THOUSANDS of people in Wiltshire are to be invited to show their solidarity with Ukraine by joining a public protest in Trowbridge on Saturday against the Russian invasion.

The protest is scheduled to take place in Trowbridge Town Park following a unanimous vote at Tuesday’s Trowbridge Town Council policy and resources committee meeting.

The town council also plans to raise the Ukrainian flag above the Civic Centre to show solidarity with its people as they battle the Russian forces.

Councillors voted to adopt Cllr Stephen Cooper’s motion condemning the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin in authorising the invasion of Ukraine, leading to a war in which thousands of people have already been killed.

Cllr Cooper says the group of councillors decided to invite residents of Trowbridge to gather in the Town Park at 10:30 this Saturday to show solidarity with the people and legitimate government of Ukraine.

He added: “A Facebook page, Солідарність з Україною - Trowbridge friends of Ukraine, has been set up to publicise the event and we are asking people in and around Trowbridge to share this page and the event invitation.

“It is vital that we publicly show our support for, and solidarity with, the people of Ukraine but it is also vital that we acknowledge that this war is not being waged at the behest of the Russian people.

“It is an illegal and unjustified war being waged by a man who’s seeming delight in power has led to increasingly deranged acts of aggression not just towards his neighbours, but within his own borders as well. Vladimir Putin is the aggressor…… not the ordinary people of Russia.

Meanwhile, local communities, charities and organisations across west Wiltshire have responded magnificently to rally behind the people of Ukraine following the country’s invasion by Russia.

Today, they were thanked by Wiltshire Council, which has set up a special page on its website to support those who wish to help refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

The page - https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/support-for-ukraine - lists some of the ways that people can provide support. Although not an exhaustive list, the council will look to keep it updated as much as possible.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: “On behalf of Wiltshire Council, our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the utterly heart-breaking scenes we are seeing in Ukraine.

"We’d like to thank everyone locally who is doing what they can to provide support and ensure that the people of Ukraine know they are not alone, despite the distance between us.

“Following the Novichok attack in Salisbury four years ago we are only too aware, on a smaller scale, of the callous disregard for human life and international law that Putin is willing to show.

“Wiltshire has strong military connections, and we know uncertain times like this can also be very difficult for those serving and their families, and our thoughts are with them too.

“As a council we are in regular contact with central Government and are ready to provide any support that we can, and although it’s too early to say what that might be at this stage, we’ll update when we can.

“In the meantime, we’ll do what we can to raise awareness of what people can do locally so that our county, filled with such compassionate and proactive communities, can be there for the people of Ukraine at their time in need.”

Local communities across west Wiltshire have responded magnificently to the crisis in Ukraine by donating bedding, toiletries, tinned food, clothing and medical supplies for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees – mostly women and children – fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland.

Collections of emergency supplies are taking place throughout Wiltshire to help refugees pouring across the Ukrainian borders to safety in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

Dawid Fedyk, of Wiltshire Hot Tub Hire Ltd in Melksham, is leading a project to collect donated items and transport them to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees who have fled across the border.

He said: “Currently the items that they are most in need of are nappies, children's coats and winter clothes.

“Donations will be sent to Poland every week to a hostel in Kgierz and a volunteer centre in Lodz to help Ukrainian refugees. Every item donated will go directly into hands of the Ukrainian people in need.”

Items needed are:

  • Clothes
  • Blankets
  • Sleeping bags
  • Hygienic products (toothbrush, handwash, tampons etc)
  • Medicine (painkillers, bandage, plasters etc)
  • Dog and cat food
  • Pet accessories (bowls, toys, dog beds)
  • Food with long expiry dates (rice, pasta, canned food)
  • Children’s toys and teddies
  • Children’s and baby clothes

In Chippenham, constituency MP Michelle Donelan opened her office as a collection point for donations to refugees who have fled to Poland from Ukraine. The office at 61 New Road, Chippenham, will open to receive donations Monday-Thursday 3pm-5pm.

The MP said: “I am really proud to be supporting my constituent, Dawid Fedyk, who is leading an amazing project to help Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Poland. Thank you to those involved with setting up this scheme. Please do help if you can.”

Among those who have organised donations is Ukrainian-born Larysa Copland-Griffiths from Wingfield, wife of Bradford on Avon chiropractor Michael Copland-Griffiths.

She has been raising funds from friends and family to buy necessities for Ukrainian refugees as they flee the terrors of the Russian invasion.

