March 20th, 2025
67,440 people evacuated from danger to date
84 people evacuated from danger this week
41 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Once again, we want to serve as the link connecting ordinary Ukrainian citizens with ordinary Americans and supporters around the world. We are so grateful for the countless messages of encouragement you have sent us, which we continue to translate and send to our Ukrainian volunteers. Recently, we received a response from Ihor, a volunteer leading the Dobra sprava evacuation team. Week after week, Ihor goes into the deadliest places, confronting fear, poverty and death. Still, the greeting from our donors matters a great deal to him. He writes:
I read the messages from our American friends with great joy. Their words fill me with deep gratitude and instill confidence that we are not alone, that there are wonderful, sincere, and kind people, who understand the complexity of our situation and support us as much as they can. We will never forget this.
It is very important for us to know that the citizens of the United States stand with us, that we are united in our aspirations, and that far across the ocean, we have friends who will not abandon us in difficult times. For all of this, we are sincerely and infinitely grateful.
Stories
Hope for Ceasefire Delays Evacuations
Dobra sprava volunteers have noticed that, despite daily shelling, the number of evacuation requests has decreased. In their opinion, this is primarily due to people's hope for a ceasefire, or a possible "quiet period." For example, about 3,500 people currently remain in the Myrnohrad community. In addition to the locals, people who have fled frontline villages near Myrnohrad continue to settle there.
However, at this stage, the team is concerned that the expectations of a ceasefire are futile and only make it more difficult to convince people to leave. “When people feel danger, but delay evacuation and refuse to leave, it always leads to tragic consequences,” says Ihor. For example, on the evening of March 11, occupation forces shelled the village of Rivne in the Myrnohrad community. This time, the victims of the attack included three children. Two brothers, aged 11 and 13, died on the spot. Another 14-year-old boy was wounded and taken to a medical facility in Dnipro, but on March 12, he succumbed to his wounds in the hospital and also died.
Power Outages in Kherson
As world leaders negotiate with Russia to stop its attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, three large neighborhoods in Kherson continue to be without power. Our Kherson team has deployed all of its generators to various multistory buildings to give people some access to electricity, charge their phones, and complete essential tasks. Clad in personal armor and helmets they undertake tasks that have by now become familiar to them — moving across the city, changing oil, bringing in more fuel, doing everything that is needed to keep the generators running.
Community Members Step in to Manufacture Fuel Briquettes
As firewood distributions were drawing to a close, our Ukrainian teams encountered a problem. The manufacturer in Kryvyi Rih was unable to deliver the last three trucks of fuel briquettes due to a shortage of workers. In January, 12 out of the 14 workers had been drafted into the army, leaving nobody to operate the machines at the plant. Meanwhile, the raw materials had already been purchased, and couldn’t be rerouted to a different manufacturer.
Oleksandr D issued a call for action to local churches and volunteer communities, explaining that the fuel briquettes were needed to supply frontline Kherson Region villages. Within a week eight men from the community agreed to help finish the production of the fuel briquettes. Although they have been paid for their labor, the volunteers’ motives were humanitarian; their work has been essential to the completion of the firewood delivery project. With the briquette production back on track, distributions were resumed and the delayed deliveries have been completed over the last two weeks.
Sandra’s Kitchen: an Unconventional Solution
Last week, Sandra's kitchen in Odesa was looking forward to the delivery of six tons of frozen vegetables from Andryi P (both teams are in Oleksandr D's network). The team had arranged to rent a freezer for storing this produce. Then, two days before Andryi's arrival, the local power grid was damaged by Russian shelling, leaving the area of the city where the freezer was located without electricity. The volunteers scrambled to find an alternative, but could not locate another commercial freezer to store this large delivery.
A solution came from the most unexpected source. People from churches throughout Odesa responded. The vegetable delivery was disassembled into packages that could be stored in private homes and distributed to people who had large freezers. In the coming months, the vegetables will be gradually collected and used by the kitchen for preparing its dinners. "In this unconventional way, we resolved our unexpected problem," Sandra's team writes. "In unity and mutual assistance, there is great strength!"
