Ukrainians refugees send aid back home and say it's need more than ever

Video report by ITV Granada Correspondent Rob Smith

Mothers who fled Ukraine with their children say it's more important than ever to send aid.

Since coming to this country, they have tried to build lives for their youngsters while watching their homeland be torn apart.

Chorley and District Support for Ukraine have been dispatching food, clothes and medicine to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

The destruction of a key dam in Ukraine has made parts of the country even less safe. Hundreds of square miles have been flooded with homes and farm land ruined.

Marianna Litvinenko fled Ukraine with her child. Her apartment in Kyiv is a burned-out shell. She is thankful she was able to get her son to safety in the UK.     

She says: "We are here because of our children, if it wasn't for my child I would still be sitting in a bomb shelter and would have not moved countries.

When you child is not sleeping, not eating you try to move to any safe place."

Stuart Clewlow from Chorley and District Support for Ukraine. As well as collecting and dispatching aid the group is raising money to provide a medical evacuation vehicle .

He says: "Humanitarian aid that we've already sent and we need to do that again. People are being affected for the second, third, fourth time.

To see our guests from the Ukraine come and volunteer their time and to hear that they feel like they are part of a family, it's very humbling."

Marianna translates english labels into Ukrainian is a small yet vital contribution.

When this aid reaches its destination, it often needs unpacking amid sirens and explosions.

Knowing what is inside in a hurry counts - something those who fled are painfully aware of.

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