of absence from the council. He says: "I am not safe, they keep shooting and bombarding. They were shooting at us. Mercenaries shell residential buildings all the time."
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After three plane flights and several train connections, he arrived in the Dniepro region before linking up with Andrew Bagshaw, a scientist from New Zealand who's been co-ordinating humanitarian efforts in Ukraine since May.
Mr Bagshaw said there are no Red Cross or UN relief agencies operating in Donbass, the greater region in which Donetsk lies, so he and Grzegorz and a handful of others are providing the only aid to civilians.
"Locals have repaired our vehicle for free," says Mr Bagshaw. "Sometimes a family will agree to get out, but the grandmother, perhaps, refuses to budge, so the family have to decide whether to leave her."
He said the notorious pro-Russian Wagner mercenary units, notorious for atrocities against civilians, were trying to encircle the Bakhmut area. With Ukrainian's providing vigorous and effective defence of the zone, Andrew sees no end in sight to the conflict.
Grzegorz is much more upbeat: "Andrew doesn't speak Russian but I do!" says Grzegorz, who learned the language at primary school in Poland, and still listens to Russian bands. He currently sings with BRUK, an Edinburgh-based anti-fascist punk band, raising funds for the Polish NHS.
"We need wheelchairs, food, clothing, and tyres for our vehicle," says Grzegorz, who even bought his own safety helmet and flak jacket. "Because of my social work training, I was the right person in the right place at the right time, and I want to pay tribute to the council for this, and for letting me off work to come here. And most of all, I need to thank my Polish friends in Edinburgh, who have raised nearly £2000 for the support which we are delivering."
One person Grzegorz's team was able to help to distribute aid is Kola Moroz, who lives in Kramatorsk: "He's a real trooper and does fantastic stuff," says Grzegorz. "His entire apartment has been replaced with aid supplies. Grandpa Moroz just turned 50 today and I made it to his birthday party. He made two cakes himself and a wine, which we are toasting in the photo."
Grzegorz. and Kola then drove to Bakhmut, in the conflict zone, to evacuate a woman, and her two children. He says his friends in Edinburgh donated £1842 in the last few days to support the aid efforts: "We bought evacuation stretchers today to equip our van and a shopping list for Ira, who sold us the vehicle. She asked for sugar, sweets and bread. I will also buy some underpants with the donated money, which no one asks for, but are always gratefully accepted."
"I will also bring Ira a voice message from her daughter from Transcarpathia, begging her to evacuate. Ira still has lots of cats, for which transport is already organized and new homes are being sought."
Grzegorz has his own quirky sense of humour about it all: "On Sunday we fix lights, wipers, and side doors. We will also try to buy tyres eventually. Our appetite grows with each donation and I don't stop asking for money. I am desperate for a liqueur!"
And he appealed for more donations via his Facebook page to help hungry and freezing new friends he and his colleagues are making in Ukraine.
Radio Free Europe, which also shares video reports, interviewed Gzregorz about a cat he has rescued after its owners were persuaded to flee from the threat of further Russian shelling.
But even as the rockets and shells rained down from Russian positions further east, normal emergencies still occur. Kolya, an elderly man with impaired vision and hearing, had to be rescued by firefighters after a blaze engulfed his home.
The firefighters advised against trying to save the building, so the man's neighbours, four elderly women, resorted to buckets of water, with Gzregorz joining in.
"I was glad to use my job experience and training because many of the people we are helping are elderly or disabled," he said. "That is my day job back home, helping these kinds of folk."
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