Battle casualty vehicle heads to Ukraine thanks to Llangollen people

* Outside Anna's Cafe, Alan Knight, second from left, hands over the £5,000 cheque for the vehicle to Danny Fairbourn, in hat, watched by Sue Knight, far left, Anna, Paata Samsonidze and Pastor Brian Smith.

Frontline Ukrainian fighters will soon be taking delivery of a specialist vehicle to evacuate their casualties from the battlefield thanks to well-wishers at a Llangollen church and cafe.

And the four-wheel-drive SUV, which has been specially converted for its vital new role, will actually be driven out to the battle-torn country by the pastor of City Church at Penyllan, Brian Smith, along with two experienced travelling companions on December 6.

Alongside Pastor Smith at the wheel of the Honda CR-V will be Paata Samsonidze, who is the husband of the Ukrainian lady, Anna, owner of the popular café named after her in Llangollen’s Oak Street and an old hand at ferrying supplies to the battle zone, and Mark Birkhill from Corwen whose job is working with veterans. 

The venture has been arranged by another Llangollen man who has become a vital link in the Ukrainian aid chain.

Something of a phenomenon himself, Danny Fairbourn first began driving with aid convoys to the country soon after the Russian invasion sparked the bitter war in early 2022.

Convinced that he should do much more to help the Ukrainian cause after joining the first convoy of clothing, food and medical supplies, he gave up his job as a builder to station himself over there for 18 months organising more help of the same kind from ground level.

* The latest car for frontline use sent over to the Ukraine by Danny Fairbourn.

Over the past couple of years he has stepped up his commitment even further by digging deeply into a family inheritance to help finance his relief work.

Danny personally paid for around 20 trips to Ukraine, mainly arranging the purchase, conversion and delivery of frontline ambulances and other vital vehicles to the army.

Through the Mission Ukraine organisation, he has since assembled the crucial components for more than 30 further trips, of which securing the Honda on behalf of City Church is one of his latest projects.   

Danny said: “After making my very first trip out to Ukraine as part of an international aid convoy I was convinced that the people over there were in desperate need of help, so that’s why I became ever more deeply involved.

“Eventually I gave up my job in the building trade and I am now 24/7 Ukraine. The inheritance I received from my mother has enabled me to finance what I do.

“Like all of the vehicles I arrange, the one provided by City Church will be delivered to the International Legion out there and then sent to the part of the battle zone where it is needed most.”     

He added: “Anna’s café has been at the heart of the local campaign to help Ukraine. At first I was working very much on my own then through Anna I found out about all the other people around here raising money for the cause.”

Pastor Brian Smith said: “Like everyone else who watches what is happening in Ukraine, I realised that the people over there are in desperate need of all the help they can get.

“City Church has therefore been delighted to provide the £5,000 to buy the Honda. The journey over there and back will take about a week and  I’m not worried at all about it.”

* The next major local effort for Ukraine will be a fundraiser in St Collen's Community Hall at 6.30pm on February 6 next year.