June 15, 2023
51,953 people evacuated from danger to date
308 people evacuated from danger this week
42 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
At 9:53 pm central time, 5:53am Kyiv time, our board member Ilya posted about the Kahovка Dam breach. Immediately, we knew this week would turn out to be one of the most intense in our history. And it was.
This week felt like the very first of this war. Hours of effort compressed into minutes replete with life-changing decisions. It was full of extremes and of human suffering, but also it demonstrated once again the might and dignity of Ukraine’s civil society and its volunteers standing up to the inhumanity of Russia’s aggression. The difference this time around was that we already were connected to the right people. We had no doubt that our volunteers would step up to the challenge. Nevertheless, the energy and determination of our teams thwarted our boldest expectations once again.
It felt as though our organization had been preparing for this moment since our inception, and this week we were ready to provide speedy support to experienced volunteer teams so they could do their best work in the pivotal moment of this war. A significant portion of our resources was allocated last week. Since June 5th, we deployed $232,678 to 16 teams, not counting multiple partner teams sponsored through them. If you find the application of the funds described below compelling, please consider donating to this cause. We believe our model offers one of the most efficient ways to help people, because every dollar goes directly to do something simple, effective and life-saving.
In this report we will provide an overview of the situation as reported by our volunteers, and of what our teams accomplished last week. The summary section below gives a summary of all activities, including those not related to Kahovka Dam breach, since the need in other frontline territories remains urgent.
Key Accomplishments
Thanks to our decentralized model, our teams made significant contributions to multiple critical priorities carefully coordinated with the local population, volunteer hubs, and municipal government agencies. These included:
Deploying $230,000 of funds in highly efficient targeted manner;
Moving more than 100,000 liters of drinking water into Kherson and Kherson region as water treatment plants and pumping stations were either flooded or lost access to receding water levels upstream;
Rescuing people and abandoned animals from flooded homes on the right bank;
Finding ways to support the rescue of dozens of people from Russia-controlled territories on the left bank;
Providing essential aid to Kherson volunteer hubs and underserved rural communities that were cut off from transportation networks;
Assisting evacuations out of flood zones to Odesa and Mykolayiv;
Preparing for flood relief operations, funding generators and water pumps to drain and dry basements in the coming weeks.
General Background
On the early morning of Jun 6, 2023, Kakhovka Dam was largely destroyed releasing the water of the giant 850 square miles Kakhovka reservoir into the Dnipro River. This area is densely populated with the city of Kherson sitting on the right bank only 40 miles downstream. The right bank controlled by Ukraine is higher, while the left bank - still occupied by Russians - is lower. The tragedy of the situation is that the territories more vulnerable to flooding are controlled by the inhumane regime that places little value on saving lives. But even on the right bank after months of occupation, people don’t have many resources left to deal with another major disaster. That’s where volunteer and government help becomes critical while its absence and suppression on the left bank - tragic.
After the breach of the dam, it took a few hours for the water to start rising downstream. The water then rose by a foot every 2 hours for a full day, cresting at about 15 feet, swallowing up homes and destroying everything in its path. From the very first hour of the disaster thousands of people streamed into Kherson, bringing food, water, fishing boats and everything imaginable to help their fellow Ukrainians. Dozens of groups immediately began evacuating people from the submerged Kherson neighborhoods. The steady but relatively slow rise of the water allowed people on the right bank to evacuate, in our assessment minimizing the number of casualties on the right bank. The situation was more dire in the rural areas, where lots of livestock, pets, and poultry died in the aftermath of the flood.
Municipal government played an important role in the relief process. Local government efficiently directed the efforts providing storage facilities, evacuation points, and coordination between teams. This was essential because immediately after retreating from the flooded trenches to the high ground, the Russians began shelling the drowning city, attempting to hit places with a concentration of people, volunteers or evacuees. Intense shelling continued for days and culminated on the day the information about Zelensky’s visit to Kherson was leaked in social media. During this tense situation the government restricted the operations on the water to certified experienced teams only.
