Aberdeenshire businessman helping power stricken schools near Chernobyl with generous donation

A generous donation from an Aberdeenshire businessman has ensured over 2,000 pupils at two schools in the north of Ukraine will have heat and light this winter and be able to continue their studies.

Bert McIntosh, of McIntosh Plant Hire, based in Echt, and his team generously donated a powerful 250 kVa Rolls-Royce generator to the city of Slavutych, following an appeal from the mayor, Yuriy Formichev.

Slavutych is a satellite town of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located just eight kilometers from the border with Belarus and is home to more than 2,500 employees, who still work in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

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After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, Chernobyl and the entire Exclusion Zone were seized and occupied. The city of Slavutych was surrounded and attacked, creating a dangerous situation, which persists till today.

Because of the destruction of bridges, and the fact the road passes through Belarus, which supports the Russian invasion, the commute time between the city and the nuclear power plant, which used to be 45 minutes before the war, is now six hours and personnel now have to live in the Exclusion Zone for 10 to 11 days before returning to their families.

Although schools have shelters for children during numerous air raids, a major challenge for Ukrainian communities remain with the systematic destruction of the country's energy infrastructure, leading to frequent, prolonged power outages.

"We are facing a very difficult autumn and winter, when we expect the aggressor to intensify shelling of energy facilities," explained Mr Formichev.

The provision of the generator, which has been located beside a transformer sub-station serving both schools, will provide the two schools with a high-capacity power source and enable children to continue their education and receive proper nutrition even in times of blackouts.

Slavutych has no gas supply, as it was built as a satellite city of the nuclear power plant and is solely dependent on electric power from that plant.

The Ukraine Support Group at Banchory West Church was set up a month after the invasion and has already purchased new generators for an old folks’ home and a children’s nursery in Ukraine.

Project Manager, Don Morrison explained: "Winters are bitterly cold and providing generators is absolutely essential for the survival of the population.

"We are extremely grateful to McIntosh Plant Hire for the gift of the generator and to Macclesfield Ukrainian Aid for transporting the 4.5 ton unit from Echt to Slavutych and pleased to learn that Bert is currently looking at another similar unit for other Ukranian schools."