An Irish firefighter, who has been travelling to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, has said he couldn't stay at home and do nothing.

Andrew Laste originally went over to Ukraine to evacuate his father-in-law, but decided he had to do more to help.

He has made four trips since last March.

He told Lunchtime Live he wanted to put his skills to use.

"I'm also a qualified EMT and a clinical educator," he said.

"My business trains medics, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, members of the Defence Forces and general members of the public.

"We deal in medical supplies; so I have access to supply markets - and I wanted to make sure that advanced medical supplies and humanitarian aid could get right into the heart of Ukraine."

Supplies and aid

Andrew said he wanted to do all he could to help.

"My initial plan was to try and get my father-in-law out, but I knew how difficult that task was going to be," he said.

"I knew it was going to be a situation - it was kind of a hurry up and wait situation - and I wanted to be as productive as I possibly could over there by bringing medical supplies and humanitarian aid at the same time".

Andrew Laste pictured at an orphanage in Boyarka, which he supports. Picture: Supplied

He said the scale of the country is something people may not understand.

"Ukraine as a whole is a massive, massive country - people really don't understand the size or the scale of the country," he said.

"Not everywhere in Ukraine is frontline.

"With the pushback in the summer of last year Ukraine regained territory back.

"So now the frontline is - I won't say restricted to - but it's in and around the Donbas region, which is the equivalent of the size of Ireland.

"Then you the regions where you have Mariupol, Crimea, southern Kherson and Zaporizhia - which again you could add a landmass the size of Ireland.

"In these frontline regions, the devastation is just absolutely horrific here".

'Just want to go back to normal'

Andrew said Ukrainian and Irish people have a lot on common.

"Ukrainian people, while they may be getting used to this, their resolve and their morale is still quite high," he said.

"Ukrainian people are very much like Irish people, I've always said that.

"They just want to go back to normal life... they just want their own homes, their own land back.

"I couldn't stay at home and just let the Ukrainian people over here struggle, especially with my skillset.

"I'm trying to come over with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, but also to help the Ukrainian people to survive - to keep going," he added.

Listen back to the full interview below:

Main image: Andrew Laste and UK paramedic Danny Lambert drop off tourniquets, bleeding control kits, firefighting helmets and protective clothing to a fire station in Druzhkivka, Ukraine. Picture: Supplied