'I've made 13 trips to Ukraine - its harder now'

Parts of Ukraine's capital were the worst an aid volunteer has ever seen them, he said after his most recent trip.

Trips during the winter were the most difficult because of the freezing weather and attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, Gary Fear from Gnosall, Staffordshire, said.

He has carried out 13 aid missions to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion and plans to take supplies such as food, generators and power banks again in May. "They're having a dreadful time, especially in Kyiv," he said.

European leaders are in Kyiv and commemorative events are being held across the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion.

"We've seen so many people living in literally frozen, dark apartments," Fear said.

He described roads covered in snow and ice and temperatures as low as -21C (-5.8F) during one recent trip.

"We've visited places where they've erected tents in the grounds of apartment complexes," he said.

"These tents are filled with heat from gas heaters, they've got electricity in there, so people can go and get warm but they're living in a way that, probably, you and I have never dreamed that we'd experience."

He said the Ukrainians quickly fixed things that were damaged during the conflict, but his recollections of recent trips to Kyiv were the worst he had seen the city.

"Kyiv is normally a really vibrant city, lit up and everything – I went through it several times on the last trip and most of it was just in complete darkness, street lights if you're lucky."

He said it was "fabulous" to be part of the operation helping people there, and thanked people for their generosity with assisting his fundraising.

"It's the support that's probably surprised me more than anything, and I'm very grateful for it."

He has raised more than £150,000 to fund his aid work in the past four years, which had enabled him to support more than 7,500 families.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen that Putin had started World War Three, and that only intense military and economic pressure would force him to stop.

At least 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since 24 February 2022 according to Zelensky, but the toll is likely to be higher. BBC analysis estimates Russian military deaths could range from 243,000 and 352,000

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all travel to many parts of Ukraine, and against all but essential travel to some parts of the country.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.