Jodie Kidd has driven to war-torn Ukraine as part of a charity convoy to help in the fight against Putin’s Russia.
The model and actor, 47, joined the 58th Driving Ukraine convoy last month on the 1,300-mile journey to safely deliver vital vehicles to assist Ukrainian troops.
Seventy-one volunteers took part in the three-day journey, to provide two ambulances, a fire engine and 27 pick-up trucks.
Ms Kidd made the perilous trip with fashion designer Alice Temperley, Alice’s husband Sam Glover and their daughter India, crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border into the warzone and dropping the vehicles in the western city of Lviv.
She drove a Mitsubishi Shogun pick-up truck destined for the 1st Separate Medical Battalion, telling the Daily Mail how the vehicle was once used for school runs but is now ‘saving lives’.
‘They say these guys are the angels of Ukraine defenders. They take the vehicles to any injured soldiers and get them out as quickly as possible,’ she said.
The 4x4s are used to evacuate injured Ukrainian troops from the frontline, tackling tough terrain and muddy conditions.
Driving Ukraine, the brainchild of Fynn Watt, 25, has now delivered 366 vehicles to be deployed to the front line.
Model and motor enthusiast Jodie Kidd, 47, joined the 58th Driving Ukraine convoy on 28 April. She co-drove a friend’s Mitsibushi Shogun with fashion designer Alice Temperley
The convoy consisted of 27 assorted pick-up trucks, a fire engine and two ambulances. The 4×4 vehicles donated are used to evacuate injured Ukrainian troops from the frontline due to the muddy conditions on the battlefield
Mr Watt and his fellow volunteers initially drove the vehicles straight to the front themselves, but now complete every journey in Lviv.
Mr Watt described how one fateful trip saw him spend a memorable night with a group of soldiers after passing over a set of vehicles – only for all the soldiers to be killed in combat a week later.
Ms Kidd described his initiative, which he co-founded at just 20 years of age, as ‘amazing’ and an ‘honour’ to be a part of.
‘It’s an amazing thing to be able to fundraise and do our bit to help,’ she said. ‘It was incredible to get to Lviv and learn more about the people taking the vehicles.’
She described how the reality of being in a warzone only hits home after crossing the border from Poland.
‘You have to install drone alert apps. You have to have certain security. You are going into a country at war which none of us really have experienced.
‘It’s something we were brought up reading about but not really experienced. That’s when reality hit.’
During their time in Ukraine, the 58th convoy paid their respects to fallen soldiers at the Field of Mars war memorial in Lviv, before travelling back to the UK via public transport.
A Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 3 owned by former Mclaren Formula One team manager Alastair Caldwell also made the trip last month
Seventy-one volunteers took part in the 1,300-mile, three-day journey across Europe to war-torn Ukraine for Driving Ukraine
Driving Ukraine co-founder Fynn Watt, 25, received a Ukrainian MBE equivalent and the highest award a civilian can receive since Russia’s full-scale invasion
Driving Ukraine was co-founded by Mr Watt just eight days after the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Since then, more than 1,400 volunteers from more than 30 countries have been involved in the convoys, which also supply vital aid.
‘I had a deep desire to do something, anything to help,’ he said. ‘I reached out to a group in Vienna and said I’ve got a van, can I help and they said yes.’
He revealed the toll that being exposed to the conflict has had, especially learning of the deaths of soldiers he had stayed with on one of his early convoys.
‘When we delivered to the east I spent the night with troops in a village house on the frontline,’ he said.
‘We delivered aid, laughed and joked, then the next week they were all killed. It was heartbreaking.
‘It is really hard to understand unless you see it for yourself. There is an insane amount of camaraderie and passion as much as there is horror and terror.
‘The people who were supplying weren’t born for the war, they are just normal people like you and me. The Russians invaded and they said ‘we’ve got to do something about it.’
But he added: ‘The hope and support that we give by running the convoys, taking action, it has created a family [between us and] the Ukrainian people.
‘It means so much for them, us turning up and being there with tangible support.’
