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Ukraine: Aid ambulance from Merthyr Tydfil hit by shelling

Dr Szmidt believed it was one of two ambulances he and fellow medics sent to the country

A consultant who helped to send two ambulances to Ukraine said he was "saddened and angry" that one has been apparently shelled.

Dr Mateo Szmidt said the ambulance was hit on Monday while it was parked at a depot near a children's hospital in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country.

Nobody is thought to have been hurt.

The consultant from Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, raised £26,000 to send aid to people following the Russian invasion.

"A lot of people contributed to the ambulance, to make everything happen," Dr Szmidt said.

"This is something that is aiding [Ukrainians] - for it to be targeted is very disheartening."

Nonetheless, he said, what happened was "part of conflict" and he and other medics at Prince Charles Hospital would not be deterred.

"We're just going to raise more money, get more aid," he said.

Reuters Image shows damaged buildingReuters
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the people of Mykolaiv posed no threat to Russia, but still had "become the targets of Russian troops, rockets, air bombs, grenades, mines"

Mykolaiv is located between the Black Sea port of Odesa and Kherson - a region Ukrainian forces are fighting to regain from Russian control.

"The shelling was confirmed to me by British Ukranian Aid and the mayor of Mykolaiv has also commented about it, Dr Szmidt added.

The group of campaigners has acquired a third ambulance which it is hoping to send to Ukraine by the end of the week.

The ambulances are filled with bandages, defibrillators and infusion pumps donated by health boards in south Wales.

The group has been working closely with charity British Ukrainian Aid which has logistics in place in Ukraine.

The first ambulance was driven to Ukraine by a one of the charity's staff members.

"It's a big logistics mission to get it out there with curfews, and they have to have some assistance from the Ukrainian military," said Dr Szmidt

The group is still awaiting news of the extent of the damage caused to the shelled ambulance.

It had been operating in the region for three weeks and Dr Szmidt hopes it can be salvaged.