Man recalls his heroic journey to Ukraine to send tonnes of donations from Carlton and Netherfield to war victims.

One day, in March 2021, Krystian woke up and said to his wife Monica: “Honey, we must help them.” 

A few days later, a charity fund was set up, which helped him buy two ambulances. 

Soon after, tonnes of humanitarian aid from Netherfield and Carlton residents was placed outside It’s Inn The Bank pub and Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club where the couple used to work as cleaners. 

And that was enough for Krystian to start his journey. 

Recalling his “once-in-a-lifetime” experience, Krystian still can’t believe how he was able to regain the energy for such a long and chaotic trip. 

The 39-year-old said: “We began our trip on April 2. It took us three days of non-stop driving and only a couple hours of sleep to get to Ukraine. 

“When we got there, there were lots of militaries, tanks, helicopters, and bombings with soldiers checking on us all the time. There should have been four of us, but one decided not to go at the last minute out of concern. 

“Of course, we were exhausted, scared and worried, but we were ‘100 per cent’ sure we could do it because we were doing something good, and that gave us the adrenaline to keep going.” 

Fortunately, besides Krystian’s team, there was support from people along the way. 

He added: “We couldn’t have done it without them. 

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“Many people offered us good food, warm cups of coffee, and places to sleep. We even received huge discounts at petrol stations and salaries from the British government for crossing the channel. 

“We saw British soldiers in Germany. After a quick conversation, we burst out laughing because we knew we were in the same direction. 

“During our journey, we met many kind people who went out of their way to help us, which is great.” 

When the team reached the border, their ambulances, loaded with 10 tonnes of donations, were handled by the Ukraine military due to the high-risk situation. 

Despite not being able to send the goods directly to the war victims, Krystian was still happy to put his full trust in the army. 

He said: “I trust them, they know exactly where our stuff was going. The army oversees everything so basically, all donations going to Ukraine are taken over by them. 

“Even though I couldn’t meet the Ukrainians there, we still got many contacts. We received a lot of phone calls, and messages saying that they felt happy and grateful for our help.”