May 16
Total evacuations to date: 32,265 people
Evacuations this week: 609 (limited due to risks related to May 9th celebration and severe fuel shortage)
Hundreds of thousands of meals delivered to date
This week, gas shortages in Ukraine became more severe. Volunteer teams waited in multi-hour lines at gas stations, and resorted to desperate tactics to fuel cars for the evacuations and aid deliveries. Some teams designated resupply vehicles that deliver fuel to caravans on the move; others get gas donations from friends, siphoning gas from their cars. Gas prices are projected to rise after the gas supply is stabilized.
Ukraine Teams Milestones
After three months of war, many volunteers in Ukraine are running out of money to support themselves and their families. Some of them could no longer volunteer full-time. We decided to provide members of our teams with a one-time payment of a few hundred dollars that will allow them to stay on. Please see the video below that explains our rationale for this decision.
Dina has registered her team as an official nonprofit called “Vilny lyudi-vylna kraina” which means “Free People-Free Country.” Official status will allow her to pull aid from multiple sources. She is now the sixth team lead operating as an official nonprofit in Ukraine, reflecting these volunteers’ long-term commitment to the mission of rescuing, supporting, and uplifting fellow Ukrainians.
Through special projects and new connections, we have been able to add four new locations in Brovary, the Kharkiv area, and Obukhiv where we are supporting a large refugee population. Dina periodically supports refugees in Kanev and plans to extend to two new locations next week.
Through Natasha’s network, Ukraine TrustChain continues to expand aid efforts in Kryvyy Rih and Odesa, the latter being heavily bombarded by the enemy.
Ukraine TrustChain is supporting a new team led by Oleksandr Davydyuk; Oleksandr is based out of Western Ukraine but coordinates logistics and operations for four teams that provide aid deliveries and evacuations in Central and Northern Ukraine.
Karina purchased a new car for evacuations and aid delivery.
Despite fuel shortages and restricted movement around May 9, Pavel evacuated 488 people this week, mostly from the Mykolaiv region. Eastern Ukraine experienced heavy bombing and shooting. His teams delivered food to Mykolaiv, and then, the next day, to Severodonetsk.
US Teams Update
Thank you to St. Anne’s and Our Lady of Fatima Schools in Seattle as well as many other individuals that have sent us hundreds of children’s drawings to uplift Ukrainians’ spirits. These drawings are headed to Poland and then to Ukraine next week.
We would like to highlight an ally that has supported Ukraine TrustChain through fiscal sponsorship from the first days of our organization. The Manoff Foundation helps UTC process donations allowing us to secure aid for thousands of Ukrainians; we encourage everyone to look at its noble mission of providing financial support to grassroots organizations.
Ruin
Previously, travel in the Kyiv region required taking long detours. As the roads were demined and fixed, Kseniia’s team was able to follow a more efficient route, which gave the volunteers more time to spend with the people there. Despite everything she has seen already, Kseniia is in disbelief: how could this be happening in the 21st century?
What is it like in these villages, where the Russians dropped 500kg of TNT phosphorus bombs? How does the Earth look where bomb after bomb - 20, 40, 60 meters apart – lands, and then burns all day? Buildings shattered into rubble. Charred trees. A bathtub filled with debris, outside. Silence.
And after, shrapnel inside mattresses, flour bags. One babushka found 300 pieces of shrapnel in one day. People collect it as evidence. Then there’s the story of how, from a bomb explosion, a small tractor parked just outside of a residential building was thrown into the building. The tractor broke the wall, but protected the building from the shockwave and saved the people inside.
There are many stories that people share. Kseniia tells us about a husband who momentarily left the cellar where he had been sheltering with eight others. She doesn’t know why he went outside, but he was instantly hit by shrapnel during heavy bombing. On this same day, his wife, three houses down, was killed the same way.
Seeing destruction and listening to people’s stories of terror and violence requires both courage and empathy. The act of showing up – of bringing solace through food and aid, of driving to safety, of giving voice to people’s stories – is itself resistance to the dehumanization of war.
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.