A FORMER soldier is raising money for Ukraine after spending six weeks evacuating Ukrainian civilians to safety.

Frustrated by the lack of effective response to the ongoing crisis, 51 year old Simon Atkinson from Bishopbriggs has taken matters into his own hands to improve the situation in the war-torn country.

Atkinson said: “Thanks to the time spent working alongside the Ukrainian diaspora, I have access to an in-country logistics and distribution network staffed by local logistics professionals, who will transport food, and other humanitarian aid from origin to destination. That’s what this fundraiser is all about. We will buy, transport and distribute essential aid to the people needing it the most – whether they are in Mariupol, Odessa, Kharkiv or Kyiv.

“I am incredibly frustrated by the lack of impetus shown by large aid agencies, many of which have seen huge surges in donations, but who have not distributed those donations to the front lines where they are most desperately needed.”

Atkinson and his colleagues in Ukraine have voiced their extreme concern about the long term implications of the Russian invasion. The former army officer notes that Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest exporters of grain, will struggle to produce a harvest next year in the midst of war and that the issue may be compounded by a ban on fertiliser imports from Belarus.

Atkinson’s fundraiser, which aims to raise £100,000, will be spent entirely on relief efforts and focus on cities worst hit by the Russian invasion.

Atkinson added: “It’s not just money that is useful.

“Organisations who are sitting on stuff they cannot move should get in touch and we will make arrangements for them. It would also be useful to hear from those able to assist with direct donations of pharmaceuticals and/or medical consumables to assist in restocking clinics and hospitals.”

Click HERE for a link to the campaign’s GoFundMe page.