Of all the experiences from this last trip, this is by far the hardest one to write about, but I need to do this, not only for you, dear readers, but more for the person who I am about to tell you about. We all owe him a deep debt of gratitude. 

I met a serving soldier called Sasha, Nick has spoken with him often as he sees him about the village. He fought for 2 1/2 years in an Infantry unit, after serving for that long, he decided to leave the army without permission, but before you judge him, please let me finish his story. 
When I speak to Nick, he mentions that Sasha often comes to visit him, to talk about his experiences and to have a friendly ear to listen. This is a trait I have seen many times with serving soldiers, they have this desire, almost an urge to share the experiences of combat. It feels like therapy, and I think it does them good.
Nick shared a few of Sasha’s stories with me, and I asked Nick if it would be possible to meet him next time I was in Ulaniv, to shake his hand, to look him in the eye and thank him for his service. I have the utmost respect for these people who do the job I cannot, and who keep my family safe.
I did meet Sasha, and we sat outside on a warm summer evening. We talked for a few hours, but when I say talk, I mostly listened whilst he told us about some of the experiences he had been through. 
Of being positioned in a building where one floor was Ukrainian, and the floor below was ruzzian, of having no water to drink and searching apartment buildings to find water boilers or radiators that might contain something drinkable. Of sharing one sausage among his friends, sharing exactly equally portions. 
Now this may sound clichéd to you, very Hollywood you may say, and I would have agreed with you, aside from when you look into his eyes, and you see someone utterly broken in every sense of the word. 
In the end, he had given everything he had, and could fight no more.
Sasha is a gentle man, before the war, a tractor driver. 
My time with Sasha was profoundly shocking, and I made my mind up to help him in whatever way I could, not through Ukraine UK Aid, but personally. 
This story doesn’t have a happy ending, Sasha and his family live in abject poverty and I know he would hate to have his story told this way. 
It feels deeply distressing to write these words, but I feel I owe it to him to tell you how the reality of war really is. 
My friend Vova told me once, there is no romance in war, only hell. 
And thanks to people such as Sasha, Vova, Andriy and Oleh, I hope that I will be lucky enough to not  experience this personally, but they are all paying the price, and it is a heavy price indeed.

This is the true story of Ukraine, of the men and women who fight in this brutal fashion, in defence of their country. They ask for nothing and give everything in return. Not for medals, not for honour, or for glory as these are lies told to us by the people safe in the houses of power who decide we should go to war.
They do this for their brothers in arms, and for their families. 

I ask nothing in return other than the hope that my words may make you think a little. About Sasha, who cannot sleep next to his wife because of the constant nightmares. Of a man with no future, but who still hopes to live his live as best he can.

I had hoped to end this blog on an upbeat note, but alas, it is just not possible. What with the endless and escalating airstrikes on Ukrainian people, the apathy of the West towards this war, and the disinterest and stupidity of the current President of the US, there seems little to feel good about, however the people of Ukraine, tired, scared and anxious are not giving up. 
And Nor should we. We all owe people like Sasha, Andriy and Oleh, and all the countless others, to continue doing what we can to help.

I always ask of you the same few things.
Talk, keep Ukraine to the forefront of awareness. 
Speak to your friends and Family about Ukraine.
This war is still going on, despite the lack of information from the media, which would suggest otherwise.
Support us and other groups like us.
We do make a real difference, we often do not publicise the aid we send, the requests are urgent, the guys are busy, and there is simply not enough time to do photos or video for us. We do not care, what is important is that they get what they need quickly.
Recently we have sent money for Drone antennas, generators, body armour, dry showers, camouflage material, drones, car repairs. 
The list is endless, but this is the most important thing to realise. 
Without your help, we cannot help.

So, please visit our store, buy some amazing items, every single penny from each sale goes to Ukraine. 
Tell your friends about us, when you buy someone a present from the store, tell them where it came from.
Leave a review or a post on Facebook, Instagram, X or BlueSky. 
The more people spend with us, the more we can help. 
It really is that simple.

The store has just been updated, it is easier to find items, there are many new and amazing items for sale, and even better, there are even more amazing items waiting in Ukraine to be sent to us.

If you want to help Ukraine, go shopping!!

To everyone of our supporters, please accept my eternal thanks from the bottom of my heart,

You are making a real difference to people fighting and volunteering all over Ukraine.

Love and respect to you all.

Elliott Svatos