London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 06, 2026

Ukrainians in Scotland inspire good deeds for war effort

Ukrainians in Scotland inspire good deeds for war effort

Seventeen days into Ukraine's war against Russia, kind-hearted Scots continue to work hard for the Ukrainian war effort.

School pupils in Perthshire have sent beds to refugee reception centres.

And the Scots-supported charity Dnipro kids is trying to break through red tape to bring orphans to waiting families in Scotland.

Whether it's selling bread and cakes, raising cash or finding homes, people want to do more.

On Friday, a truckload of flatpack bunk beds made its way from Strathallan School near Perth to Grodzisk Mazowiecki, just outside Warsaw in Poland.

Pupils at the independent school had organised a collection of beds and bedding after an appeal directly from Poland.

Businessman Iain Gordon, who owns a medical research company, has colleagues in Ukraine and children at the school. He asked them to help.

"We were given very specific requests for aid that is required in Poland for refugees coming across the border," he said. "We asked the school if they could provide us with a facility to receive and store this stuff and asked a removals company if they could lend us a lorry and it all came together within a week."

"We have about 100 beds, 200 sets of bedding, towels, duvets pillows, etc. These are going to a reception centre for refugees in Grodzisk Mazowiecki just outside Warsaw. What they needed was beds and bunk beds."

Iain's employees - mostly doctors - were until recently working on a new Covid vaccine.

He said: "Two weeks ago their world fell in. They are adamant they are not going to leave the country. They want to stay there and support their fellow citizens."

"Our country manager there, Andre, told me things last week were very difficult up and down to the bomb shelter eight or 10 times a day sending the night in subways and car parks. This morning they said there were bombardments 20-30k from Kyiv. We can't say they are safe but they are well."

Dmytro Borysov left Lviv in Ukraine just days before the order was made for men to remain in the country


Ukrainian Strathallan pupil Dmytro Borysov was in Lviv when the invasion began.

He was home for the half-term holiday and his parents immediately got him back to Scotland. At 18, he just missed the order that men aged 18-60 would have to remain in the country and fight.

"I went home for half term in February," he told BBC Scotland. "Everything was okay. It was a usual day and I went to sleep then woke up at 05:00 because there was an alarm around the city. Everyone was panicked and didn't know what to do.

"My parents said we have to leave the country because myself and my sister study in the UK.

"Everyone was trying to leave Ukraine. There were big queues in customs and it was very different than it was before.

"After a few days our president said boys and men from 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country because they have to go to the military."

Dmytro is happy his friends are supporting him.

The group of orphans have come from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro


The Edinburgh charity Dnipro Kids, set up by Hibs FC fans after a Uefa Cup match in 2005, has managed to get 29 Ukrainian orphans to safety across the Polish border but is now struggling with red tape to bring them back to Scotland to be looked after.

The children, aged between six and 17, came from orphanages around Dnipro in southern Ukraine. Their coach crossed the border on Thursday evening after taking six hours to get through border control.

Dozens more orphans were expected to follow by train while others remain in the city.

The charity's chairman Steven Carr, who has been travelling with the children, said homes and care had been arranged for them in Scotland.

"The only thing that needs to happen for us to be able to bring the kids back is for the UK government to say that it's ok to bring them in," he told the BBC.

"We've got the support network in place, we've got the funding in place, the children know us and trust us, and that's it, that's all we're asking. Let us in."

The group of children are from orphanages around the Ukrainian city of Dnipro


The UK government is due to set out details of a scheme which will allow people to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the conflict into their homes next week as well as allowing companies and communities to sponsor refugees.

Mr Carr said it needed to set up the sponsorship scheme quickly and make it easy.

"The longer it takes the more pain and suffering you're putting the kids through. We've got them away from the initial worry of being stuck in Dnipro but they're still in limbo," he said.

Fundraising, big and small also continues across the country by those with links to the country and those who are watching the horrors of invasion on TV.

Ukrainian national Yuriy Kachak used his Deanston Bakery in Shawlands, Glasgow, to raise cash for humanitarian aid.

