Above: A bombed building in Kyiv It’s hard to think of two more different settings than peaceful Gowran and today’s war-torn Ukraine, but a brave local man has swapped one for the other, in recent days. Jim Harding has travelled from Kilkenny to Kyiv, bringing with him four wheel drive vehicles and medical aid for the people of Ukraine. Amid air-raid warning sirens, and surrounded by bullet-riddled buildings and vehicles, Jim sends home pictures and videos from a country, and people, he has come to love. The pictures alone are heartbreaking, but also starkly show the daily reality for people in Ukraine, continuing 15 months after their homeland was invaded. Back home in Gowran, children are looking forward to summer holidays, playing with friends, summer camps. In Kyiv Jim visits what, from the distance, looks like a pile of rusty, old vehicles. But he explains these vehicles were destroyed in the battle for Irpin bridge, where the Russian assault was stopped before it reached Kyiv. If you look closely, some of the rusty heaps contain contrasting cuddly toys and colourful dolls - they were placed in the cars where children died. ABOVE: A pile of burned out cars following the battle for Irpin Bridge. BELOW: Toys are placed in the remains of war damaged cars in which children died. One of the videos Jim sent home, last week, showed school children running to a bomb shelter, their frightened cries mingling with the background warning siren. Another video shows Jim walking through a building beside Irpin bridge - the walls pockmarked by missiles and the roof broken apart with craters. He saw roads north of Kyiv that are “totally cut up” from all the armoured vehicles that have travelled them. He described how the bad condition meant “a lot of very slow driving with a lot of manoeuvring to avoid huge holes in the road, which remain irreparable in case of another assault from this direction. “Anyone travelling the main roads to Lviv, Kyiv etc would think this was a very prosperous country, but a

placeholder image — Above: A bombed building in Kyiv It’s hard to think of two more different settings than peaceful Gowran and today’s war-torn Ukraine, but a brave local man has swapped one for the other, in recent days. Jim Harding has travelled from Kilkenny to Kyiv, bringing with him four wheel drive vehicles and medical aid for the people of Ukraine. Amid air-raid warning sirens, and surrounded by bullet-riddled buildings and vehicles, Jim sends home pictures and videos from a country, and people, he has come to love. The pictures alone are heartbreaking, but also starkly show the daily reality for people in Ukraine, continuing 15 months after their homeland was invaded. Back home in Gowran, children are looking forward to summer holidays, playing with friends, summer camps. In Kyiv Jim visits what, from the distance, looks like a pile of rusty, old vehicles. But he explains these vehicles were destroyed in the battle for Irpin bridge, where the Russian assault was stopped before it reached Kyiv. If you look closely, some of the rusty heaps contain contrasting cuddly toys and colourful dolls - they were placed in the cars where children died. ABOVE: A pile of burned out cars following the battle for Irpin Bridge. BELOW: Toys are placed in the remains of war damaged cars in which children died. One of the videos Jim sent home, last week, showed school children running to a bomb shelter, their frightened cries mingling with the background warning siren. Another video shows Jim walking through a building beside Irpin bridge - the walls pockmarked by missiles and the roof broken apart with craters. He saw roads north of Kyiv that are “totally cut up” from all the armoured vehicles that have travelled them. He described how the bad condition meant “a lot of very slow driving with a lot of manoeuvring to avoid huge holes in the road, which remain irreparable in case of another assault from this direction. “Anyone travelling the main roads to Lviv, Kyiv etc would think this was a very prosperous country, but a

Braving air raids and bomb craters, Kilkenny man Jim brings aid to help Ukraine

By Sian Moloughney

Reporter

Published 12th Jun 2023, 15:53 GMT

Updated 16th Jun 2023, 13:30 GMT

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ABOVE: Jim Harding and Pat Hickey, another member of the group. Also driving and helping on the trip were Pat Lee, Jim Burke, Joe and Owen Mason and Ukrainian man Victor who aided the journey. Vans and trucks are also needed to transport food and humanitarian supplies from central depots.The vehicles needed the most are pickups, for ease of loading and unloading casualties and cargo.“Older but reliable 4wd jeeps are best for them at the moment as they are easier to repair in the field and they are destined for a relatively short life on the front,” Jim said. “Those jeeps and vans are sitting all over the country, not being used, they are going for scrap,” he highlighted the vehicles his appeal will accept. For example, one vehicle Jim brought over in January had been sitting in an Irish field for four years. “Anything with four wheel drive, it doesn’t matter what it is.” As well as the four wheel drives also needed are generators to supply injury stabilisation centres with power, and fire engines which will be sent to areas where they are most needed.For more information on Jim’s campaign, and to donate to his fundraising, go to

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Four wheel drive vehicles and boxes of medical aid as it was being packed up in Ireland, destined for Ukraine. Other donated vehicles were driven across Europe to their destination.

Ukraine

Braving air raids and bomb craters, Kilkenny man Jim brings aid to help Ukraine

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