Cheshire volunteers delivering Christmas presents to Ukraine report from the front line

Mel Barham spoke to the team of volunteers as they traveled through Ukraine.

A group of volunteers have driven more than 6,000 miles to deliver aid and Christmas presents to the children of Ukraine.

They have travelled through the war zone to some of the worst affected areas, and have been filming their journey to highlight the conditions many Ukrainian children are forced to live in.

Steve Holland, from Cheshire, set up the Children of Ukraine project in 2022 to deliver presents and aid to young people stuck in some of the most dangerous areas.

Since Steve began the project, he has driven to Ukraine five times in 12 months.

He said: "I couldn't just sit there at the festive period last year knowing my little boy and my family were going to be safe and have a nice Christmas.

"So me and a bunch of pals decided to drive to Ukraine to deliver Christmas presents to the children.”

One of the two cars and trailers that were driven to Ukraine.

When he is not driving thousands of miles to deliver aid, Steve works as a security advisor for war correspondents.

The idea to take an aid truck to Ukraine came about after Steven was working on an ITV documentary called Children of Ukraine.

Steve said the children that he met during the filming of that documentary had a lasting impact on him.

He said: “I've seen the real effects of what war was doing to children. I understand the risks and consequences of going into a war zone and doing what I do, but that won’t stop me."

His latest trip began with a send off from school children in Northwich, who gave him letters and presents to deliver.

The volunteers being greeted by the primary school pupils. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Once they arrived in Ukraine, the team visited Andrei, a child who Steve met while filming the documentary.

Steve said: "I will always visit Andrei when I visit Ukraine. I absolutely adore that little boy. I went to see him again this time round and his english has really improved"

Steve and his team have traveled from Zaporizhzhia to Kharkiv, stopping at orphanages and dormitories which are being used to house internally displaced people (IDPs).

While in one of these buildings in Kharkiv, Steve said: “There’s lots of children here. This is for IDP’s who’ve been directly affected by the war, and essentially they’re staying in a high rise building which the government have given them to seek shelter.”

A year on from his first trip to Ukraine to deliver aid, Steve has noticed how the war is affecting civilians.

Steve and Andrei

He said: "We've noticed a significant change in people’s attitudes. This place is really suffering. It’s bitterly cold.

"Even when we went into the buildings the heating’s not working. You can really tell Kharkiv is suffering the brunt of this war."

As well as bringing gifts, Steve hopes the aid his team is supplying will help people survive the winter months.

He said: "I don’t know what Christmas is like for them. The winter months are coming, it's bitterly cold and the Russians continue to strike critical infrastructure.

“Its always nice for them to see a friendly face and just give them a bit of normality. They always know they’re going to get presents when i turn up”

With the war having no end in sight, Steve says he will continue to deliver vital aid and Christmas cheer.

He said: "I’ll continue to help people in Ukraine for as long as the war goes on. If we don’t do it who is going to do it? Who is going to take that risk? They need help."

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