During their time in Ukraine the 58th convoy paid their respects to fallen soldiers at the Field of Mars war memorial in Lviv
Mr Watt, who spent his 21st birthday in Poland on the maiden convoy trip, has been awarded a Ukrainian MBE equivalent for ‘fruitful cooperation’ and a medal for assistance, the highest award a civilian can receive from the Ukrainian state forces.
He has secured invaluable donations from figures including astronaut Tim Peake, author and comedian Stephen Fry and businesswoman Deborah Meaden, as well as organisations including Motorsport UK and Silverstone.
Ms Kidd, who turned to motor racing herself after her early modelling career, also praised his work, saying: ‘Lviv had been hit by a number of drones a week before but you felt very well protected. They’ve done it so many times.
‘We were met by guides who took us to Lviv and it was a very seamless process.
‘To get there and talk with those involved, pretty much everyone involved has lost someone or has someone fighting on the frontlines, it puts it into perspective what’s happening.
‘It felt very real. I feel like we’re very much in a bubble in the UK.’
The Mitsubishi pick-up truck Jodie donated will have alterations made to it before it is used on the battlefield. It has already undergone a rigorous checking procedure to ensure it is in good condition.
‘When you’re driving that vehicle 1,300 miles, you’ve got to make sure it arrives in very good nick.
‘The cars are put through a lot of scrutiny before they leave the UK. I felt immensely proud of getting it over there.’
Modifications include removing the back of the truck and adding in rails so that a stretcher can be slid in and out of it.
Mr Watt said: ‘You can never predict the problems you have but the team was incredible. Any issues that came up we solved as a team. When you have that you want to get more people like that involved.’
As well as vehicles, the changing nature of warfare means Mr Watt has also begun fundraising for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to help evacuate troops from the battlefield. The aim is to still safely remove injured soldiers while reducing any further loss of life.
Mr Watt said: ‘In the last convoy, we raised funds to supply four UGVs. You can think of them as remote control stretchers.
‘They have various ranges from 20 to 40km and costs range from £10,000 to £20,000 depending on the specs. Now you don’t have to send four guys in a car but one of those.’
Due to the introduction of drones on the battlefield, warfare is changing. Driving Ukraine is now providing unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to reduce the loss of life when evacuating wounded troops
James Cameron, CEO of Mission Motorsport, a charity that supports the recovery of individuals impacted by military service, also joined the latest convoy, on April 28, for the 58th time.
He was previously an army officer for 17 years before he set up the charity.
As the convoy – which Mr Cameron said got a police escort as they approached Lviv – got closer to the frontline, signs of the conflict became ever clearer.
He said: ‘You see obstacles by the side of the road. Drone netting covers the road to protect the vehicles.
‘Lviv is a beautiful city. Their statues are protected with netting. Benedictine monasteries are boarded up to protect its history.
‘Ukraine is under threat from an indiscriminate Russian attack. They [Russia] are deliberately attacking people with no respect for the Geneva convention.’
He added that handing over the vehicles to the Ukrainian military was a special moment for the convoy volunteers: ‘The only word for it is humbling, it is absolutely humbling.
‘It is not just the equipment and support but the knowledge that Ukraine is not alone.’
Among this convoy’s vehicles was a 1960s Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 3, formerly owned by ex-McLaren Formula One team manager Alastair Caldwell.
The British-New Zealander managed the team between 1974 and 1978. He is also a donor to Driving Ukraine.
‘The car is meant to bring attention to a cause that is waning when there is so much else going on in the world,’ Mr Cameron said.
‘How cool is it to turn up with a piece of history. It is for their morale. Just putting smiles on faces. It has done more than 300,000 miles.’
Ms Kidd, who began her career aged 15 after she was discovered by a photographer on a beach in Barbados, modelled in the 1990s for designer brands such as Fendi and Chloe and she appeared on the front cover of British Vogue and The Face.
She later turned to motor racing and appeared on Top Gear, participating in the show’s ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car’ slot in 2003.
A year later she began competing in Maserati car races after obtaining an International ‘C’ race license.
Now, she owns The Half Moon Inn in Kirdford, West Sussex, and continues to model for brands such as M&S and Next.
