War veteran and cancer survivor Andrew is ambulance hero

ANDREW Landy is a survivor. He got through the Iraq War in the Royal Navy, and then a battle with prostate cancer.

- By Zak Garner-Purkis Investigations Editor

Now, he is in Ukraine helping people in isolated villages survive the ravages of war by providing them with mobile medical care.

“It’s a personally rewarding job,” said the 55-year-old father of two from London, who had been working as a truck driver in New Zealand when Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

After watching daily news reports of the pummelling that Ukrainian civilians were taking from Russian missiles and drones, he decided that he could no longer just sit at home and do nothing.

He said: “I am the youngest of three brothers, and they taught me not to take s*** from bullies. And that’s what Putin is - a bully who is bullying an entire nation.”

So, when his youngest son turned 18 earlier this year, he “checked off his last reason not to go to Ukraine and help out”.

Andrew and his wife had divorced 15 years earlier.

He said: “I sold my car and put the rest of my things in storage.”

Once on the ground in Ukraine in May, he quickly found himself a new role in life. He said: “A friend of mine who specialises in prosthetics introduced me to some people, who introduced me to some other people, and before I knew it I had a job.”