Rebuilding Bucha after a massacre - War in Ukraine a year on | Life on the frontline

Vans Without Borders (VWB) is a British humanitarian group, that delivers essential food and medical supplies to civilians who are left with no choice but to live near the Ukrainian-Russian frontline.

The team have been braving countless dangers and driving down bombed-out roads since March 2022. Bringing relief to vulnerable people, recently liberated from Russian occupation and left to starve in the wake of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

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VWB were one of the first humanitarian groups to visit Bucha and Irpin after the March 2022 massacre. They witnessed the devastation the Russian army had unleashed upon the local population during their occupation.

"We saw multiple vehicles riddled with bullets and blood on the backseats, as well as the usual booby traps, landmines and unexploded bombs. It was heart-wrenching to go there." Said Jack Ross, who heads the aid group VWB. "It's devastating, it's something that will stay with me until I die." He added.

During a return visit to Bucha in June 2022, the VWB team met Bogdan, 20, and his family. Bogdan's disability proved challenging when the family had to get Bogdan's wheelchair to the safety of the basement, accessible only by ladder, just before their family home was reduced to rubble by shelling that spring.

While the family were underground, the house was hit and collapsed on top of them. Like so many others in the area, they were trapped and had to text other people in the area to come and rescue them. "They had to get help from the local community to get Bogdan out because they couldn't lift him out in his wheelchair." Said Jack.

Nearly a year after the grim memory of occupation, Bogdan and his family have a shell of a house forming that will soon be fit for purpose with wheelchair ramps and a large garden.

Bogdan is a member of the Bucha Children and Adults with Disabilities group, who asked VWB to bring them a speaker so they could resume hosting activities and events for disabled people in the local community.

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