Since a bake sale attracted hundreds of supporters a week ago, his total was doubled when a donor matched the funds raised.

The total so far has reached more than £81,000.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Green Party Faces Backlash Over Resolution Equating Zionism With Racism
Conservatives Debate Scrapping Environmental Rules for New Homes
Cornwall Insight Warns UK Energy Bills Could Approach £2,000 This Winter
UK Coach Operators Warn of Service Cuts as Diesel Prices Exceed £2
Scottish Parliament Approves £68 Billion Budget With New Tax and Property Measures
FCA Opens Independent Review Into Handling of Epstein Whistleblower
UK Government Drops Plan to Suspend Jury Trials in England and Wales
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Markets Watch November
Two Iranian Nationals Charged Over Alleged Plot Targeting Manchester Jewish Community
UK Fiscal Headroom Halves to £11 Billion Ahead of Budget, EY Warns
US Bomber Withdrawal From RAF Fairford Prompts UK Security Review
Sarah Wakfer Appointed Chair of Northern Ireland’s Health and Care Regulator
Scotland Housing Completions Fall to 11-Year Low Amid National Shortage
UK Water Companies Face Tougher Oversight and Unannounced Regulatory Inspections
Middle East Conflict Pushes UK Fuel and Wholesale Energy Prices Higher
Andy Burnham Raises Prospect of Second Brexit Referendum in Review of UK-EU Relations
EY Warns UK Fiscal Headroom Has Halved to £11 Billion Ahead of Autumn Budget
BT Accused of Pressuring Vulnerable Customers During Digital Landline Shift
British Carmakers Warn of Growing Pressure From EU-China Tariff Dispute
Green Party of England and Wales Adopts Motion Defining Zionism as Racism
Medical Charity Threatens NHS Legal Action Over Two-Year Autism and ADHD Assessment Waits
British Transport Police Report Record Rise in Violence on Railways
Glasgow Council Workers Face Pay Cuts Under Fire-and-Rehire Plan
British Medical Groups Press Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Cancel £330 Million Palantir NHS Contract
UK Faces Record Bluetongue Outbreak Across Livestock Farms
UK Schools Report Thousands of Child-on-Child Sexual Offences
High Court Overturns Ban Blocking Gaza Families From Reuniting With Relatives in UK
G7 Authorizes Emergency Fuel Release as UK Diesel Prices Hit £2 a Litre
France and Italy Draw 1-1 in Nations League Match
Pope Leo XIV and Prince Albert II of Monaco Meet in Metz
SNCF Expands Low-Cost Ouigo High-Speed Service Between Lyon and Bordeaux
Paris Expands Dedicated Cargo Bike Routes for Urban Deliveries
French Film Industry Pushes for Tighter Streaming Investment Rules
Marseille Court Hands Down Prison Terms in Public Procurement Corruption Case
LVMH and Kering Rely on US Demand as Chinese Luxury Spending Slows
Toulouse Aerospace Sector Launches €80 Million Modernization Fund
Javier Milei Courts French Investment in LNG and Lithium
Mistral AI Launches Sovereign Model for European Public Services
French Competition Authority Fines Retailers €40 Million Over Misleading Promotions
France Records Exceptional Electricity Exports as Nuclear Output Recovers
Dassault Aviation Expands Rafale Assembly Capacity at Mérignac
Sanofi Invests €1 Billion in New Biologics Production Hub Near Lyon
France Protests Germany’s Extension of Border Controls Into 2027
French Public-Sector and Transport Unions Threaten National Strike
France Deploys Riot Police After Violence in Lyon Suburbs
French Anti-Terrorism Prosecutors Investigate Radicalized Flydubai Co-Pilot
France’s Defense Budget Surpasses NATO’s 2% of GDP Target
French Government Faces No-Confidence Threat Over Budget
France and G7 Release 100 Million Barrels From Strategic Oil Reserves
France Convenes Emergency Defense Council Over Threats to Commercial Shipping
×