Former “Top Gear” and current “The Grand Tour” co-host, Jeremy Clarkson, is helping send assistance to Ukraine via his latest venture, a show about his farm which includes Viktor Zaichenko, 48, originally from Ukraine, and his wife, Lucy, 55, who are the beekeepers at the Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm in Oxfordshire in the UK.
The beekeeping couple have been raising money to send 4x4s to Ukraine, with the help of Clarkson and his partner, Lisa Hogan, and the first of those vehicles has been sent on its way to the war-torn country which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. The plan is to send the vehicles to help areas of Ukraine that have been cut off from aid.
The Zaichenkos were planning to visit Ukraine in February, shortly before Russia’s invasion, but decided not to make the trip. Instead, the couple were in Scotland when news of Russia’s invasion broke.
After scuttling their original plan of sending armored vehicles, they ultimately decided on sending 4x4s to access villages cut off from aid and support through their JustGiving foundation. With the help of Clarkson, they plan to buy and deliver more 4x4s in the weeks ahead.
Clarkson shared their fundraiser to his Instagram page, issuing this statement: “Viktor the bee man at Diddly Squat farm is Ukrainian. He’s got a lot of family and friends who are stuck there and need our help. You can donate money which will help them buy vehicles that they need to evacuate people who are stuck behind Russian lines.
“I can hardly believe I’m saying this in Europe today, but anyway, they are stuck, they need to get them out. So pickup trucks, anything they can get their hands on. That’s what they need the money for. Please please help, if you can.”