Estate agency group Brown & Co is to donate £50,000 to help the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing to Poland following the Russian invasion.

Brown & Co, based in the East Midlands and East Anglia, is is also pledging to help find jobs and accommodation, including within its own business, for up to 100 Ukrainian nationals.

The firm has had an office in Poland since 1998, and has undertaken extensive work for a number of large farming businesses in Ukraine and the wider region.

‘This is a country not so different from ours’

Charles Whitaker, managing partner of Brown & Co, said: “We as a partnership have been deeply concerned about the unfolding horror on our doorstep in Ukraine.

“We have Ukrainian friends and colleagues who live and work there – this past week we have had calls with some of them on the ground, and they were all very concerned indeed for the safety of their staff and families. We feel we should be doing something significant to help as we watch the disaster unfold.

“This is a country not so different from ours and people who thought they wanted a future like us. They are being driven over, bombed and shot by a Russian regime that clearly threatens all of us in the West – they just happen to be in the way on the front line.”

The £50,000 donation will go to the NGO Polish Humanitarian Action fund specifically to help the Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland.

Mr Whitaker said: “More than 150,000 Ukrainians had already crossed into Poland over the weekend and the number is rising fast. We feel we should be doing our bit and shouting about it to encourage others to do so too.”

If you want to pledge money to additional registered charities targeting the Ukraine refugee crisis visit justgiving.com.