+++If you've donated but are not on our mailing list and would like to receive info on how the donations were spent, please email us at JackandAdam.Ukraine4x4@gmail.com. Thank you!

+++The page is now closed for donations. Please drop us an email at JackandAdam.Ukraine4x4@gmail.com if you would like our full account of the trip and a detailed description of how your donations were used.

Huge thanks. Jack and Adam

+++Dear everyone, please note this page will be closing for donations and new updates tonight, September 29, 2023. We are so grateful to all of you for your wonderful support and we hope you will continue to back the Ukraine cause in other ways.

+++We have handed over the vehicle and cargo in Ukraine. Thank you everyone for making it happen! Please keep an eye on here for updates or email JackandAdam.Ukraine4x4@gmail.com for the full lowdown.

++Just a few days of fundraising to go before we leave on Monday September 18. We raised our target from £8,000 to £15,000 for this final burst. Adding in donations received via bank transfer plus pledges, we are in sight of our goal, but we need to keep at it. If we hit our target, we can take some of the more specialist and expensive supplies the Ukrainians are asking for and fill all available space in the vehicle. Please read on to find out more or email us at JackandAdam.Ukraine4x4@gmail.com .

We've got the vehicle, a Mitsubishi L200 Animal (that's Adam on the left and Jack on the right in the picture above). This week a thorough mechanical health check, when any parts necessary will be replaced to make sure it's ready for the rigours of the front line - and, before that, for driving 1,500-plus miles across Europe to get there. Our small convoy will end up in east Ukraine, where we'll hand over the vehicle and its precious cargo direct to the Ukrainian forces on the ground.

If you or anyone you know may be able to help with donations in kind, that would be as big a help as cash. Please email us at JackandAdam.Ukraine4x4@gmail.com with any possibilities and check out the updates section of this page as we hear more about the priority supplies the Ukrainian forces are looking for. Items don't have to be brand new, but if they're second hand they should be in excellent condition.

One important point about giving through this page: the website requests a fee, but it's not required. You can reduce it or cut it out altogether when they give you the option for 'custom amount' at the point of donation.

The supplies we will be putting in the back and on the roof of the L200 will include boots and sleeping bags, which quickly wear out in the tough living conditions of the trenches and constantly need replacing. The (seriously) muddy autumn rains are not far off.

Other items we've been asked to provide include drones, tough combat trousers, medical supplies, mud-terrain tyres for the L200, night-vision equipment and portable solar panels and generators.

Why are we doing this? Ukraine's struggle is our struggle. As this war has continued month after month, it has become increasingly important, and increasingly challenging, for all of us to sustain our support for the Ukrainian people with so many other deserving causes competing for our attention.

Jack writes: I'm a late starter when it comes to doing anything to help Ukraine. When I heard that a teacher from my schooldays was running convoys from the UK, I emailed to ask if I could donate or lend a hand. He called me back, thanked me for the donation offer and said 'actually, we could do with another vehicle for the next convoy. Could you organise it?' After a period of reflection lasting approximately half a second I said 'ok'. That was the first week of August, giving me six weeks to raise the funds and get everything in place. Then along came Adam, volunteering to share the driving, the fund-raising and everything else. He, his wife Camilla and their family have done an incredible amount from then on.

So here we are.

The convoy will consist of about five or six similar vehicles. We go via Germany and Poland into west Ukraine, then on to Kyiv to receive instructions before heading off to give the vehicles and their contents direct to the troops at the assigned rendezvous points. After the handover, the soldiers drop everyone at the nearest station to get the train (Ukrainian railways are famous for their punctuality, which their staff proudly maintain, even in wartime). We'll probably fly home from Krakow in southern Poland.

This will be the fourth convoy organised by this group, who have close working relations with the units they supply, ensuring they provide the things the troops are crying out for. We don't know yet which unit the September convoy will supply, but previous recipients have included 93rd Mechanised Brigade Kholodnyi Yar, which has fought (and suffered heavy losses) in many battles, including Bakhmut, extensively covered in our media.

Please do pass the word around if you can and encourage family members, friends and colleagues who may be interested to back this or similar projects. You can use the 'Share' button below.

There is one other thing to make clear, because several people have asked. We do not carry arms or ammunition. But everything we take will go to the Ukrainian armed forces to help them in their fight. The cargo spaces of pickups can be used as weapons platforms, for example, and drones can of course attack as well as defend. We thought it best to be open about this aspect and we understand if some people are not comfortable with it. If that's you, then this project is probably not one for you. Thank you for reading this far and please donate to one of the numerous charities and other groups doing amazing humanitarian work with Ukrainian civilians.

But both of us believe we are in debt to the men and women of the Ukrainian armed forces and that their success is vital for the long-term peace of Europe. They need everything they can get.

Thanks again for your support.

Jack and Adam