Ukraine residents 'too exhausted' for sirens

A councillor who delivered aid to Ukraine has said people there are "exhausted" and no longer wake up for air raid sirens because of their frequency.

Gregory Ebbs, Liberal Democrat councillor for Whitchurch South in Shropshire, travelled to Lviv and Kyiv to deliver a donated a car along with medical supplies, tools and warm clothing.

The former Apprentice contestant said local people told him they no longer go to bomb shelters unless there is a ballistic missile alert.

"There's a certain degree of exhaustion," he told the BBC. "People are surprised - they ask why you're there - they love that fact that volunteers go out there... but they're just exhausted".

First heading to the western city of Lviv, Ebbs said they delivered the aid to humanitarian organisation, the PTAHA.

He said the city was "mostly untouched" by the war, but the human impact was very visible.

"[There were] people with missing legs, missing arms, missing eyes - this is very common… but the city itself has not been impacted," he said.

Ebbs added that on his first night, five explosive drones were reported within five miles of his accommodation, with "sirens and alerts sounded repeatedly through the night".

He said when they reached the capital, Kyiv, things "ramped up".

"You don't even need to get into the city before your GPS gets jammed, the internet starts shutting down you've got air raid sirens every 15 minutes, and the destruction around you gets very evident," he said.

"You've got a lot of warehouses, building destroyed… bridges blown up."

In the city, he met medical personnel based in Odesa who collected the donated Citroen Xsara.

Ebbs said their previous vehicle had been destroyed, leaving a team of 70 with two cars to move people around.

While there, his taxi driver told him he no longer wakes up when air raid sirens sound because he has become so used to them.

Ebbs then took a nine-hour rail journey back to Lviv and was evacuated from the train on the way.

"The train stops in the middle of a field and everybody gets off," he said.

"We all helped the elderly and the young walk to the nearest forest line.

"We're informed there's a drone on the way, and if it blows up the train it's important that we stand away from it," he explained.

Having returned home, he said he would "absolutely" go back to the country to deliver more aid.

"These vehicles, this aid, it literally saves lives," he said.

"It's so important, and if I can help a little bit, then I'll do what I can.

"The civilian impact is just going to get worse," he added.

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