By Friday the water began to recede, and continues to recede to this day. The right bank is drenched, with the sickening smell of sewage, spilled gasoline, and dead matter permeating the air. As of today, volunteers agree that there is no threat to food security in the region thanks to massive support that was brought by volunteers from all over Ukraine. There is going to be a permanent water supply crisis below Kakhovka dam, and upstream where Kakhovka reservoir water level receded away from water pumping stations. There is a massive demand for chlorine to disinfect dead animals and fish, rabies vaccine to prevent sickness in animal shelters, gastro-intestinal medicine and disinfectants to prevent the spread of cholera and other diseases. There is a need for essential building materials and equipment to pump water out of basements and dry damp walls and floors where possible. Longer term - there is a slowly developing ecological catastrophe with complete destruction of many national parks surrounding picturesque Dnipro delta and thousands of tons of refuse, including landmines and washed out cemeteries making their way into the sea, poisoning the beaches of Odesa, and later on other coasts of the Black Sea.
There is also the frighteningly unknown aftermath on the Russia-controlled left bank, where Russia interfered with humanitarian efforts, shooting boats trying to bring aid from the right bank and arresting left-bank Ukrainians who tried to approach the flooded areas.
Stories and Highlights
Most of the teams we support found an effective way to help in the disaster zone. Teams from Kherson and the nearby cities–Odesa, Kryvyj Rih, Mykolayiv–already had the necessary connections with municipalities to find ways to help on the ground. Others procured resources locally and sent them to teams on the ground by Nova Posta mail, which functioned well even in this difficult situation.
Ihor Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
Dobra Sprava left for Kherson within hours of the onset of the disaster. Being an experienced evacuation and rescue team, they were well positioned to deal with the crisis. They have purchased a motor boat to assist with water-based evacuations and were helping people get on dry land with their pets and essential belongings. Having survived the occupation, the residents of Kherson mostly refuse to evacuate further, hoping that the water would recede quickly with minimal damage to their homes. The leaders of the team, who have evacuated thousands from Bahmut and the surrounding areas, said that it was particularly difficult to see the mostly older Khersonians suffer another unexpected blow to what little they had left. The team completed 16 trips evacuating 189 people.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr concentrated his efforts on supporting three Kherson-based teams that were involved in daring water-based evacuations. These teams saved 56 people and 200 pets and delivered aid to hard-to-access areas over water. His extensive network in other parts of Ukraine continued to function as usual.
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
Sveta and Olha, whom we support through Kseniia, are based in Kherson. Their neighborhoods were on high ground, so our volunteers concentrated on helping harder to access villages in Kherson. They managed to get aid to 190 families in the villages of Fedorivka, Kuybyshevo, Komyshany and Daryivka.
Kseniia meanwhile accepted the delivery of another major shipment of roofing materials sponsored by UTC and started the next phase of roof repairs. As we are writing, this letter she is also heading for the Kherson region.
Natasha’s Team - Vysnia Volunteer Center
While Natasha was out of the country looking for additional aid and supplies in Poland, her team reacted quickly to the Kakhovka Dam breach forming a convoy of two vans, assembling the essential aid identified by our Odesa volunteer Alyona and heading toward the disaster area. In Krivyj Rih they were joined by Andriy Pasenko who had made the trips into the area and together reached the village of Tiahynka that stands on one of Dnipro’s minor tributary and was flooded as well.
Karina’s Team - We Save Dnipro
Within hours of the disaster Karina activated her network and 11 cars loaded with humanitarian aid headed for Kherson from multiple cities in Ukraine. As always, UTC was a key sponsor of fuel for these trips. Karina’s initial focus was water and medicine as by the evening the pumping stations were overwhelmed with rising water levels and stopped functioning. Karina was able to find boats mostly from people who like to fish. They donated/leased the boats to Kherson, with Karina’s team coordinating transportation and fuel supply. By the end of June 7th the focus shifted to metal boats or more professional rubber boats as it became clear that small recreational boats were not well suited for operating in fast currents with massive amounts of floating debris. Karina also supported the transportation of trained psychologists into the area in the hopes of working with people clinging to drowning residences.
