Aid delivered to Vovchansk district

Sunflower Scotland delivered food and cleaning supplies to 174 families in Novooleksandrivka, 22km to Vovchansk. This area has been the epicentre of brutal battles, at the new front north of Kharkiv. The village of Novooleksandrivka is just outside of the war zone, it has become a hub for people fleeing Vovchansk.

It’s a very poor community, on the edge of survival. All people with money have long gone to Kharkiv, Kyiv and Lviv. Those who remain are struggling, and our humanitarian aid is extremely important source of calories.

In the morning, it rained in Kharkiv. We loaded most of the 174 bags to Nissan Navara, and what remained into an estate Subaru. Also Japanese. Oleg and Koshiro san joked that for some reason, Ukraine’s resistance relies on Japanese brands. Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi L200 are the two workhorses of war.

Koshiro san is a photographer and journalist from Yokohama. He asked to join the trip. Oleg said he’d have to work alongside everyone else. Koshiro san agreed.

Oleg decided to take the tarmac road via Pechenihy. He feared that given the weather, the dirt roads through the fields could become rivers of mud. But after Pechenihy, the tarmac road became so awful, our little convoy slowed to snail pace. This road were OK in 2023. But they had been destroyed by tanks. The northeast of Kharkiv Oblast became a battleground again.

Fewer people live in these villages than before. It’s not the toughest who remain. It’s the poorest. Typically old, sick and poor: the perfect triad of war.

This is the huge misunderstanding. Well-off armchair analytics in Kyiv, London and New York debate why these babushkas remained. “They are waiting for Russia”, they say. No. Stop spreading nonsense. They simply don’t have the money to go anywhere. Some struggle even to eat. Come and see.

Near Velikyi Burluk, something in Navara cracked. We could hear a piece of metal falling on the road. The old pickup started making horrific noises. Our boys made the last 5 miles to Velikyi Burluk in silence.

Luckily, there was a garage in the village. Sanya, the owner, waved his hand: “roll in”. His mate quickly looked underneath the Navara, and dug a piece of metal from a pile of old spares. The men welded the broken tailpipe back into place. 30 minutes later, the car was ready.

“How much do we owe you?”, Oleg said. Sanya replied: “You are volunteers, you are helping us. Nothing”. We shook hands, and carried on.

We arrived in Novooleksandrivka at 2pm. People waited for us since morning. It was a tough road, we were sorry we got delayed. Nobody left. Our bag of food, a bottle of sunflower oil, and a pack of washing powder were too important for them. They waited.

The food we brought was purchased in Ukraine. We know that it’s cheaper, and it’s really good quality food that people know and like. But first and foremost, by buying locally we support Ukraine’s struggling producers and farmers.

We started distributing aid. Oleg was taking bags out from the back of the Navara. Vitaliy was taking photos which you are seeing here. Koshiro san was pulling the food bags out of the cars, and taking photos with his Nikon camera.

Halyna, the local administrator, said that they had 310 people in the village, 174 inhabited homes. Oleg asked why they could not get supplies in the local shop. Were the prices too high? Can they go to Kharkiv to the shops? Halyna gave him a direct stare. No, most of our people do not have enough money to buy anything.

Halyna explained: after Vovchansk was attacked, the welfare centre in Bilyi Kolodyaz closed down. People don’t get any subsidies. No ATMs in the area, even receiving pension is a problem. Those who live here, spend half of their £60 monthly pension on utilities. The remaining £20-30 is what they have for the whole month (surviving on £1 a day is extreme poverty).

Oleg asked: can they go to Kharkiv? Halyna explained, that refugees get £40 as monthly subsidy. While renting an apartment costs £100-120 a month. It doesn’t include utilities, or food. So, for the poorest, that’s not an option.

Lately, Novooleksandrivka welcomed 48 people from Vovchansk. Their homes were destroyed by the latest Russian incursion. Halyna asked if we could find wellies, blankets and bedding. They ran way only with their clothes, with absolutely nothing. Oleg said he would try to do something.

It looks like we need to return to Novooleksandrivka again. It is a rather large village. It’s surrounded by three smaller villages, with only 78 families struggling to survive. It’s no man’s land, a county of despair. All who could, left long ago. Only the poorest ones remained.

We know what we need to do: find emergency supplies for these 48 people from Vovchansk, and supplies for the 78 families. And pray that our vehicle makes it to the end.