February 20th, 2025
67,101 people evacuated from danger to date
84 people evacuated from danger this week
39 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
This coming Monday will mark three years from the start of the full-scale invasion. Demonstrations in support of Ukraine will be held all across the world this Saturday, February 22nd and the following Monday. We hope that you will join our team at these rallies.
While the US government is sending mixed signals about its backing of Ukraine’s sovereignty, we continue to receive many heartwarming messages of support from our American donors. We want to assure all of you that Ukrainians understand the difference between political machinations and the unwavering support of many Americans, who remain clear about Ukraine’s moral right to demand a just peace in this unjust war.
At the same time the rhetoric of the US government and the indecisiveness of European states does create anxiety among Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers, who fear the terrible toll that an allied betrayal could take on the Ukrainian people. There will be more villages and towns wiped off the face of the earth, more children abducted by Russia, more old people killed, or forced out of their homes.
Stories
“We Will Win Anyway”
In a now familiar story, Alina's team Dobra sprava has been evacuating residents, as the Russian troops in the Donbas slowly advance. Alina is worried, but defiant.
The front line has begun to move again after a short lull. As we predicted, the enemy finished regrouping and began to attack our cities with renewed vigor. People are leaving, escaping, but it would be better if they did it in a safer situation. This week we made 13 trips, evacuating 72 people. Most are escaping from Pokrovsk and Rodynske.
By the end of the week, we no longer risked driving our large van to Rodynske, but only made quick trips in the small and maneuverable van. Rodynske is already fully in the enemy's zone of attack. In addition to the danger to people, the weather conditions [have been challenging.] Temperatures fall to -20 C° [-4 F°] at night. Without heating, such weather conditions are difficult. Pokrovsk, Myrnograd, Kostyantynivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Lyman, Mykolaivka, and Druzhkivka also experience bombings every day, but not to as intensively as Pokrovsk and Rodynske.
Judging by the situation at the front line and by what is happening in the international arena, I have a bad feeling that over the next two to three months the enemy will make every effort to seize the entire territory of the Donetsk Region at any cost. I really don’t want to think about it. Let’s hope for the best. We will win anyway.
Getting around Kherson
Sasha U reports:
This week, an enemy drone attacked the Kherson CHP [electrical] plant, dropping a shell directly into the central chimney. For some time, heating was lost in two districts of the city.
Yevhen, a contractor at the station, risks his life every day to keep the city's homes warm and supplied with electricity. During the repairs, drone activity was extremely high. In general, the CHP plant is located in the city's red zone. Getting there quickly was crucial, but very difficult, as no public transport runs to the area, and station personnel don’t have vehicles to transport them to work. Workers travel as far as buses can take them and then continue on foot at their own risk.
We had already met Yevhen before when we helped his family move their belongings to Odesa. So, when he needed help getting to the station, he reached out. We geared up, took a drone radar, and continuously monitored the sky. Everyone made it safely to their places, unharmed. And now, Kherson has heat again.
Help in Occupied Territories
70 families in occupied towns received help.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
13 trips and 72 people evacuated, mostly from Pokrovsk and Rodyns’ke.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
21.7 tons of aid distributed to 8,150 people.
6,600 people received bread.
Delivered 370 cubic meters of firewood for 185 households in Shevchenkove near Kup’yans’k.
5 missions to Donbas - Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, and Dobropillia.
Kherson operations:
Exterminations in 8 buildings, including 4 large basements.
Repaired plumbing for a woman surviving in the red zone.
Helped deliver repair workers to local power plant (see story).
Despite shelling, the team opened a massage parlor for local residents in Druzhkivka and held activity days for children still surviving there.
Helped 24 refugees in Shevchenkove.
Nikopol team started serving new neighborhoods of Marhanets’ and a new village near Nikopol.
The Kryvyi Rih team delivered aid to Kherson and helped 4 villages along the way.
Provided aid to a homeless shelter in Kamianske.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): delivered 2 sets of slippers and glasses to the new Vinnytsia night shelter Bezpechnyy prostir (Safe Space) and laid paving slabs for its walkway. Distributed 100 kg of clothing for the disabled and homeless. Provided clothing and food for a disabled person in the village of Baikivka. Delivered 100 kg of clothing to the community in Voronovytsia, for further distribution to internally displaced (IDPs) and the low-income people. Took 3 disabled people to rehabilitation.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered a total of 6,200-6,500 kg of clothing and rice to IDPs, low income people, people with disabilities and other vulnerable categories to Rivne, Korosten’, Pereiaslav, Obukhiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): brought 4 tons of humanitarian kits, medicines, clothing, and animal feed to Lyman and 12,500 loaves of bread to Kostyantynivka. Delivered 44 tons of fuel briquettes to 146 households in Lyman. Completed a well in the Kramatorsk community, in the village of Yarove.
Oksana K (Lutsk): provided diapers to a family with a seriously ill son. Distributed 48 kg of hygiene products and clothes to IDPs. Received baby boxes for 5 families who recently had babies. Delivered 39 kg of pasta and sauces to military families, IDPs and local residents with disabilities. Also distributed 60 kg of clothing to 7 people. Went to Brody (Volyn Region) to pick up 700-900 kg of humanitarian aid from Ireland. Provided cereal grains to a grandmother whose grandson is missing in action.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and adults, orphans, children with disabilities, and children from military families – held 3 art therapy sessions for a total of 80 children. Visited the theater with 47 children and a museum with 32 children. Distributed bread and other food to 380 students and 80 children living in IDP assistance centers. Provided glasses for 30 adults and children. Conducted 90 medical procedures to improve the health of children with disabilities from Zaporizhia. Helped 18 newly arrived children from frontline areas with prophylactic health procedures, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and gym classes.
Kseniia’s Team – Livyy bereh (Left Bank)
Darya evacuated 12 people from Kutkivka and Dvorichna. Evacuation expedition lasted more than 36 hours, as volunteers needed to take cover while hiding from drones.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
102 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 150 aid packages to internally displaced refugees in Smila.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
This week the team delivered packages to 346 families in the hard hit area of Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 18 families with infants and 27 disabled elderly.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
210 packages delivered to Kvitneve and Partyzanske.
Delivered warm clothing and children’s clothing to Kobzartsi.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
260 packages delivered to Marivka, near Zaporizhzhia.
260 packages delivered to Studenok, Kharkiv Region.
17 packages delivered to Bilen’ke, Zaporizhzhia Region.
32.5 tons of water delivered to Nikopol.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobrо Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to internally displaced individuals in Zhovty Vody.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 375 packages of aid in Kremenchuk, Poltava, and Kanev, mailed 100 packages to other towns.
The soup kitchen in Kharkiv served 1,400 meals.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
Club for Children with Disabilities held cooking class where kids learned to make гazpacho. Kids also had art class and theater class, and played psychological relief games.
Alena – Diva (Virgo)
Liza and Katya continue to support Odesa hospital wards, caring for 14 wounded.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Traveled to Malotaranivka to deliver 220 packages of aid.
How to Help
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