Through Karina, we have been providing support to a Kherson-focused team Independent Nation. Since it is a recognized NGO in the area, the municipal government involved Independent Nation in coordinating incoming aid and volunteers. This connection allowed us to concentrate on three key needs: water, fuel for cars and boats, and power banks. Powerbanks were delivered by boat to flooded highrises and lifted in baskets and bags to people’s windows and balconies.
As the water kept rising, refugees began concentrating in smaller towns up the river. This was perhaps the highlight of the week for Karina. She organized the delivery of 44 tons of bottled water by two trailer trucks into Nikopol area with hundreds of people lining up to get water.
Alyona - Virgo
That morning Alyona was going to Kherson to finalize the next stages of the demining project. Hearing about the dam disaster, she took what she had available in her headquarters, bought bottled water, dry food, wet wipes and dropped them off at the bomb shelter of Kherson central bus station. Buses to Mykolayiv became the main evacuation route as people from Kherson often have relatives there and it’s less than an hour away. So a large number of refugees were already at the station. In the meantime Alyona coordinated with her contacts in the local government.
Somehow between returning to Odesa that afternoon and the following morning, her team was able to find and fully load a large passenger bus and three minivans with water, blankets, cots, mattresses and other items. On June 7 the checkpoints were full. This was the peak chaos with water rising beyond dangerous levels and thousands of people streaming into the city with aid. It was, at this point, that the Russians began carpet bombing the city. Exhausted warehouse workers were not able to cope with the inflow of aid, and volunteers joined the unloading efforts there. The aid delivered to the warehouse was then coordinated and distributed to rural communities and underserved city neighborhoods. Alyona made sure there was a flow of outgoing traffic and that there wasn’t a risk of the inefficient use of aid.
She then delivered aid to two large facilities that shelter refugees. Their moving around was very risky as the Russians were trying to shell humanitarian assistance hubs. In the end, the team returned to Odesa safely. Alyona’s husband ran a fever from exhaustion and needed a day to recover.
Overnight, Russians hit Odesa, killing at least three and wounding many others. Alyona managed to bring some aid to the site of this attack in the early hours of the morning. During the day she finalized plans for our support of a trusted team of certified professional divers. We helped with the purchase of a cheap metal motor boat for them and initial supplies. Finally, Alyona organized a route that will bring 25 tons of drinking water to the Kherson area from Artsyz springs west of Odesa.
Inna’s Team
In the aftermath of the attack the route to Berislav and other towns east of Kherson became especially critical and more dangerous. More than 100 people received medicine, water, and pet food. The situation with regular food remains stable. Russians have intensified shelling there, and a car is not allowed to enter the city for more than an hour as Russian drones and artillery hunt for vehicles that come from outside of the riverside cities.
Inna’s team brought in additional 1,000 of 2-gallon bottles to cities losing water supply due to the drop in water levels, providing help to more than 200 people.
Another group was dispatched to Kherson bringing blankets, water, hygienic products etc that were passed to local volunteer hubs. Inna is forming mobile teams on the ground that plan to go block by block, village by village, pumping water out and assisting people in initial reconstruction and drying of the homes. We have sponsored the purchase of pumps and humidifiers that her team will be operating in the coming months before the onset of autumn rains. We should note that last week was rainy and windy, on the one hand, slowing down the spread of infections, on the other, making the roads less passable.
Timur’s Team – Timur and Team
Like many other teams, Timur’s woke up to the news of the dam destruction, loaded up their vehicles and headed to the Kherson region. They delivered aid to villages Belozerka, Priozernoye, Kamishani, Daryevka and Nikolskoye. In most of those areas, parts of the villages were under water, while parts were reachable by car. Devastation was everywhere.
One particular evacuation stood out. A family on the edge of the village had a small rabbit farm. When the water rose, the people got to safety but didn’t have a chance to save the animals. Upon arriving, Timur saw there were only dead rabbits in the hutches. The only rabbit that survived was in the highest hutch on top of all the others. The team ended up evacuating the family and the last rabbit out of town.
The part of the team that stayed behind in Kharkiv delivered 350 packages to Saltivka and 150 to Kupyansk.
