Aid worker makes 3,000 pizzas a day for Ukrainians

Tom Hughes and his team make about 3,000 pizzas each day to serve to Ukrainians

A humanitarian aid worker, who went out to Ukraine two years ago to give out free pizzas, has been serving them up ever since.

Tom Hughes, from Hinton in Wiltshire, drives a truck with 11 ovens to bake pizzas for communities in the war-torn country.

He first travelled to the Poland/Ukraine border in March 2022, intending to stay a fortnight to help refugees fleeing from the Russian invasion.

He now manages a fleet of seven vehicles and two teams for the charity, HopeFull, one of which is based in Lviv and the other in eastern Ukraine where Russian bombardment is a daily occurrence.

Tom Hughes travelled to Ukraine in March 2022, intending to stay for a fortnight to help refugees fleeing the Russian invasion

"Most of the places we're working, there's absolutely no hope left," Mr Hughes told BBC Wiltshire.

"People are stuck in the middle of a horrendous war, feeling very forgotten, and there's nothing to smile about.

"The kids, especially, their lives, are ruined.

"We turn up and we put on upbeat music from loudspeakers and interact as much as possible to create a happy day," he added.

A 'luxury' food

The team produce about 3,000 pizzas a day - mainly for women, children and the elderly - as many of the men are involved in defending the country.

The charity describes it as baking pizzas to give people a "slice of hope", when they need it.

"Every day mothers tell me that their child has smiled for the first time since the war began," said Mr Hughes.

"This to me is the biggest part of our work - combatting the deep trauma from the endless explosions and grief caused by the Russian aggression.

"It's a really easy way to get nutrition to places as you can cook a pizza in about a minute.

"It's sort of a luxury food. That sounds crazy, but out here it is an aspirational food product."

The charity HopeFull tries to interact with residents as much as possible

By November 2022 the charity was following the Ukrainian Army as it advanced towards the east of the country.

The team had to beware of anti-personnel mines scattered by the retreating Russian Army.

On one occasion Mr Hughes was working with colleagues in the newly-liberated Kherson, when they came under heavy artillery fire for five days and he said they were "lucky" to survive.

Since then the charity has stayed at least 25 km (16 miles) away from Russian forces to avoid danger.

"Every night we listen to missiles coming into every eastern town and, along with the whole population, pray that it isn't going to be our building that gets hit," said Mr Hughes.

"Every tiny village has a score of fresh graves, and every family is mourning a fallen hero."