Where can I donate items for Ukraine and which items are most needed?

People across Britain and the wider world have been deeply moved by the courage and resilience shown by the citizens of Ukraine since their country came under attack from Vladimir Putin’s Russia in February 2022, an invasion that brought international condemnation and has made the aggressor become a pariah state on the world stage.

While many have been caught up in the violent warfare playing out across Ukrainian cities, more than 12 million refugees have been forced to flee for safety in neighbouring states like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

Both the resistance and the refugees need the help and generosity of Ukraine’s European neighbours to survive their ordeal and millions of Britons have already donated generously to fundraising drives and supported causes like The Independent’s Refugees Welcome campaign, which seeks to persuade the British government to do more to help asylum seekers escape the conflict.

At a local level, charitable endeavours have meanwhile sprung up across the country to take in and deliver supplies to the frontline.

Below is a list of some of the places across Britain currently accepting donations of goods like clothing, toys, medicine and food to help those under siege in their hour of need.

It is by no means a definitive record, however, so please check your local listings for other collections in your area.

Readers are also encouraged to share further information and links to other regional hubs in the comments section that follows.

Anyone planning to vist a drop-off centre is further advised to check up on the site’s social media accounts or call ahead beforehand for more information on which resources are most in demand to avoid a surplus, given that the situation on the ground is changing all the time.

The Polish White Eagle Club in Balham, South London

The organisers are accepting first aid kits, baby formula and nappies, hygiene products and other items to help refugees in Ukraine. They say they have already been overwhelmed with donations, however, so members of the public are advised to contact them before dropping off supplies.

Address: 211 Balham High Road, SW17 7BQ

02086721723

UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

Students and staff at the university have put together a list of ways people can help Ukrainian refugees, including donating to its Ukraine Response Fund and volunteer opportunities to support them.

Address: 16 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW

Little Village HQ

This baby clotyhing bank collects children’s clothing, nappies and children’s essentials for young kids aged between 0 to five years old who are arriving or residing in London. You can check if they operate in your borough and donate through their webpage.

Kensington & Chelsea Mutual Aid

Kensington & Chelsea Mutual Aid runs a clothes bank that is open on Mondays, Wednesdaya nd Fridays. You can donate clothes, shoes and toiletries, as well as toys, bags and suitcases that will go to newly-arrived refugees and asylum seekers in the borough.

Gurseva

This not-for-profit charity is actively collecting food, medical supplies, sleeping bags and funding for Ukrainian refugees. Visit their GoFundMe page here for more info on where to donate here.

The Polish Integration Support Centre’s British and Polish Solidarity with Ukraine campaign has sent 837 tonnes of aid to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and has raised more than £2 million in donations. They are asking the public to donate towards their ongoing transport costs to continue delivering aid to the country.

It previously asked for foil survival blankets, toys, nappies, sanitary towels, crayons, towels, first aid kits, sleeping bags, metal cups, thermal clothing, hair brushes, shampoos, toothbrushes, children’s clothes and bandages.

Donors are advised to call ahead to check what’s needed as the situation is constantly evolving.

Other sites around the country include:

Coventry

Coventry Comfort Carers Crisis Support are gathering sleeping mats and bags, duvets and pillows, blankets, towels, clothes, batteries, power banks and torches.

Drop off times and locations can be found on their Facebook page.

The same city’s Feed The Hungry charity is getting together shipments of dry food, snacks and biscuits, travel mugs, water bottles, tea, coffee, sugar and dry milk.

Address:  Halo Centre, Progress Way, Binley Industrial Estate, Coventry, CV3 2NT

Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne’s Polish Community Centre has just completed a major collection of its own but offers the following useful information on other donation points in the north east.

Oxford

The Donation Drive for Ukraine Facebook page shares information on efforts being undertaken locally to bring gifted items to refugees in Eastern Europe, from individual van trips to local events like the collection currently being mounted from Oxford Business Park in Cowley on Tuesdays and Thursday this week.

A vital regional resource.

Polish Social Club, Southampton

This organisation is collecting supplies to be sent specifically to Medyka on the Polish-Ukrainian border to support refugees fleeing the fighting in their homeland.

Their most recent delivery of donations was made at the end of May, but you should contact them to check if they are still actively seeking donations.

For more information, check out the club’s Facebook page.

Address: 507 Portswood Road, SO17 2TH

Wales

Women of Newport, Newport

The Women of Newport group recently opened a free shop for Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Wales with no clothes or personal items. They currenly support between 200 to 300 people and are asking for donations of summer clothes, new underwear and socks, and toiletries.

Wales Online has more information on other donation sites open across the country.

Scotland

Edinburgh

Donations are being taken at many of the city’s Polish supermarkets, cafes and at St Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, the details of which are as follows.

Address: 24 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh EH6 8SA

01315563447

Aberdeenshire

There are donation points in Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Banff and Ellon in Aberdeenshire while the Ukrainian Crisis Pet Appeal Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire is working to coordinate drop-offs and donations to support animals caught up in the conflict.

Oban, Argyll and Bute

The Oban Helps Ukraine Facebook page is meanwhile a useful resource for updates on where you can donate in that region.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. We are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.