Manxman Chris Garrett is helping Ukraine in the fight against Russia by training volunteers and soldiers to dispose of explosives.

Chris, from Peel, is the chief explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) instructor for the International Volunteer Bomb Disposal Unit.

He spoke to the Isle of Man Examiner this week from an undisclosed location in the south of the country.

He said: ‘Morale is good but there is still a large number of injuries every day across the country and there are a large number of combat deaths.

‘It’s just part of it and you’ve got to get on with it.

‘The unit that we’re working with at the moment has had a couple of deaths recently and it does dampen the morale but you’ve got to look at what the end goal here is.’

Chris predicts a hard winter for the Russian forces.

He said: ‘I’d like to think that the winter is going to be unpleasant for the Russians. They’re not going to enjoy fighting here in the winter.

‘The Ukrainians have the upper hand considering they’ve been fighting a conflict in the east of the country for over eight years now.’

Chris spoke about the resilience of the local population and how they just keep going in spite of the dangers they face.

‘From what we’ve seen, everyone just gets on with it,’ he said.

‘It is more of an annoyance when things like the water or electricity get shut off from time to time.

‘It’s a bit of a sad state of affairs really but people have to live their lives as much as possible.

‘We are under air strikes every other day but there will be air strike sirens every day.’

He goes on to say how the locals have been coping with the damage from the air strikes.

‘If you go into the hardware store (which is like our B&Q) there are people in there every day having to buy plywood sheeting for fixing up windows.’

Chris, who worked as a tree surgeon and fisherman in the island, originally travelled over to Ukraine in September 2014 to assist with landmine disposal during the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

At that time the landmine count was around six million.

He said: ‘I originally came over just to see if I could help in any way possible.

‘Three months turned into three and a half years, on and off.’

When Chris left Ukraine in late 2017 he ‘did not plan to come back in this capacity’.

He said: ‘Once the invasion kicked off in February this year, it wasn’t about the east of the country any more, it was about the country as a whole.

‘When they’re rocking up outside Kyiv and shelling your friends’ parents apartments, it hits home even more.

‘If I’d have just sat at home and watched the news, it would have probably done me more damage than coming out here to help.’

Having been up and down the war-torn nation, Chris told Isle of Man Examiner about some of the worst things he has seen.

He said: ‘Just the absolute indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas.

‘It’s not down to the bodies you see, it’s more the damage to homes.

‘You’re talking about complete towns just wiped off the map.

‘There’s nothing but rubble and they’re non-military targets, just places that got in the way and the Russians have come in and levelled them.

‘The villages are just not recognisable and the problem is, even for the people who haven’t been injured themselves, they have to try to live with this.’

Chris has been all over the world, including south-east Asia and Sweden as well as Ukraine.

The 38-year-old told Isle of Man Examiner the things he misses most about the island.

He said: ‘Obviously family would be first.

‘It’s a shame that in my time off I can’t catch up with my friends, go for a walk and simply enjoy Isle of Man life really.

‘I‘ve just missed the end of the sea trout and salmon season, fishing in the rivers, that would be another thing.

‘I think one of the biggest things I miss is the smell of salt air because in some places here you don’t get that.

‘When you’ve grown up on a small island, it’s very noticeable when you’re in a place that isn’t close to the sea.’

He still finds the time to send messages back home to assure everyone that he is safe.

Chris said: ‘I can always drop my mum a message every couple of days just to let her know I’m OK and find out what’s going on there.

‘It is a little bit easier to kind of switch off from home and concentrate on the job.

‘When you start thinking too much about home, you end up mentally slipping off what you’re actually doing too much.’