July 11th, 2024
62,874 people evacuated from danger to date
221 people evacuated from danger this week
44 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
After the brutal Russian attacks of the last few weeks, we thought we were ready for anything, but the targeting of the Ohmatdyt Kyiv Pediatric Hospital on July 9 still manages to shock, underscoring the sadism of the invaders and the terrible pain they inflict on ordinary Ukrainian civilians. The attack occurred on July 9, while dozens of kids were in surgery under general anesthesia, and more than 600 children were getting other treatment.
Once again the international community seemed to come together for a day in an outpouring of support for Ukraine. We appreciate everyone who wrote about this tragedy in their socials or donated money. Meanwhile, while the Ohmatdyt situation is being addressed by many other organizations, we continue to support lesser known sites of Russia’s terror, in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa and many other cities, where Russian rockets aim to break the spirit of Ukrainian resistance.
Stories
“The Sea Is No Longer Here”
During his visit to Ukraine, Daniil met with the brave drivers on Inna Kampen’s team. They are usually based in the tough spots of Ukraine, and perform quick round trips to relative safety and back, getting aid from Dnipro and then distributing it to war-torn communities.
One of these drivers, Slavik, is based in Nikopol and works with brutal intensity, trying to support villages around the city with a single SUV and the help of a few loyal volunteers. Here is his report on his trip to the village of Hrushivka:
The village is actually in the Kryvyi Rih area, which is pretty far from Nikopol, but seeing the need there we did not hesitate and got on the road. Before the floods, the village was located on a major logistical route, with trucks passing through day and night. The village thrived: it had large buildings, big monuments, and a large two-story supermarket. Now all these buildings stand empty. As we drove to Hrushivka, we were on the road alone.
Hard to imagine that Dovzhenko [Ukrainian Soviet-era director and producer] shot his famous film about the Kakhovka reservoir, “Poem about a Sea'' here. The sea is no longer here, replaced by a forest of pussy willows.
We helped 220 people there. Mostly we helped people get glasses and distributed sweets to children. We left with the joyful feeling that we had helped somebody.
Awards Received by UTC Volunteers
Our fearless Kharkiv volunteer, Vitaliy and his team, received a medal of distinction last week from the local military administration, in recognition of their efforts supporting civilians and the military on the eastern frontline. We wholeheartedly congratulate Vitaliy’s team on receiving this well-deserved honor. On the other days of the week, Vitaliy and his volunteers completed three dangerous expeditions to frontline zones to besieged New York and Toretsk. In similar news, Dobra Sprava and Ukraine TrustChain received a letter of gratitude from the Toretsk administration for our joint assistance in evacuating Toretsk civilians.
Toretsk Evacuations
Ihor, who heads up the Dobra Sprava team specializing in evacuations from danger zones, reports from Toretsk:
The situation in the Toretsk community has worsened significantly. The worst is in New York. The town is being leveled to the ground. It is closed for entry and extremely dangerous. However,, armored vehicles still manage to get through. Civilians should have left a long time ago. It's understandable that people don't want to leave their homes, but no brick is worth a life. They say at first that they'll wait a bit longer, and then later we can't get to them. This happened in Bakhmut too. So, what can we do? People don't learn from others' mistakes.. Fortunately, over the past week, we managed to make 20 trips and evacuate 213 people, including children and those with limited mobility.
Increasing Risks for Volunteers
It is concerning that the dangers of the war seem to get closer and closer to our Ukrainian volunteers. Though people on the teams we support have not been harmed, the dangers seem to hit closer to home. The Pomahaem team came under shelling last week when they were vetting people for cash aid in frontline villages.. Team leaders were not happy with the way their team reacted in this extreme situation and are conducting additional training to maximize the safety of the volunteers.
Timur had to evacuate members of his family after Russia hit the home of his aunt. His uncle sustained injuries and died two days ago in the Kharkiv ICU. Only when meeting Timur in person do you realize the emotional toll the work takes on him. Timur feels that it is part of his mission to record upbeat Tiktok videos to support the spirit of Ukrainian people, but off-camera he carries the heavy weight of frequent deadly danger and loss.
