June 6, 2024
61,957 people evacuated from danger to date
159 people evacuated from danger this week
39 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories this week
In the last couple of weeks we’ve highlighted the dire situation in and around Kharkiv. We continue to support the trickle of high-risk evacuations there. However, this week, Kherson has came back into focus. Our teams operating in Kherson and right-bank villages along Dnipro have independently reported rising risks. The risks can be attributed to the growing proliferation of drones that concentrate in greater numbers on the smaller number of potential remaining “targets” — people — turning these villages into nearly uninhabitable wasteland.
But people — and sometimes even children — still live there and our teams insist on supporting them at all costs. Ever since the liberation of Kherson and its surrounding areas in November 2022 and through the destruction of the Kakhovka dam last year, we have been deeply connected to these communities, and understand the tragic context of their everyday life. We thank all of you who continue to support this life-saving work in Kherson with your donations or by telling others about the efforts of our Ukrainian volunteer teams.
Stories
Alena’s Team Escapes Lethal Danger near Kherson
In the last year Alena’s team has made 54 trips to the Kherson Region. The team is very familiar with the terrain and felt confident that they could get three cargo vans of aid to several communities on the bank of the Dnipro river. The aid the volunteers carried included camping stoves, propane tanks, and power banks.
Two of the villages, Ol’hivka and Burhunka, situated on the right bank of the Dnipro, sit across the river from a narrow strip of land still controlled by Ukrainian forces. Russia has been trying and failing to take this strip for more than a year. But while the Ukrainian presence across the river has provided some protection from total annihilation for the civilian population of Ol’hivka and Burhunka, the risks are growing.
Alena’s team experienced this firsthand. On getting close to their destination, Alena’s group turned off their cell phones, which make people targets for drones,, then drove toward the villages at breakneck speed through the open fields, which are particularly prone to drone attacks. However, soldiers at a checkpoint mid-way stopped them from going further without an authorization.
Not wanting to turn on their cell phones in such a dangerous location, the team backtracked 10 miles and called their army contact to authorize their passage and return. On the way back across the open field they were spotted by a drone and were forced to flee back to a nearby checkpoint as the soldiers escorting them scrambled the drone.
Remarkably, the team didn’t abort the mission after two attempts, but tried again, The volunteers split into two group, one headed to Ol'hivka, the other to Burhunka. The Ol’hivka team made it to their destination, but the presence of new vehicles was noticed by the Russian drones and an artillery attack followed. Fortunately, none of the volunteers were seriously injured – only bruised from dropping into ditches as the explosions started.
Aid to Occupied Areas
230 packages were prepared for distribution in the occupied territories.
Kahovka Dam Floods
One year ago Kakhovka dam was destroyed, draining the massive Kakhovka reservoir and causing unprecedented flooding in southern Ukraine. This was one of the defining moments in the Ukraine TrustChain’s story, which we tried to document in our previous newsletters https://www.ukrainetrustchain.org/reports/june15.
Within hours our volunteers were on the way to Kherson, rescuing civilians off rooftops, and delivering water and other aid to flooded zones. The flood also opened a window of opportunity to rescue people from Russian-occupied territory and the teams we support managed to evacuate 783 people from the left bank. As time went by, the flow of compassion-driven aid slowed down, but Ukraine TrustChain volunteers did not walk away.
The volunteers we met in the aftermath of this disaster have become part of our network, including the team of Oleksandr Ushkan based in Kherson that has dehumidified, disinfected and restored more than 746 buildings. The team of Vlasyslav K continues to deliver 7-14 tons of drinking water into Kherson weekly; others help with water supply problems upstream and continue to support communities that had become more vulnerable in the aftermath of the flood.
Reflecting on a year of intense work with Kherson Region communities fills our US team with gratitude for this ability to stay true to the people needing help. Again and again we see the unique advantages of UTC’s approach that does not push volunteers to do predefined projects, but focuses on supporting them on the missions they choose for themselves.
Dina Tkachenko Team Highlight
Ukraine TrustChain US volunteers maintain a close bond with our Ukrainian heroes. After 115 weeks it is at times difficult to find new content to highlight for our readers, but our relationships continue to grow and so does our gratitude to the volunteers who provide care to Ukrainian civilians in this dark time.
One of our core teams is headed by Dina Tkachenko. We haven’t highlighted this team in a while, but are in communication with them daily. We met Dina during the second week of the war, when she organized an evacuation route that rescued thousands of people out of besieged Kharkiv.
A Donbas refugee herself, Dina runs a well known realty brand in Ukraine’s major cities. Her experience allowed her to create well-defined business processes for the six branches of her volunteer team, which vets and helps refugees in Eastern and Central Ukraine.
Dina’s cofounder Serhiy T continues to live in Kharkiv, despite bombings of the city. For the last three years he has put his professional life on pause and runs the more dangerous initiatives of Dina’s organization, traveling to the frontline areas in Donbas and Kharkiv Regions. Serhiy is also a chaplain working with the Holy Generation Evangelical Church.
In the last 12 months Dina’s team has helped 124,190 people – all of them we mentioned in passing in Dina’s team summary which usually sits unassumingly toward the end of our team summary section.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
16 trips to evacuate 155 people from Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Lyman, Mykolaiv, Druzhkivka, Myrnohrad, Kostyantynivka, Selydove, Novohrodivka, Pokrovsk, and Kherson areas.