Larysa said: “With donations, I have been buying bedding, clothing, warm jumpers and gloves, body cleaning products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary products, baby necessities, first-aid travel kits, antiseptics, dressings, painkillers, dried pasta, nutritious tinned foods and even a collection of toys donated by my children, Alexander (Sasha) and Anna.

“These are being sent to Active Trowbridge, from where they will be forwarded in conjunction with the Trowbridge Polish Community to the Ukrainian border where they are most needed.”

Larysa said her parents in the Ukraine are too old and unwell to travel and will remain in their village in the southern Mykolaiv district.

Her sister has been sheltering with her sick husband, daughter and grandson in the basement of the Kyiv shoe shop where she is manager. She refuses to leave Kyiv as her husband, recovering from double pneumonia, is enlisting to stand against the Russian invaders when fit enough to handle a gun.

At present trapped in Kyiv, her daughter and grandson are, themselves, hoping to get out of the city to the Polish border when the opportunity arises.

The city of Mykolaiv, where Larysa was their physician assistant and health lecturer at the city's Construction University for 16 years, is currently under siege from all sides.

Larysa added: “I am keeping in contact with my many colleagues from the university and hospitals where I worked, whilst remaining in regular contact with my sister throughout the day and several times through the night."

Mrs Copland-Griffiths took over responsibility for maintaining the flowers at the Wingfield Crossroads Memorial, when her mother-in-law, the late Mary Copland-Griffiths, handed over to her the century-old family tradition.

In honour of her brave compatriots in Ukraine, the flowers of the crossroads are currently decked in their national blue and yellow colours.

In Trowbridge, Dr Simon Selby, the Polish Honorary Consul for the South West of England, who represents 90,000 Polish people in the region, has been given permission by the Polish and Ukrainian Embassies in London to assist Ukrainians living in the region.

He said: “The world has united in condemnation against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“While I haven’t yet received any phone calls, I have been given permission by the Polish and Ukrainian Embassies in London to provide assistance to anyone who needs it."

Anyone needing help should call 01225 353265 or 07380 288944, or go to the Honorary Consul’s Facebook page. Assistance is also being channelled through the Polish White Eagle community in Swindon.

Bradford on Avon Town Council is also standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. To aid those in need, the town council is asking for donations from generous residents, specifically:

  • Sanitary products (nappies, sanitary towels, wet wipes)
  • Children's products (baby food, baby bottles, formula milk, children's clothes)
  • Survival equipment (sleeping bags, fleeces, coats, thermals, cooking equipment such as butane stoves and hot plates, water filters, reusable bottles)
  • Non-perishable provisions (canned food, instant food, coffee and tea bags)
  • Basic medical supplies (paracetamol, ibuprofen, bandages, alcohol wipes and sanitising equipment)
  • More specialist medical supplies (saline water, syringes, central lines, tourniquets, slings)

Donations will then be transported to one of the hubs in south-east Poland to be distributed by Ukrainian volunteers. 

Cllr Sam Blackwell said: “We have been thinking of ways to help the desperate situation in Ukraine with the number of refugees, internally-displaced people and injured civilians and military personnel rising rapidly.

“There is an urgent need for key items both among Ukrainian refugees taking shelter in neighbouring countries and the population within the country.”

Other collection points in north and west Wiltshire are:

Bradford on Avon

Bradford on Avon Town Council, St Margaret's Hall, from 9am-4.30pm. Monday to Friday.

For more information please do not hesitate to email the Town Council at office@bradfordonavontowncouncil.gov.uk or call on 01225 864240. All donations will be greatly appreciated.

Chippenham

Rotary Club of Chippenham collection points at 1 Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, SN1      5 3NS, and 51b Lowden, Chippenham, SN15 2BG. If you have items to donate please contact Bob Nation on 01249 463789 or Lyn Crabtree on 01249 656172.

Melksham

Melksham Town Hall
Market Place, Melksham
01225 704187
Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm. Extended hours on Thursday 3 March only 8am - 8pm

If you can't deliver your donations but are willing to donate, please contact Melksham Town Hall who will be able to collect your donations from you, only if you're based in Melksham.

Trowbridge

Castle Place Leisure Centre
Level 5a, Multi Storey Car Park, Trowbridge

Skin Aesthetic Beauty Salon
30 Roundstone Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8DE
Wednesday to Saturday between 9am-6pm Call 07455 976735

Westbury

Daykins Estate Agents
Unit 4 Rockhaven Business Park, Commerce Close, Westbury BA13 4FZ. Call 01373 476447