November 21st, 2024
65,807 people evacuated from danger to date
110 people evacuated from danger this week
48 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
As the 1000th day of the war passed this past Tuesday, Ukraine was rattled by a series of brutal attacks killing innocent people in Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv - and scores of other lesser known places that our volunteers support all across the frontline. Yet, there was one thing that supported Ukraine’s spirit and it was hearing many voices from all across the world expressing loudly and clearly support for Ukraine in her struggle for its very existence against tyrants.
We are deeply thankful to all our donors who have written to us with unsolicited statements of support. We remind that everything you tell on social media or via email gets translated into Ukrainian and passed along to our volunteers. We are especially grateful to those who joined our webinar last Sunday and spent an hour with us, discussing the situation in Ukraine and our plans for the upcoming months. If you would like to get access to the recording of Sunday’s webinar please contact us at contact@ukrainetrustchain.org or reply to this email.
As we shared in our webinar, if you are able to contribute to our Holiday Giving as a match sponsor with a 4 figure donation or higher, please email us at donate@ukrainetrustchain.org.
Stories
Convincing Evacuees to Leave Is Not Easy
As more territories are being occupied by the Russian army, refugees continue to evacuate to nearby cities, trying to stay as close as possible to their homes. Most evacuees hope to eventually return. Many wait to leave until it’s almost too late, and then escape carrying almost nothing with them. For those who have not had to face this choice themselves, it can be difficult to understand the mentality of people who believe until the last moment that they are better off in their homes than in an unknown place without a community or family, despite hiding from constant shelling and living without electricity, gas, or water.
The volunteers who work on evacuations try various psychological approaches to convince locals to take the chance. Volunteers who have established aid distribution centers and shelters in cities make a point of welcoming the refugees and providing them with basic necessities, as well as offering them a shoulder to cry on. Last week Dina’s team welcomed 50 refugees in Kremenchuk and 56 in Dnipro, adding them to the team’s aid rotation. The refugees will receive an aid package every two months.
Ordinary Lives in Wartime Ukraine
Natalia has devoted her life to the culture and development of her community. For 43 years she worked in the cultural center of her village, organizing events, singing in the folk choir, planting flowers, and taking care of the premises. When she was laid off from her job, Natalia felt the loss of her beloved work. However, her biggest loss came when her only son died defending Ukraine. This tragedy took away Natalia's last solace, leaving her in deep pain and loneliness.
WeCare Center volunteers have repeatedly helped Natalia with humanitarian aid and have invited her to emotional support meetings. These meetings have become her only opportunity to leave the house, communicate with other people, and receive moral support. Thanks to regular participation in these events, Natalia has begun to open up, becoming more cheerful and willing to talk. Natalia's story goes to show that even small acts of attention and help can change lives for the better.
Firewood Deliveries to Kharkiv Area Front Lines
Inna’s team writes:
We began delivering firewood to the area around Borova… Access to Borova itself [is now] closed due to the advancing front line. The left bank of the Oskil river is off limits, allowing entry only to military personnel, with mandatory evacuations in place for civilians, many [of whom] are leaving.
We are delivering firewood to the right bank, where families from the left bank have relocated to empty houses in nearby villages. These families often fled [taking almost nothing with them] and cannot quickly prepare for winter, making our assistance incredibly urgent.
During one delivery, our tractor trailer got severely stuck and couldn’t make it out back onto the main road. The situation was so critical that we had to cut through a line of trees with chainsaws to create a path to the road for the truck.
Deliveries to [the community around] Borova are complicated by the proximity of active combat. Artillery fire is constantly audible. Before our arrival, this area had been shelled by long-range [BM-30] Smerch rocket systems, equipped with cluster munitions. These attacks devastated a large part of the area we visited the next day. The atmosphere resembles a frontline: a heavy military presence with drones, artillery, airborne units, and infantry, all operating nearby. The environment is chaotic.
Photography is prohibited… Looking around or moving freely is extremely dangerous, as military vehicles speed along the roads…and many civilian cars are visibly damaged. Despite these challenges, we see many people who have nowhere else to go. Those who could leave already have, replaced by displaced families from nearby border villages. These refugees have no further options, living just outside Borova. Our help is absolutely vital for them.
Better Housing for Vyacheslav
Inna’s team also recently helped a Kherson resident, living in squalid conditions:
We received a phone call from Vyacheslav, his voice weary, asking for help with a mouse infestation. Despite a long waiting list, something urged us to act sooner. When we learned that he lived on Tchaikovsky Street, which was completely flooded after the Kakhovka Dam destruction, we decided to pay him a visit the next day.