Help in Occupied Territories
70 families received help in the occupied Zaporizhzhia Region.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
Evacuated 69 people over the course of 13 trips to Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Rodyns’ke, Bilyts’ke, Shakhove, Mezhova, Kostayntynivka, Mykolayivka, and Lyman.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
22.5 tons of aid distributed in 40 towns.
9 high risk areas served: Kherson, 5 locations in Donetsk Region, Nikopol, and deoccupied/frontline towns in Kharkiv Region.
Kherson operations:
Exterminated rats in 2 large buildings.
Completed 17 equipment maintenance tasks, mostly generator refueling.
Held classes and activities for Kherson children.
6,600 people received bread.
Bread was delivered to Kostyantynivka - currently under direct enemy fire.
Among other weekly projects:
Multiple psychological support sessions.
Craft classes for adults and children in Dnipro region.
Distributing clothing to Internally displaced people (IDPs).
Distributing glasses in multiple locations.
Laundry services provided in Kamianske.
UTC covered car repairs for 3 key vehicles used by Inna’s team.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): the kitchen fed more than 700 people.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): delivered slippers and a box of paper to the Bezpechnyy prostir (Safe Space) shelter, diapers to the Harmony shelter, and about 100 kg of clothing for distribution to the poor in Vinnytsia. Took a disabled person to the hospital, and another disabled person to rehabilitation. Delivered food to a family of disabled people.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): brought 3.5 tons of humanitarian kits, medicines, clothing, and animal feed to Kostyantynivka, and 2 tons of aid to Druzhkivka. With the help of social workers, delivered 500 loaves of “Victory” bread were delivered to people with low mobility in the village of Yakovenkove, Balakliya District (Kharkiv Region).
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): delivered 20.05 tons of fuel briquettes to 55 households in Komyshany and Pryozerne, near Kherson.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to internally displaced children and adults, children with disabilities, orphans, military veterans, and children from military families – held an art therapy session for 19 children. Took 36 children to the museum and 46 children, military veterans, and their families to the Horizon of Singularity exhibition. Distributed bread and other food to 380 people living in IDP assistance centers, with special attention paid to 70 orphaned students from the Sumy and Kherson regions. Held a fundraising event for 28 autistic children. Provided glasses for 12 adults and children. Conducted 83 medical procedures to improve the health of IDP children with disabilities from the Kherson Region. Helped 18 children with prophylactic health procedures, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and gym classes. Through partners, helped 6 people to get prostheses and rehabilitation therapy.
Kseniia’s Team – Livyy bereh (Left Bank)
208 people received aid in 6 critically affected villages near Kup’yans’k.
15 people evacuated from Kutkivka, Krasne Pershe, and Kasyanivka.
Delivered medicine to new IDPs with cancer staying in Vasyltsivka.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
110 people in the shelter.
Delivered 253 packages of aid to Nikopol.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Delivered 170 aid packages and hygiene products to the village of Odnorobivska Persha in the Kharkiv Region.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Two trips are being prepared this week to Donbas and Kherson region villages.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team
Handed out flowers to over a thousand women on March 8th, International Women's Day.
Delivered 746 aid packages in hard-hit parts of Kharkiv.
Special home deliveries to 18 families with infants and 12 disabled elderly.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
140 packages delivered to Novopavlivka and Zasillya.
73 people received fuel briquettes (delayed delivery, 22 tons total).
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
24 tons of aid was delivered to Nikopol.
105 people vetted for receiving cash grants from the MInistry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobrо Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
Team distributed 150 food packages to internally displaced persons residing in the Pyatykhatky community. This initiative is part of the team’s ongoing efforts to support those affected by displacement and ensure they have access to essential resources.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 375 packages in Kremenchuk, Poltava, and Kanev.
Served 1,600 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
As usual, 42 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits. Recipients include IDPs and families with children with special needs.
The club for children with special needs held several programs, including a cooking class focused on pickling beets while using graters and a garlic press!
Alena – Diva (Virgo)
Distributed 700 loaves of bread in Odesa.
Liza and Katya continue to help Odesa hospitals. 13 wounded are treated in the wards they support.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Delivered 250 packages of food and 250 packages of hygiene humanitarian aid, as well as pet food, and diapers for adults and children to Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka.
How to Help
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