FROM EAST BUDLEIGH TO EASTERN UKRAINE, AND BACK (SPRING 2026)

East Budleigh High Street from the tower of All Saints Church, and the consequences of a Russian missile attack on Dnipro on 14 January 2023. Image: Wikipedia

 What makes an ex-Royal Marines officer choose to leave peaceful retire ment in a Devon village and join convoys delivering aid from Britain to an embattled country fighting for its survival? Andrew Canning OBE writes below about his most recent experience, which highlights the extreme situation of the people of Ukraine, and the small but significant part that he and his colleagues, and the people of East Budleigh, have played in helping them. 

 I am SO grateful to the many folk from East Budleigh and elsewhere that have donated either cash or material goods to the cause for which I volunteer in collecting and delivering much needed aid to Ukraine. The Ukraine Freedom Company (UFC) is a not-for-profit company, not a charity, that was estab lished shortly after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The founder, Tim, a child hood friend of my wife, Angie, is a former Royal Marines officer and later SAS Reservist, who was moved to do something very practical to aid Ukraine. 

 Twenty-eight UFC convoys have now delivered aid to Ukraine, reaching out to delivery close to the front line in Eastern Ukraine. I’ve been on four of them. Aid delivery has been to military units, hospitals and local communities so desperately in need of help. Aid has had many forms but has generally consisted of medical supplies, military and civilian clothing (especially for winter warfare wear), generators and a plethora of equipment that has been donated including wheelchairs, crutches, dental kit, hospital beds, dried food, hydration powders, childrens’ play equipment, and scores more things. The vans are packed when they leave UK shores, with two volunteer drivers in each wagon, to maximise driving hours. Until Ukraine that is, when harsh curfews are implemented to help thwart dark-time operations by Russian special (or not so special) forces.

Delivering aid is a significant, albeit limited, contribution to the Ukrainian war against Putin. 

 People often ask what life is like in Ukraine right now. I’ve been to and stayed in many of the major cities: Kiev, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Vanitsya. Life continues, much as I believe it did in the big cities in the UK during WW2. 

 Andrew Canning (left) and the UFC convoy team handing over aid to intended recipients in Kyiv. 

 Mothers take children to school, go shopping and visit the parks for fun. Shops are pretty well stocked. Traffic still abounds as I imagine might be normal outside of war. 

 But air/missile raid sirens are not normal in most societies. Taking cover in air raid shelters is not normal. Nor is the expectation that Putin’s aggression may impact your weekend. Some buildings are destroyed, roads unusable. 

 Driving through Ukraine, a vast country, is a further reminder that the country is at war. Each village and town has cemeteries marked with the new graves of those recently killed in the conflict. All are marked with expansive floral tributes, photos of the deceased, and with the Ukrainian flag at the graveside. The people are hugely friendly and appreciative of UK support. But the youngsters know that they will be called up to fight soon. Scary for them. 

 Our delivery to Odesa was a hugely appreciated one. The aid was duly delivered to the Ukrainian front line just after we left. Later, we heard that our contact Sergiy and his team, the recipients of our aid in the city, had all been killed in a missile strike, along with many other civilians in the area. 

 The not-for-profit Ukraine Freedom Company constantly tries to raise money to fund future aid delivery trips (e.g. the cost of fuel, ferry crossings, homeward flights and basic overnight accommodation). Should you wish to help sustain the UFC’s aid delivery efforts to a country still very much still in need, any donations would be hugely appreciated. 

 The website and bank details are below: UFC - Sort code: 08-92-50 A/c number: 68823151 www.ukrainefreedomcompany.org