Ukraine: Woman travels from home from NI to deliver aid

A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Northern Ireland has returned to her home country with aid supplies in spite of the ongoing war.

Irina Fuga left Lisburn in a van with two others on Thursday.

After a four-day journey by land and sea, Irina and her friends entered Ukraine at its border with Romania, and are now in the south-western city Chernivtsi, where she used to live.

The city is several hundred miles from areas occupied by Russian troops.

Irina said: "It was really heart-breaking to see how many people were leaving, crossing the border (in the other direction)."

She said she saw some children who had been sent across the border without their parents, but had contact telephone numbers written on their arms for their families.

'We were all in tears'

Irina was accompanied on the 2,000 mile journey by her partner Kieran Catney and their friend Michael Mormecha, whose grandfather was born in Ukraine.

They hired a van and filled it with food, clothes, sleeping bags, power packs and other supplies donated by people in Lisburn and the surrounding area.

Michael, a musician, said nothing quite prepared him for the scenes at the Ukrainian border.

"It's very different, seeing it at first hand, seeing people with their suitcases," he explained.

"We were all in tears, just driving past that. But that made us feel even more that our journey was worthwhile."

The group are planning to drive back to Lisburn at the end of the week to get more supplies

Kieran said that even though there is a war in Ukraine, he did not feel in danger in Chernivtsi.

"I feel safe," he said.

"There were some people who tried to put a bit of negativity in the back of our heads but we are just shutting it off."

After a brief stay with Irina's family, they plan to drive back to Lisburn at the end of the week, then return to Chernivtsi with more supplies later this month.

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