Meet the Jersey man using his radio set to make contact with people in Ukraine

A man in Jersey is using amateur radio equipment to make contact with people caught up in the fighting in Ukraine.

Paul Mahrer spoke to more than 1,700 Ukrainian radio operators last year, but says all communication has been lost since the country declared martial law.

Paul says he was talking to people in the country as Russia launched a full-scale invasion yesterday (Thursday 24 February), but now the radio waves have fallen silent.

Speaking on ITV Channel TV, he said: "There were two operators in Ukraine, they were upbeat and positive, there was no mention of the troubles, but one can never tell. They were both in Kyiv.

"This morning, I briefly had a chat with a guy in Donetsk [in the east of Ukraine] and that conversation was just a hello goodbye conversation. He was trying to speak to as many people as possible.

"With the two people I was talking to yesterday, there was nothing untoward to indicate they were in trouble but that was yesterday.

"With the proclamation of martial law in Ukraine, all amateur radio communication has stopped so I have not heard a single thing.

"There are Russian people operating, there's no issue there, but there has been no correspondence from Ukraine since midday yesterday.

"I think the operators appreciated my expressions of concern and best wishes."