Inna’s Team – Krok z Nadiyeyu (“Step with Hope”)
9,500 people received bread.
21 tons of aid delivered to 8,200 people.
Work in Kherson:
Exterminations in 13 spaces, including 3 large basements.
Disinfected 1 building, replaced water pipes in another building.
Due to intensifying shelling (see Alena’s story above) aid distribution to three river bank communities was canceled.
Delivered aid to Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Delivered aid to Izyum and Derhachi north of Kharkiv, now also a high-risk zone.
Continued distributions in Nikopol.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): Delivered a clothes dryer to the neurological department of the Chernihiv City Hospital, furniture and humanitarian aid to 3 low-income families in Chernihiv, and aid to 400 people in Kupiansk.
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 2,200 people, as usual including preparation of food for bedridden disabled displaced migrants (IDPs) once a week.
Andriy P (Mykolaiv): brought 5 vehicles to be used for humanitarian aid,140 tires and 8 tons of humanitarian aid from Aachen and other locations in Germany to Mykolaiv. Aid included perinatal nutrition drugs and other medicines, hygiene products, beds (which were also brought from Lutsk), wheelchairs, walkers and packages for children. The packages will be mailed to Kherson. From Mykolaiv, one of the vehicles was donated to the Donetsk Region and some of the aid was delivered to Zaporizhzhia and Voznesensk (Mykolaiv Region).
Maksym B (Berezan): delivered a humanitarian cargo vehicle filled with 4 tons of food products, animal feed, medicines, clothes, shoes and equipment for the disabled from Finland to Ukraine.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): served meals to 40 children and low income adults in Vinnytsia. Brought and installed a ramp to the assistance center for 2 disabled people.
Natalia B (Kherson): provided dairy products to 9 Kherson families with children, children with disabilities and elderly people with disabilities.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 3 tons of aid to Siversk. Fed abandoned animals and left pet food for the locals to continue feeding them. Delivered 2 tons of aid to the area around Lyman. The team is also learning to use their anti-drone equipment in combat conditions.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): handed off 7 orthopedic beds received from Germany and hygiene items to Andryiy P who brought these to Zaporizhzhia (see Andryiy’s report, above.)
Oksana K (Lutsk): distributed 60-70 kg of aid to local IDPs, sent a refrigerator and a package to the area around Kharkiv, and collected 60 gifts for families from Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, the Kyiv Region, and Donetsk, whose parents died in the military.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions for children:
84 IDP children, children with disabilities, and children from military families attended art therapy sessions (a total of 3 were organized).
148 children from military families and large families attended a variety of events: an International Children’s Day celebration with cotton candy and participatory activities such as shoe making; theater performances; a vacation in the Carpathian Mountains; and a tour of the Old City of Lutsk.
170 IDP children, teenagers and adults received bread and other food.
NGO Angelia
Brought 1,300 kg of used clothes, hygiene products, used wheelchairs, medicines, and children's bicycles from Chernivtsi to Novomoskovsk (Dnipropetrovsk Region).
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh (“Left Bank”)
Svitlana delayed Kherson region distribution last week.
Darya in Kharkiv delivered packages to 62 refugees from Vovchans’k and Dvorichna.
Delivered 59 packages to Kut’kivka and Kasianivka. Nobody there agreed to evacuate.
Roof repairs remain on hold due to the Russian offensive in the north.
Karina’s Team - We Save Dnipro
69 people are staying in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch (“Help is Near”)
Distributed 300 aid packages in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Region.
Timur’s Team – Timur and Team
Distributed aid packages to 300 people in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Delivered aid to 150 people in the village of Cherkas'ki Tyshky.
Evacuated 4 people from the Vovchans’k area.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams - (“Touch of Heart” and “Dawn of Hope”)
5 buildings repaired in Mykolaiv Region.
1,745 people received aid through the Mykolaiv office.
421 families received help in the Kherson Region in Lyubomyrivka, Prybuzke, and Shevchenkove.
4.5 tons of water delivered to Novohryhorivka.
Organized children's holidays in Partyzanske, Kvitneve, Kyslivka and Mykolaiv for 350 children.
Kirill, Marina, Andriy - Pomahaem Foundation (“We Help”)
Made two trips to frontline Kostyantynivka, delivering 460 packages provided by World Vision.
Marina’s Team – Give Good Ukraine
249 aid packages distributed.
26 packages sent to different parts of Ukraine to families with children with disabilities who have been affected by the war.
Dina’s Team - Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina (“Free People - Free Country”)
Distributed 380 packages of aid in Kremenchuk, Krasnokutsk, Kanev, Poltava, and Dnipro.
Serhiy T traveled to Topol’s’ke, past Izyum, delivering hygiene products and pet food to 50 families.
Bogdan’s Team - Vse robymo sami (“We do everything ourselves”)
42 food and hygiene packages distributed in Zhytomyr.
Alena’s Team - Virgo
350 households (413 people) received aid in Ol’hivka, Burhunka, Odradokam'yanka, Tyahynka, and L’vove. The aid included a camping stove, gas, power banks, batteries, flashlights, food, and hygiene products.
Second trip in a week to deliver treats, food, and diapers to 250 children in Zymivnyk and Pryozerne.
How to Help
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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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