Jeeps for Peace: Bell Busk to Ukraine as North Yorkshire joins crew delivering vital motors to help fight against Russia

‘What are you doing at the end of March?’, Bob said to me. I didn’t have a quick answer, but I knew one was coming.

March came, and I found myself in a wet car park outside the Hull P&O ferry terminal making new friends and wondering how I got myself here.

It’s more than four years since the start of this latest war in Ukraine and like most folks, I wanted to contribute in someway to the Ukrainians existential challenge, but what? It would have been easy to throw some money into a tin at a supermarket but I felt that was a bit feeble.

Bob had worked in Poland and Hungary in the 90s and through his contacts he told me of ‘Jeeps for Peace’ that was set up by Stewart Ford, who lives in Edinburgh with Agnieszka, his Polish wife.

Stewart bought a vehicle, filled it with supplies and drove it to Lubuskie in the Ukraine. Since that time, ‘Jeeps for Peace’ has delivered in excess of 675 vehicles that help deliver and extract Ukrainian soldiers and their supplies from their front line positions.

These vehicles are being lost at about the rate of 1,000 a month, but without them, many more lives would be lost.

We board the ferry and meet in the bar to find out who we will be spending the next five days with while we drive to western Ukraine. Jackie runs a guest house on Knoydart; Paul was in the Army but now runs an equestrian centre on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. Peter was in the oil industry. Brian is a geologist and now guides tourists over Greenland and Svalbard Island; and Neil from the USA, was a dentist but latterly worked for a large German IT firm. Say ‘aaaaah’.

We had collected 17 vehicles over the preceding weeks, spending about £1,500 on each, but sometimes as low as £750! Not pretty some of them, but chosen for function and not leather seats and surround sound. We were expecting breakdowns on the way so we had a team of Ukrainians with a flat bed transporter and trailer to scoop up the casualties or repair at the roadside if possible.

We arrive in Rotterdam but before we leave, the recovery truck fails. Put the truck on it’s trailer and then pull it to the Ukraine with a 4x4. That didn’t go well, so our Ukrainian ‘ghosts’ headed off to the Ukraine to find a replacement and recover the breakdown and we were to meet them again in two nights in eastern Poland. I do not think they slept very much.

So, John, me and Bob head east along the north side of the Nieuwe Maas waterway out of Rotterdam passing signs to familiar names of Nijmegen and Arnhem. Flat, flat, flat; I am missing the hills of Yorkshire already. The convoy splits into smaller units we called ‘pods’, looking after ourselves fully expecting that we would breakdown soon. Vassyl and some ‘ghosts’ remained at the rear of the larger convoy with his tools and expertise ready to help.

Sixty mph was the fastest we were comfortable with, listening always for a change to the now familiar noises of our 4x4s. Navigating with WhatsApp live location and the occasional hands free call to John and Bob. The first of many coffee and fuel stops using suggested way points from Google Maps.

We arrive in Grimma in what was East Germany and not far from Colditz castle. No time to sight see as we are late and hungry and we have a schedule to maintain as there are Ukrainians waiting for us to the south of Lviv. A quick beer and a bite as we shared some of the stories of the day. For a first timer felt tired but satisfied. Bengt from Sweden was delivering his 42nd vehicle.

An early start. Check your vehicles, get some hot breakfast and then brief on the days events. We are heading to eastern Poland today to group before the real work begins as we move into eastern Ukraine. ‘Any vehicle problems?’, Fluids? Rattles? ‘Driver problems?’. All good to go, so once again our Pods head east navigating with Google Maps and WhatsApp Live location pins.

We cross into Poland with no formalities but lots of border checks for those travellers heading west. No one was even manning the cabin and kettle at the frontier and so we continue east - more coffee and fuel. No lunch, tend not to eat when I am stressed. Thankfully an uneventful but long day, I was reminded just how quick Britain is to cross by comparison.

We arrive at about 8pm in eastern Poland to be met with a large plate of Pierogi or Polish Dumplings and another well earned beer in a large wooden hall, but for me my mind was full of the trip into Poland tomorrow so it was an early night.

Another vehicle check, a quick breakfast and comprehensive briefing from Adam. This day was different. A tight convoy to the Ukraine border and some rigorous border formalities. My passport disappeared for 20 minutes and my photo was taken. The big focus from the officials was the VIN numbers for the vehicles and not the drivers or the cargo. There is evidently a problem with stolen vehicles heading south so all the numbers had to match with the V5C. You sometimes feel vulnerable in places like this with no language and an unfamiliar day ahead, but I have a home to go to and I am not at war.

Potholes! Real man eaters. We had to snake down an A road using both carriageways to avoid the really large ones, ones that would have halted our progress. Playing chicken with 40 tonne trucks coming the other way keeps you alert but was hard work.

Heading SSE into Ukraine now and split into our ‘pods’ to draw less attention to ou rselves but I did find myself looking up at the sky. We were very close to the 4th anniversary of the start of the war and there was an expectation that Russia would mark the event with some attacks on Lviv. We stayed away from the big towns and headed SSE to our destination. We arrived early evening in the town square and what a welcome! Mothers, the local press and soldiers from the local regiments. A cup of cherry punch, or was that two? There are no civilian men of fighting age around, and there are generators on the street to keep civilian normality when the power is cut.

What a stoic community they are. You can feel their resolve and gratitude that someone from outside has not forgotten them. The 4x4s are important, but our presence and continued support is what they really value.

The vehicles are spirited away by the ‘ghosts’ and we head off to a well earned shower and change at a local hostel. That evening we were hosted by local school dancers and the local army all thanking us for our continued commitment. A warm and generous welcome as it was I felt a little embarrassed that the little we did was met with such profound appreciation.

The following morning we were taken to a warehouse where all our vehicles and some others had been collected for re-missioning ready for their new life saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

Some of the better examples had already headed further east that previous evening the demand being so great. Expired vehicles had been stripped for parts and repairs effected to prepare for the conditions to the east.

Some vehicles had already been caught by offensive drones and we back for repair or salvage and there were some battlefield souvenirs in the corner including the remains of a large Russian drone with a large number of western electronic components. Putins’ early work in the KGB was based in Dresden, creating technology supply chains for Russian electronic component needs.

From here back in a bus for the long journey to Lviv. Our party split here with some drivers visiting the Field of Mars in Lviv and the Superhumans Center. Old graveyards now full of young soldiers.

Look at the flags, the blue and yellow of sky and grain, but also the red and black of earth and blood. A flag symbolising Ukrainian red blood spilled on Ukrainian black earth.

Our last leg was over the border to Krakow in Poland. Time to decompress and have a good look at the Ukraine contryside. It makes the fields of Northern France look small and intimate. Miles and miles of rich fertile soil and the landscape studded with very old wooden housing mixed in with modern buildings from post 1991. There is much work to be done.

Want to know more? Visit jeepsforpeace.org.uk