Man who drove to Ukrainian border shares his experience

Peter Bardell, 39, from Fivehead, left the UK in his van on Wednesday night (March 2) to deliver the large donations collected across Taunton to Ukrainian refugees.

Mr Bardell came back yesterday night (Sunday, March 6) and said he has experienced a “surreal” situation but also met a group of very “grateful” people happy to know “they were not on their own”.

Mr Bardell said: “I left on Wednesday night, and I arrived in Poland in a small town called Swidnik on Saturday morning. It was two and a half days of travel.

“There’s encampments, refugees, and charities’ gazebos to feed them.

“There are cars, people walking, there’s obviously a lot of militaries. It’s very upsetting to see but it’s happening.


A photo taken while unloading one of the vans at the border

“On my drive down I spoke with a group here in Taunton and they gave the name of a contact in Swidnik who was planning to travel to Ukraine and I met her on Sunday morning [March 6] at a centre in Swidnik and we just worked out what the plan was going to be.

“We delivered some medical supplies to a children’s hospital and then took all of the donations in my van to a resistance base where there were military and civilians co-ordinating a resistance to the war.”

Mr Bardell was told the nearest Russian troops were about 70km away but also said he knew “there was a degree of danger”.

He said: “I know there was a degree of danger but I didn’t feel like I was in danger, whether this was good or not I don’t know.

“I understand on the Western side of Ukraine there wasn’t a huge amount of danger, while closer to Kyiv was very dangerous.”


Some of the donations that reached the border thanks to Mr Bardell

He also said: “It’s almost exactly the same as what you see in the news. It’s just a lot of people trying to get out of the country and a few trying to get in to help.

“It’s very difficult to go from Poland into Ukraine. We travelled with some local people, politicians, and members of the Ukrainian army, and they allowed us into the country to deliver support.”

On his way back, Mr Bardell said he must have been checked three or four times and said “it was very difficult to get back to Poland” even if local politicians were travelling with him.

He said there were large queues at the border and they were allowed to bypass with the help of local people but “it could have taken a lot longer”.

When near the border, Mr Bardell also said that he was invited into a base where he had a chat and a cup of coffee with some local people.


Mr Bardell loading the van in Taunton

They wanted to give him some presents – some local food and chocolate for his children – even though “we were there to gift them”.

Mr Bardell, a dad of two, added: “I was proud to be able to help, I was proud of the community in Taunton helping me to help others.

“A lot of military people were very happy when unloading the supplies from my van and they were very grateful and happy not only for the supplies but because a lot of people from somewhere else were thinking about and supporting them.

“The thought of people supporting them was more than what they received, just that positivity, and knowing they were not on their own.”

“It is very surreal to be in that environment. You see it in the news, you see the photos on the TV but to see it and to experience it personally was a very surreal situation.

“Not just for me but for everyone who was there to help it was quite emotional and you just hope for the best.

“They are people like me, fathers, brothers… and the next day they were holding a gun and they had to fight.

“It’s surreal, but they are brave and positive, and they all believe they will win. They will do all they can to beat Putin.”