Ukraine aid mission to end if new depot not found

Ukraine could lose hundreds of tonnes of vital aid unless a charity can find new premises, its Macclesfield founders said.

Macclesfield Ukrainian Aid said it would soon have to leave the 3,000 sq ft (278 sq m) warehouse it uses to store everything from operating theatre tables to flame-proof clothing.

Anne and John Hancock said they could not continue their work without new premises.

What could be the Cheshire charity’s final lorry load of aid was due to leave the depot on Saturday.

Mrs Hancock said: “When we first started people were donating toothbrushes and things like that, but now we have lots of medical equipment and hospital beds.

“People and companies have been very generous and have donated things by the pallet-load.

“A local businessman has very generously been letting us use half of his industrial unit, but unfortunately as he is moving out, we will also have to.”

The 68-year-old started the charity when Ukraine’s war with Russia broke out in 2022.

She said her connection to the country had been unknown to her until after her father’s death in 1992.

While she had long believed the World War Two veteran had been Polish, she discovered he was actually from Ukraine.

Since then, she has made contact with family members in the country, and has some relatives fighting against the Russians.

She and Mr Hancock, 61, have visited Ukraine about 20 times, and 161 vehicles have been sent over from their depot in Leek, Staffordshire.

The last lorry carried a six-tonne generator that is currently powering two schools in the northern Ukraine.

Mrs Hancock said the charity was looking for a new storage depot of about 1,500 sq ft (139 sq m) that could be accessed by articulated lorry, ideally in the Macclesfied or Leek area.

“For us not to be able to send this aid over there would be a crying shame,” Mrs Hancock added.