October 17th, 2024
65,172 people evacuated from danger to date
152 people evacuated from danger this week
44 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
A few months ago we announced that an anonymous Chicago foundation selected UTC for a match grant. Many of you participated in the donation drive, and we are happy to report that we met the challenge and recently received the final grant payment from this foundation.
As we gear up for the Holiday Giving Season, we would like to ask if you are interested in being part of another match grant to amplify donations. If you are, please let us know by writing to donate@ukrainetrustchain.org.
We love hearing from our donor network in real time, and are looking into hosting another Donor Webinar, which we have not done since 2023. We know calendars are busy this time of year, but if this is something you are interested in attending, please reply to this email or fill out this brief form.
Stories
A Sad Mother and Son Reunion
Alina’s team tells tells the following story:
This week we evacuated 15-year-old Oleg from Kotsyantynivka. He had walked there from Toretsk, alone with no adults. He never told us how he managed it, but according to the shelter administrator Iryna, who watched over him like her own child, we found out that he had been picked up on the road by the "White Angels" police unit, who brought him to Kostyantynivka in their armored vehicle...
[Oleg arrived] in a difficult psychological state, refusing to speak, looking sad and somber. Gradually, with Iryna's support, he began to come out of himself and open up a bit about his life. He revealed that his mother had joined the Ukrainian armed forces in 2022, at the start of the full-scale invasion, leaving Oleg with her elderly relatives.
At the start of the Russian advance on Toretsk, Oleg urged his relatives to flee, but they refused. Finally, as the enemy began wiping Toretsk off the face of the earth and Russian soldiers neared the house, the boy couldn't stand it any longer and set out for Kostyantynivka alone, on foot with just a small checkered bag and a little suitcase...
During the entire evacuation to Dnipro, Oleg made no attempt to talk to our volunteers. He was very sad, silent, tense and withdrawn.
[Iryna had arranged for Oleg's mother to meet him at the train station in Dnipro.] We had expected a reunion filled with hugs and kisses... but that's not how it went. Oleg stood silently as his mother ran toward him in military uniform, showing no joy, only sadness and indifference. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed his reaction and he walked past her without acknowledgment. We watched her follow him as the profound impact of war hung heavily between them.
Natasha’s Trip to Lyman
After a long pause, Natasha Matsuta was able to organize a trip, delivering aid to 352 households around Lyman. It’s gotten much harder to find a cargo vehicle willing to travel East. After a search, Natasha was finally able to rent a van. She then collaborated with an experienced crew of volunteers traveling East on their own missions. These volunteers helped Natasha drive the relief vehicles, as well as unload and distribute aid packages.
The villages Natasha assisted were severely damaged in 2022, but for now enjoy a period of relative calm, though the locals anxiously watch as the Russians approach Kup’yans’k to the North. One of the villages was too close to the front line, so Natasha left the packages with trusted municipal services, who later used armored vehicles to finish the deliveries. On the way back, Natasha took part in a hospital evacuation, picking up and delivering the hospital equipment to a new location further away from the front.
Evacuations across the River in Kup’yans’k
Over the life of Ukraine TrustChain, our donors have enabled evacuations of more than 65,000 people! Recently, these evacuations have taken on a character similar to what we saw in the early days of the war. They are just as urgent, and the people being evacuated just as desperate, as Russian armies retake parts of the Kharkiv Region , without mercy or care for human life.
One of the evacuation streams is coming out of Kup’yans’k. Timur makes multiple daily trips along the bridge over the Oscol river to the vicinity of Kup’yans’k, to rescue locals who contact him, asking to be evacuated. The river crossing is being systematically shelled, blocking the river flow and flooding incoming roads. Ukrainian emergency services are continuously moving to patch up the bridge, but everyone crossing it knows there is a risk that a larger attack could damage the path to such an extent that the vehicles will not be able to make their way back. Despite these risks, daily evacuations continue.
Aid in the Occupied Territories
70 people received aid in the occupied territories.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
15 trips and 119 people evacuated, mostly from the Kostyantynivka and Lyman directions.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
32 cities across the frontline belt received aid last week.
8,300 people served and 6,700 people received bread.
Distributions in Kherson, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, Balakliya, Izyum, Nikopol, Marhanets — all high risk areas.
