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Ukraine war: Orphans arrive in UK following evacuation led by group of Scottish football supporters

The supporters' charity, Dnipro Kids, is among a number of organisations behind the sanctuary flight to Scotland.

The orphans will be under the care of Dnipro Kids, who have been working with children from the Ukrainian city since 2005. Pic Hibernian FC
Image: Fifty-four Ukrainian orphans, and seven guardians, have arrived in the UK. Pic: Hibernian FC
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Fifty-four Ukrainian orphans, and seven guardians, have arrived in the UK following an evacuation led by a group of Hibernian football supporters.

The fans' charity, Dnipro Kids, is among a number of organisations behind the sanctuary flight to Scotland.

The youngsters and their legal guardians, from the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, landed at Heathrow airport on Wednesday evening, ahead of an onward journey north of the border.

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Pic Dnipro Kids
Image: The children were evacuated from Dnipro with the help of Dnipro Kids. Pic: Dnipro Kids
The children will spend a day in London. Pic Dnipro Kids
Image: The children flew to Edinburgh. Pic: Dnipro Kids

They will spend several weeks together at Callander in Perthshire, before going to stay in Edinburgh.

Dnipro Kids was set up by Hibs fans after their team played a UEFA cup-tie against Dnipro in 2005. The supporters began collecting money for local orphanages and the charity was born.

They have been joined by other charities to organise the orphans evacuation, entitled 'Project Light.'

Sally Becker is the founder of Save a Child, one of the charities involved in transporting the youngsters overland to Warsaw in Poland and onwards, by a Virgin Atlantic flight, to the UK.

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Hibs goalie's message to Dnipro orphans

She said: "Project Light has been the most amazing collaboration between several charities, all of whom have worked tirelessly over the past week to evacuate the Ukrainian orphans to the UK.

"The kindness and empathy shown by others to help facilitate complicated logistics along the way has also been incredibly inspiring.

"The most important thing, above all, is that the children are now en route to safety, and they'll be able to settle into their temporary accommodation here in the UK."

Pic Dnipro Kids
Image: Dnipro Kids was set up by Hibs fans after their team played a UEFA cup-tie against Dnipro in 2005. Pic: Dnipro Kids
Pic Dnipro Kids
Image: The fans' charity Dnipro Kids is among a number of organisations behind the sanctuary flight to Scotland. Pic Dnipro Kids

Daniel Burger, CEO of Magen David Adom UK said: "Save a Child and a number of other parties have made the most unbelievable effort in getting these children to safety. When the call came in to try and help facilitate bringing them to the UK, we wanted to do whatever it took.

"This mammoth operation has only been possible thanks to so many people's generosity and we can't wait to welcome the group onboard the flight on Wednesday."