The Argus launches fundraising appeal to help Ukraine

For the sale of every newspaper sold today, five pence will go directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, dedicated to helping and saving those affected by the horrific and bloody conflict.

Arron Hendy, editor of The Argus, said: “It is truly heartbreaking to hear about what is happening in Ukraine and we have been speaking to people who are deeply upset by the effects of the war on their loved ones.

“They are scared to look at their messages in the morning when they turn on their phones each day and spend each night hoping the people they know and love have not been affected by the latest bombing raid.

“It is hard to believe this is happening, but it is and there are thousands and thousands of desperate people who need our help.

“We are pleased to be donating money from sales of The Argus today and we know you will join us in giving what you can to help people.”

A nine-storey residential building in Kyiv after shelling by Russian forces earlier this week, which killed at least one person: credit - State Emergency Service of Ukraine

As we have reported in The Argus over the last few weeks, the war in Ukraine is far too close to home, with people in Brighton and Hove and across Sussex having loved ones that have been directly affected by the Russian invasion.

Money donated to the fundraising campaign we are launching today will help those in desperate need amid the cruel bombing and shelling of innocent people’s homes.

Among those we have reported on include Brighton-born Dan Baker, who has gone from having a job and home in Kyiv to having to flee the country with his family to escape the conflict. They have been overwhelmed by support from well-wishers who have donated money to them after they ended up homeless and unemployed because of the war.

We have also spoken to University of Sussex student Anna Maria Szalay who has been desperately trying to help her grandmother Svetlana from the Ukrainian capital to the border so she can come to the UK and be with her family. Anna told us she has accepted that her male relatives in the country will die after being ordered to serve in the army to defend the country.

Two Ukrainian doctors also joined the more than two million people who have left the country since the start of the war, coming to Hove to be with their daughter after their home city of Donetsk was devastated and occupied by Russian forces. They fear that some of their friends were killed by bombing as they have not heard from them in several days.

Others have instead gone towards Ukraine, with the daughter of an ex-soldier who left for the country to help with the humanitarian crisis fearing for his safety. Jacqueline Antoniouk, who lives in Brighton, said her 53-year-old father Oleg, a former army lieutenant, had told her he could not “sit and do nothing” while his friends and family were attacked.

There have also been incredible acts from Sussex residents, who have been deeply moved by the horrific images of the war as they have played out day by day.

Father and son duo Richard and Finn Paisley from Hurstpierpoint felt compelled to help, hiring a van and driving to the Polish-Ukrainian border with emergency supplies to support refugees. The pair raised more than £16,000 in just five days to buy blankets, food, underwear and nappies, which were delivered to a distribution centre for humanitarian charity Caritas.

Businesses across the county have also pulled together to do their bit to help those in need, with The Southern Belle pub in Hove selling shots of Ukrainian vodka, coloured in yellow and blue to match the Ukrainian flag, with proceeds going towards those affected by the war.

To donate to our #ThereWithUkraine appeal, go to our JustGiving page at justgiving.com/therewithukraine and please give whatever you can.