The founder of Freedom Boxes, a humanitarian initiative launched within hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is scaling-up to help bring Ukrainian’s to safety. The project, set up to send essentials and messages messages of hope to refugees escaping Ukraine is now organising Freedom Buses to help transport Ukrainians away from danger. Organiser Stuart Watkins, told Sheffield Live! that most of the aid work is being done at a grassroots level with Ukrainians risking their lives to take aid into Ukraine from the border. Azz Mohammed reports.

Ukrainian journalist and human rights worker Euhenia Kubakh, originally from Donetsk, spoke to Sheffield Live! about leaving Kyiv and supporting the humanitarian relief effort in Warsaw. When Russian backed separatists in 2014 seized Donetsk, Sheffield’s twin city, Euhenia fled to Kyiv. After last months Russian invasion, she joined hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians seeking refugee in Poland and is helping with humanitarian relief. Sangita Basudev reports.

A family run café in Hillsborough, Molly’s Café & Deli, has raised over £3,000 to support the humanitarian relief effort for Ukraine. Molly’s have been baking cakes to sell to raise funds and say the generosity of Sheffielders has been amazing. Sheffield Live! reporter Azz Mohammed spoke to Lucy Poplawski, manager at Molly’s Café & Deli.

A Ukrainian journalist and IT worker in the frontline city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine has spoken to Sheffield Live! about how the war has affected her and her family. Olha Peredera talks about how life is at the moment as well as her reaction to when the Russian invasion started. Sangita Basudev interviewed Olha Peredera for Sheffield Live!

Volunteers from aid charity Go Dharmic travelled to the Polish border crossing to deliver aid to those crossing over to safety from the war in Ukraine. Hanumann Dass, founder of Go Dharmic told Sheffield Live! that even the smaller border towns are seeing thousands of arrivals a day. Azz Mohammed reports.