Kherson aid:
Conducted rat exterminations and disinfections in 30 spaces.
15 generator maintenance tasks.
Had to take part in rescue work after Russian bomb hit a school building near team’s worksite.
Nikopol based team began providing aid in Marhanets.
3 people evacuated from Donbas, 2 had their possessions, the 3rd evacuated after their apartment was obliterated.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): received a shipment of diapers from the Eva line of stores and loaded 508 packages of these diapers for a trip to the Sumy Region. Distributed 100 packages of diapers to children with disabilities, internally displaced (IDP) children, and children from low income families in the Boyarka Territorial Community. Delivered 3 packages of diapers to a family with a sick child from the Khmelnytskyi Region and 50 packages of diapers to Krasnopillya (Sumy Region).
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Andriy P (Mykolaiv): concluding a trip to Germany – bringing back 2 cars and a load of humanitarian cargo, including 6 scooters, 12 boxes of targeted assistance for IDPs, 20 bags of clothes, and shoes for Kherson.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): Sent 130 kg of potatoes to volunteers in Dnipro and apples, grapes, and tomatoes to the Vinnytsia Harmony medical center. Brought 150 kg of clothes to the rehabilitation center in Vinnytsia and took a disabled person to get a passport.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered 7 tons of food, clothing and other aid to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Uman, Odesa and other cities.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits, bread, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Lyman, Donetsk Region. The city faces constant flying drones and artillery fire. A forced evacuation has been announced. Delivered 2 tons of aid to Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, also in Donetsk Region. Delivered a walker, clothes and medicine to IDPs and disabled people in Kharkiv.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): Sent a 270 kg pallet of corn and oat flakes, and muesli for children to Dnipro’s Krok z nadiyeyu (Inna’s team).
Oksana K (Lutsk): sent 500 kg worth of adult diapers, urological pads, disposable gloves, and medical covers to a chaplain who travels to hospitals.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid for internally displaced (IDP) children and adults, children with disabilities, and children from military families and from large families.
Held 4 art therapy sessions, working with a total of 93 children and adults.
Visited a museum with 58 IDPs and military families and a theater with 70 IDPs and their families.
Helped 240 IDPs and 70 children and young adult students with bread and other food.
Provided 72 physical therapy and wellness sessions for IDPs.
Kseniia’s Team – Livyy bereh (Left Bank)
Darya, based in Kharkiv, evacuated 11 people from Shypuvate, Rohozyanka and Prylyutove.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
157 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team — Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 170 aid packages in Zaporizhzhia.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Brought aid to three villages near embattled Lyman — Novoselivka, Shurave, and Shandryholove.
Delivered hygienic products to 342 families.
Delivered additional aid and gifts to 69 families with children.
Timur’s Team — Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Evacuated 19 from the area around Kup’yans’k this week, including 10 people on one particularly intense day.
Distributed aid packages to 372 people in Saltivka, Kharkiv Region.
Also evacuated an injured dog that was left behind and needed medical attention.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams — Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Delivered aid to Kvitneve.
106.5 tons of aid delivered to Kobzartsi.
1.5 tons of water delivered to Novohryhorivka.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
24 tons of water delivered to Nikopol.
508 families received aid in Kherson, Kamianske, and Novotavryches'ke.
241 families surveyed for cash-aid distributions. 4 of the 6 trips were to dangerous frontline areas near Pokrovsk and Volnovakha.
Marina’s Team — Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were given to internally displaced families in Zhovti Vody.
Sent baby diapers and baby food for children in Zaporizhzhia Region.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
360 packages of aid distributed in Kremenchuk, Krasnokutsk, Kanev, and Poltava.
100 packages of aid mailed from Dnipro.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
43 families received food and hygiene kits in Zhytomyr.
Children at a club for kids with disabilities learned how to make a gingerbread cake.
The kids also secured first place at the all-Ukrainian festival "Land of Dreams" and first place in the all-Ukrainian festival for children with special needs, "Solar Lanterns" in the choreography category.
The exterior renovations of the Inclusive children's center "House of Joy" are underway, marking an important step toward enhancing the center’s overall appearance and accessibility.
Amicus Ukraine
The Amicus team returned to Ukraine this week with vehicles and humanitarian aid. Unfortunately one of the vehicles ended up in a fender bender and will need to remain in Lithuania for repairs.
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