Derry man receives Humanitarian Support medal from President of Ukraine

Peter and his wife, татьяна, have been helping refugee centres in Poland alongside their two daughters

placeholder image — Peter and his wife, татьяна, have been helping refugee centres in Poland alongside their two daughters

"The people of Ukraine need our help now more than ever"

Peter Jennings, who resides in Derry's Waterside, has recently received the Humanitarian Support Medal for Ukraine from President Zelensky of Ukraine himself for his work aiding the war-torn country.

Peter explained he did not expect the medal, "The medal came completely out of the blue," he said. "I didn't expect that."

The father of two, originally from Dublin, has been driving truckloads of food and clothes directly to Poland to help with the humanitarian crisis.

He has also been to Ukraine four times since the start of the war. Peter said it is an extremely beautiful country that "he knows like the back of his hand" but now it is destroyed. Peter said: "There is nothing left."

A Ukrainian lady flees her home after Russian troops raided it and set it alight in Bucha, Kyiv. Photo: Peter Jennings

Peter, whose wife's family is Ukrainian on her maternal side, has been gathering much needed supplies with the help of the people of Derry and beyond.

His wife, татьяна, and their two adult daughters are currently in Poland helping out at a refugee centre gathering and providing essential food, medicine and clothing.

His youngest daughter has just finished school and was set to go to university before the war broke out. Peter's wife and daughters travelled to Poland with whatever they could carry, two weeks after the war began, before Peter followed shortly after with even more supplies.

"When they left the house in the second week of the war, I told them to take whatever they could and I would meet them in Poland. I lost contact for a week because the internet connection is terrible there.

"When I arrived in Poland, we went and bought as much as we could on top of what we had brought. It is even more expensive for essential goods in Poland than it is in Ukraine.

"I have been going back and forth with donations as much as I can. People have been so generous. I thankfully now have boxes and boxes of donations, I'm almost running out of room to store them. I just need to find a way to transport them to Poland."

Peter explained that the hardest part of his work is finding means of transporting the goods to Poland and is asking anyone who can for help.

Peter said the people of Ukraine need our help and support more than ever before and he feels that the world seems to have forgotten about the people of Ukraine as it is no longer headline news.

"The war is worse now than when it first started, when the war was everywhere on the news," Peter said. "The people of Ukraine need our help now more than ever.

"Russia are no longer just bombing areas of Ukraine, they are incinerating them. They are turning everything to dust. They are not targeting infrastructure, they're targeting residential areas.

"There was a new shopping complex built in Kyiv. It took 20 years to complete, 18 stories high, it was the size of Creggan. It is gone, it's flat."

The new shopping centre that opened only a year ago, completely flattened by Russian troops. Photo: Peter Jennings

Peter has family and friends in Ukraine and wants to do everything he can to help the people of the country he adores.

Peter continued: "People always ask me why I am doing this but it is the right thing to do. I know and love people that are there. I know a single mother in Kyiv with two children who can't get out. I know people who have managed to flee and are now in Poland. It is a horrendous situation for the people of Ukraine and we need to do whatever we can to help."

Photo Cute on Derry's Strand Road and Astra Food on Derry's Spencer Road store have donated large amounts of food and Astra Food are currently hosting a collection point for public donations.

Waterside Theatre Complex in the Waterside have also been flooding Peter with clothing and other supplies as the humanitarian appeal is requesting children's clothes due to a shortage. The store gave cars loads of childrens clothes.

Peter also sells ribbons for Ukraine in Derry's Guildhall Square.

If you would like to help Peter with his work, with donations or transporting donations, please email him on [email protected]. Any donations or help, big or small, will go a long way.

Residents in Kyiv outside their residential complex shelled by Russian troops. Photo: Peter Jennings