The roads to the front line are littered with the wreckage of scorched buses, their drivers killed by Russian shells or landmines. For civilians in eastern Ukraine, these routes are a lifeline: the only way to reach hospitals, markets, or relatives. But they have become some of the most dangerous roads in the world. According to local transport officials, at least 47 drivers have been killed on these routes since the full-scale invasion began. Now a small group of British volunteers is stepping in, driving armoured buses and training locals to survive the daily gamble.
The volunteers, many former army medics or mechanics, work with a charity called ‘Roads to Life’. They convert old British double-deckers, fitting them with steel plating and run-flat tyres. On Tuesday, I spoke to Tom, a former bus driver from Manchester who has been in Ukraine for three months. ‘It’s about getting people where they need to go,’ he said. ‘The drivers here are heroes. They drive through shelling, past burned-out tanks. But they have no protection. We give them a fighting chance.’
Yet the risks are immense. Last week, a volunteer was killed near Bakhmut when his bus hit a mine. The charity’s founder, James, told me from his home in Kent: ‘We knew the dangers. But these routes are the arteries of survival. Without them, communities collapse.’ The Ukrainian government has praised the efforts but admits it cannot provide armoured vehicles for every route. ‘We are grateful,’ said a transport ministry spokesperson. ‘But the need is vast.’
For the drivers who remain, the choice is stark: drive or watch people die. And as winter sets in, the roads will become even more treacherous. The British volunteers are not stopping. ‘As long as there are buses to drive, we’ll be here,’ said Tom.
This is the Real Economy of war: the price of a bus fare, the cost of a life. And for now, it is being paid in blood.
