UKRAINIAN DOCTOR BEHIND DRIVE TO SEND LIFE-SAVING AMBULANCES TO HOMELAND

A UKRAINIAN doctor who has made Tyneside his home hopes that donated ambulances he is sending back to the eastern European country will save lives.

- By SAM VOLPE

Dr Anatoliy Telpov works in the South Tyneside District Hospital emergency department and lives in Whitley Bay.

Prior to moving to Tyneside, he lived in his home city of Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine.

He has previously raised cash to support his homeland’s efforts to resist Russian aggression, and now he is delivering more ambulances to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

Dr Telpov has been supported by local boxing clubs and the FSNE Medical Group, who have helped to send two ambulances and a minibus.

He said: “This is project focuses on getting evacuation vehicles directly to frontline brigades and hospitals.

“The aim is to create an efficient chain so that wounded soldiers can be quickly evacuated and reach medical care faster.