THE WAR NEXT DOOR: My Journeys Into Ukraine

Would you risk your life to go into a war zone to help someone you didn’t know? Will Blackburn did. On the day Russia invaded Ukraine Will was selling software and living quietly in Poland. 24 hours later Ukrainian refugees arrived in his home town. Software sales suddenly seemed irrelevant. He dug out his old Army Reserve kit and appealed to other veterans to do the same - all to be donated to Ukraine. The response was remarkable. A friend’s garage became the depot. A Polish removal company provided the transport. The heroic drivers of Fundacja Igora Tracza drove the donations into the heart of the Donbas. They took Will with them. Bullets fly and shells explode. But this is not a report from the battle front. It is Will’s account of the trips he has made into the war zone. He sees the terrible damage done by the Russians as they destroy towns and villages, killing and maiming civilians. The heroes of these journeys are the drivers who risk their lives on every convoy and the beleaguered citizens of Ukraine who are bravely trying to get on with their lives.