Aid in Occupied Territories
4 people were evacuated from the Russian-occupied left bank and 200 packages were delivered to 3 occupied towns.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra Sprava
20 trips evacuating 213 people from the Toretsk area.
Inna’s Team – Krok z Nadiyeyu
22.5 tons of food distributed.
8300 people received aid.
9500 people received bread.
Kherson Operations:
Team is battling record-breaking heat.
Disinfected 3 apartments and 5 large basements.
Exterminations conducted in 18 spaces (including 3 large basements).
Aid was delivered to Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk, Kupyansk, Nikopol and vicinity.
All week long the team was helping at the sites of rocket attacks in Dnipro.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): delivered 3,200 kg of groceries, hygiene products, clothing and books to residents of Pokrovsk, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk (all in Donetsk Region) and Kupiansk (Kharkiv Region).
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 14 tons of water to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 1,200 people.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): fed 25 people and took 2 disabled people to rehabilitation.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): delivered 10 walkers and 15 boxes of clothes to Oleksandr S’s team in Boyarka.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 3 tons of clothes, medicine, aid packages and animal feed to the village of New York, near Toretsk (Donetsk Region) and evacuated some of the residents to Kharkiv. Delivered 1 ton of drinking water and 2 tons of other aid to Toretsk. Visited Kharkiv hostels housing internally displaced refugees (IDPs): brought clothes, medicine and dishes.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions for children and families:
Offered art therapy to 70 IDP children and children from military families, and 24 women (total of 3 art therapy sessions held).
Organized outings for 28 children from military families and took 49 disabled children to see a puppet theater show.
Helped 256 children at IDP assistance centers and camps with bread and groceries.
Kseniia’s Team — NGO Livyj Bereh
Darya, based in Kharkiv, delivered 70 aid packages to frontline villages of Kutkivka, Kasyanivka, and Kindrashivka.
3 people evacuated from Borova.
Helped 3 wounded people in Odesa hospitals.
Karina’s Team — We Save Dnipro
107 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team — Dopomoha Poruch
Distributed 285 aid packages to the village of Odnorobivka, Kharkiv Region.
Distributed 150 aid packages to Zaporizhzhia.
Natalia’s Team — Vyshnia Volunteer Center
180 packages were delivered to Myrolubivka and Trudolubivka in the Kherson Region.
65 packages delivered to children living there.
Timur’s Team — Timur and Team
Despite terrible personal tragedies, the team continued their work.
Delivered aid to 300 people in Sloviansk.
Distributed aid to 280 pepole in Saltivka, including 40 disabled elderly.
Traveled to Bohorodychne, in Donetsk Region, where only 24 people remain, and delivered aid under shelling.
Evacuated 1 disabled individual from the Vovchansk area.
Pavel and Olena’s Team — Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
1,490 people received help.
171 aid packages provided to Lubomyrivka and Shevchenkove.
1.5 tons of water delivered to Novohryhorivka.
Pomahaem Foundation
10.5 tons of water delivered to Nikopol.
69 packages in 3 trips delivered to Komar, in the Donetsk Region.
358 packages delivered to Dnipro and Novomoskovsk to shelters housing recent IDPs from combat zones.
Marina’s Team – Give Good Ukraine
150 displaced families from Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions received aid in Zhovti Vody.
Dina’s Team — Vilni Liudy — Vilna Krayina
Distributed 260 packages of aid in Kanev, Krasnokutsk, and Poltava.
Mailed 100 packages of aid from Dnipro.
Serhiy T and his church group in Kharkiv held a 6-day summer camp for 47 children displaced from Vovchans’k and Kup’yans’k.
Bogdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami
43 food and hygiene packages were distributed in Zhytomyr.
How to Help
Donate — The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
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Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
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