Arriving at his home, we were shocked. The house was uninhabitable: collapsed walls after the water receded, nearby artillery impacts, no windows or furniture — just a mattress on the floor and some blankets. Mice and rats were rampant; the floor was riddled with burrows. We even wondered if Vyacheslav had been squatting in an abandoned building.
Afterward, we said, "Vyacheslav, your problem isn't just the mice but the house itself. You're essentially living outdoors. Would you consider moving to a place with better conditions?" Vyacheslav hadn't expected this — hope lit up in his tired eyes. We asked what we could bring him while arranging his relocation. He requested candles and food. We realized we'd been carrying trench candles in our car for someone like him.
Help in the Occupied Territories
Due to increased risks, operations in the occupied territories were halted last week.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
The team took 15 trips to frontline regions, evacuating 107 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
8,950 people received help in 37 towns and cities and 6,600 people received bread.
23.6 tons of aid delivered.
Help provided in 8 frontline locations: 4 in the Donbas (Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka and Rodyns’ke), 2 near Kharkiv, Kherson and Nikopol.
92.4 tons of firewood delivered to Zolochiv and Borova area. See Story above.
Rat/mice exterminations and disinfections in 14 locations in Kherson.
Evacuated 1 person from Rodyns’ke.
Provided glasses to 71 people in Nikopol.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Andiy P (Mykolaiv): completing another trip to Germany, bringing back a MAN truck, camping trailer, Ford Explorer SUV, two-axle truck, and a VW Passat, as well as a load of humanitarian aid to be reported later. A VW Transporter (T5) minivan is also being delivered from Holland.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered 1,200 kg of rice to Khmelnytskyi, 300 kg (3 pallets) of toys to children in difficult life circumstances in Uman, and 400 kg (4 pallets) of toys and 1,800 kg of rice to Dnipro.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 4.5 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Zhovtneve in the Kramatorsk District (Donetsk Region). The village is almost destroyed and all administrative buildings are in ruins. 15 tons of fuel briquettes were delivered to 525 households in Kramatorsk and Balakliia. 2 tons of aid was also delivered in the Toretsk direction.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): together with Oksana K and her husband Valeryi, took two mini buses (2 tons) of aid to Chuhuiv and Kharkiv. One vehicle carried medical equipment, mattresses, and wheelchairs from France, intended for an evacuation team stationed near Kup’yans’k. The other carried food products for Vitalyi Z’s relief work. Also, 22 tons of fuel briquettes were delivered to 55 households in the the Muzykivsʹka Rural Community (Kherson Region).
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to internally displaced (IDP) children and adults, and children and adults with disabilities.
Held 2 art therapy sessions, for a total of 76 children and adults.
Visited the theater with 64 IDP families and held an entertainment event for 46 IDPs.
Helped 22 people with orthopedic insoles and shoes and 60 sick IDPs from Pokrovsk with glasses.
Helped 240 IDPs and 60 children and young adult students with bread and other food.
Provided 72 physical therapy and wellness sessions for IDPs and others suffering from the stress of war. Also conducted 12 preventative children’s health procedures.
Darya - Kharkiv volunteer supported through Kseniia Kalmus
Darya evacuated 2 people from Kindrashivka and 3 from Krasne Pershe.
Delivered packages to 56 people.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
156 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team — Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 200 aid packages with food, 100 aid packages with hygiene products, and 75 holiday gift packages in the village of Verkhn'ozoryans'ke, near Kup’yans’k.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Traveled to Yampil, bringing 250 packages for 5 frontline villages - Zakitne, Ozerne, Kryva Luka, Kalenyky and Dibrova.
Timur’s Team — Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Distributed food packages to 317 elderly in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries of 49 sets of diapers for infants and 15 for disabled elderly.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams — Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
3 tons of water delivered to Novopavlivka and Novohryhorivka.
140 packages delivered to Novopavlivka.
150 families in Kysylivka and Prybuz’ke received fuel briquettes.
Mykolaiv suffered intense shelling last week, but none of the volunteers were harmed.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
Despite multi-day power outages caused by Russia’s vicious attack the team continues to work.
321 packages delivered to Tamaryne, in Kherson Region.
213 packages delivered to Kherson.
24 tons of water delivered to Nikopol.
9 trips taken to frontline towns, vetting 425 cash-aid recipients.
Marina’s Team — Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to IDPs in Zhovti Vody.
250 hygiene packages were provided to people affected by the war.
39 computers were donated to schools in Piatyhatky.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
466 packages of aid distributed in Kremenchuk, Poltava, Kanev, and Dnipro.
100 packages mailed from Dnipro.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
43 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
At the Children's Club for Children with Disabilities, kids learned how to cook fish and took part in psychology relief games.
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.