Derry man injured in Ukraine blast vows to return to war torn country

Peter Jennings of Derry Ukraine Aid, was badly injured last month while delivering medical aid to Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

The blast left him with multiple injuries which he has been treated for in Poland.

The Waterside man has now returned home to receive further treatment at Altnagelvin Hospital.

“All the time I was there, it was just nothing but constant shelling and bombs and missiles. The air raid sirens were just constant, constant, constant,” he said.

Mr Jennings was appointed three Ukrainian soldiers to assist him in his mission of delivering a mobile operating theatre, who he spent four days alongside prior to the incident.

On the day of the blast they ate sandwiches and drank cups of tea together before departing in the early afternoon, delayed initially by heavy shelling.

“The air raid sirens were still going, you could still hear the shelling, you could still hear the bangs and the rat-tat-tat’s of guns. I thought to myself ‘you’ve got military support, you’ll be alright. We received a radio call to say we were clear to go, and I was given instructions from the men who were supporting me - ‘If we stop, you stop. When we go, you go.’ So we left and then the next thing I remember is a big white flash, and I don’t remember anything then, until I woke up and was surrounded by other soldiers.”

“They took me into a makeshift military field hospital and took the glass out of my legs, both legs. My back was injured and my right shoulder was dislocated. I did have a bulletproof vest on but that was pierced by shrapnel and left me with a hole in my stomach.

“I spent three days in the military hospital there and the Red Crescent got me out to Poland, and in Poland, they arranged for the Red Crescent to get me back to Belfast and I’ve been getting treated here now at Altnagelvin.”

Speaking of his reasoning for feeling the need to help in Ukraine, Peter said: “My wife is Ukranian, my two children were born in Ukraine. I was out there just before the war kicked off, and there was no inclination that anything would happen.

“I decided to go out there, and tried to raise money at the beginning by selling bits and pieces of Ukrainian souvenirs, but recently I have received a lot of help from Derry people.”

Speaking of his determination to continue to help the people of Ukraine, Peter said: “It hasn’t put me off. As soon as I can get another lorry or transport, and I get back on my feet and get sorted, I’m going back. I owe it to them.”

“It’s those poor three soldiers, I can’t get them out of my head. I spent nearly four days with them. I know their names and the towns they’re approximately from, but I want to find their families, to see if there’s anything I can do for them. The way I look at things, I owe them something.