Pavel - Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
With the base in Mykolayiv and deep connections with Kherson communities, Pavel was well positioned to provide help to Kherson. Initially the team joined other volunteers who received evacuees brought by rescue boats. The evacuation point came under fire, and multiple people were wounded (Pavel’s team members were ok). When it became clear that there would not be a massive stream of evacuees wanting to leave Kherson, the team shifted focus and headed inland to the Dnirpo’s tributary Inhulets.
As the water levels rose, multiple villages became semi-submerged and cut off from transportation networks. Pavel’s team, with the help of local security personnel, managed to get two vans across the swollen river on rafts and brought aid to the villages. On the way back, the team evacuated 11 people, 9 of them children.
Pavel has returned to the villages and plans to continue supplying residents with water and food while they remain cut off. For this, they rely on rafts and 11 boats that they were able to procure from partners. Part of their team is also shifting to assisting Kherson residents and rural areas with pumping the water and drying residences - a project that is about to begin as the flooding recedes.
Andriy - BF Pomahaem
Andriy’s team immediately headed to Kherson on Tuesday morning. Overall they made 6 trips, evacuating 28 people mostly in the first two days. One team stayed in Kherson for three days and used boats along city streets to deliver essential aids. Another team came in providing targeted help to 675 families. Finally, another team continuously brought necessary items for childcare inside the bombshelter: diapers, wipes, changing tables, cradles etc.
Andriy joined another expedition a few days later to the village of Fedorivka sitting on the swollen Inhulets River. The village had three streets. One street disappeared under water; the second street had roofs sticking out; and in the third people waded submerged up to their waists. It was a shock to local villagers, who survived occupation with relatively minor damage since there were no battles around this village.
Seeing the aftermath in the rural areas around Kherson, we are designing programs for small scale reconstruction projects (covering windows and roofs, drying walls and pumping water out of basements).
Team Summaries
Combined Team Summaries on Activities not related to Kakhovka Dam Disaster
Inna Kampen’s Team:
23.3 tons of aid provided to 8050 people
11,000 loaves of bread distributed
Dina’s Team:
Procured multiple key items in Dnipro and shipped them to Odesa to Alyona’s team for final delivery. 50 bedding sets, a boat, adult diapers, pet food, thermopots, etc.
Provided 502 aid packages at regular distribution points. Multiple people asked to redirect their package to help flood victims.
Sent 156 aid parcels to underserved 2,347 communities
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch
Delivered aid to Udy, Kharkiv region
Delivered food, hygiene products and household goods to Kherson
Timur’s Team - Timur and Team
Delivered 150 packages to Kupyansk
350 packages distributed to senior citizens in Kharkiv
Marina’s Team – Good Give Ukraine
254 families received much-needed support and assistance in the form of food and hygiene supplies
Marina’s team collected water, and a boat and will travel to Kherson this week
Pavel and Olena Shulha - Dawn of Hope
2347 people helped through Mykolayiv office including new refugees from Kherson flooding.
Continued tool distribution in Zasyllia, Partyzanske and Kvitneve
Started supplying a refugee center for 200 people in Zolotonosha.
Bogdan - Vse robymo sami
37 families received aid
Andriy’s Team - Pomahaem
42 people continue to live in Andriy’s shelter
Oleksandr Davydiuk’s Subnetwork of Teams
Provided 0.8 tons of aid to refugee center in Poltava, and homeless shelters in Dnipro
Vladyslav K delivered 28 tons to Mykolayiv, and then 20 tons to Kherson
Sandra’s volunteer kitchen fed 2,100 - most of whom were refugees coming to Odesa from Kherson.
Andriy P brought in 3.7 tons of aid from Germany.
Pavlo B helped 360 families near Zaporizhzhya.
Oleksand Z continued to conduct art therapy classes for 50 children with disabilities.
Our team would like to thank everyone who has donated in the last week, responding to our messages for help and social media fundraisers. Thanks to your continued support we stand ready to provide urgently needed help whenever a major need arises again.
How to Help
Donate - The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise - Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word - Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.
