A CRAFT FAIR in aid of the Ukrainian troops is set to take place at the Fire Station Creative this weekend.

Svitlana Iniakoviene, who moved from Ukraine to Dunfermline 10 years ago, is running the event to raise enough money to buy an armoured vehicle for her brother and his military regiment.

While she didn't have to flee her home while the war broke out, she, like many Ukranian nationals, has been affected greatly.

She said: "They were not military men before last February, now they are in the Ukrainian army because there's a war in their homeland. They're defending our freedom, towns, villages and families. Every one of them is someone's son, husband or dad. Everyone is dreaming about a peaceful life after the war but now they are doing their best fighting against their ruthless enemies, protecting all of us.

"It was a nightmare, my parents live next to Kyiv and I am trying to support them every day, messaging them, calling them and checking they are okay. My brother is on the frontline so it's something very unreal for us, it's terrible, it's like a bad movie."

Her brother, Serhii, is currently in a military camp preparing for his next missions. He is the driving force behind all of Svitlana's efforts.

She continued: "At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia started bombing central Ukraine so my brother joined the armed forces and participated in all the main battles, liberating Kyiv, Irpin, Bahmut, Solidar and other places.

"Now, for eight months of the war, he has been through a lot fighting in Eastern Ukraine where he lost a lot of his friends. He learned how to fly drones and gained experience in aerial reconnaissance so he and six of his friends who have been with him since the beginning are drone operators now.

"They regularly ride to the frontline in close proximity to the enemy. At the moment, they're preparing for very dangerous reconnaissance operations.

"They remain in place for 40 to 45 minutes, launch the drone and transmit the data to the Ukrainian artillery. Serhii and his team desperately need an armoured vehicle to keep them safe during reconnaissance missions."

This isn't the first time that Svitlana, her family and friends have raised money to get her brother and his fellow soldiers the protective equipment they need, having worked hard to send over helmets, armoured vests, tactical gloves, ballistic glasses and more at the start of the war.

Now, she is holding a craft fair to raise the remaining £5,000 needed to send them the armoured Land Rover.

"I need to buy the car on November 14, we put a deposit in the car owner's account on October 7 and he gave us limited time so I hope we can buy it and then we'll try to go to Ukraine as fast as possible and bring them this gift from us," she added.

"A donation of any size will mean we can respond faster to the situation, and the faster we respond, the more lives we can save. This support has never been needed more in my home country and me and my family will be always appreciate even the smallest donation because we believe it will make a difference and save lives.

In total, the car costs £14,500 and with the money they have raised and the £1,500 deposit they paid, they are well on their way to achieving their goal.

Fife Provost Jim Leishman has been a great help in organising the event, he reached out to the venue on Svitlana's behalf and sorted out a date and time for the event.

He said: “I think this is a noble effort by Svitlana and she deserves the support of the good people of Fife. I urge everyone to do their bit and support her craft fair.”

To help support Svitlana send vital support to her brother on the frontline, head along to the Fire Station Creative on Sunday between 11am to 3pm to enjoy the craft fair, workshops, raffle, photoshoot of Ukranian ethnic dress and a live performance from Ukranian concert cellist Kateryna Tunina.