October 12, 2022
46,191 people evacuated from danger to date
704 people evacuated this week
Seven teams continued to push aid to the deoccupied territories last week. The refrain there is that people need everything. Volunteer deliveries are a key source of sustenance in those territories. Those territories have been semi destroyed and heat and electricity are not likely to be turned back on before the onset of winter. These heroic efforts became even more complicated after Russia indiscriminately bombed Ukrainian cities on Monday in the worst attack in months.
Ukraine Team Milestones
Through Karina’s organization, Ukraine TrustChain funded evacuations from the grey zone - the combat zones in the East where towns and villages continue to change hands between the Ukrainian and the Russian armies. 173 people were evacuated. 73 had to be taken directly to a hospital in Kharkiv. Many of these evacuees were wounded, had broken bones; some had gynecological trauma due to sexual assault. Other were taken to Dnipro, where 26 people would stay at Karina’s shelter, while others continued on their way.
A special difficult mission that Karina continued to be involved in was arranging funerals for the perished civilians.
Andriy’s shelters host 148 people. The warehouse distributed humanitarian aid to refugees living in Dnipro, but had to halt operations on Monday due to large-scale bombardments of Ukrainian cities by Russians.
Back in August, Ukraine TrustChain funded the delivery of medical equipment and supplies to Andriy’s warehouse. First Dina then Andriy’s group worked tirelessly on classifying poorly packaged supplies and matching them to the right recipients. Last week, some of the items went to the children's rehabilitation institution "Ioanniv Center," funded by Andriy’s charity. Here are some of the essential, life-sustaining items given to the rehabilitation center: oxygen concentrator; patient monitor; dressing material; means for patient care; means for intravenous administration of medicines; personal protective equipment; disinfectants; containers for disposal of consumables contaminated with biological fluids; and means of transportation for people with disabilities.
Last week Natalia Mitsuta and Iryna loaded a van and a large trailer and headed back to the devastated Izium that was deoccupied just a few weeks ago. Much of what they saw was familiar to them from trips to the liberated areas around Kyiv, but there were differences as well. Western aid flow has become less regular and less of it reaches the East of the country. The city of Kharkiv is itself struggling to recover and is not able to redirect resources to the nearby regions. Only volunteer teams from all over Ukraine are pushing aid into Izium, where people live without electricity or heat.
Natalia’s trip wasn’t easy. The van broke down near Kharkiv, but in the end the body shop fixed her van for free and sent them back on the way. Natalia returned to Kyiv only to witness horrific attacks of the last two days.
Dina’s foundation Free People - Free Country helped 1,250 families this past week. Thanks to the generous support from organizations such as Vostok-SOS, Dina was able to provide large packages to most families they support in Dnipro. They shifted their focus to Kupyansk. Key members of Dina’s team, including Dina herself, travelled to Kupyansk with two vans and two cars full of humanitarian aid. They were able to distribute in three locations. The resulting conclusion is simple: people need everything. Because homes don’t have electricity, people from apartment buildings have to cook outside. The demand is high when it comes to candles, hygienic products, warm clothing and food. Tears, gratitude, anxiety about not being left out all reveal that help is direly needed, and simple cheap items in the liberated territories can have a profound effect on someone’s life right now.
Like other volunteers, Dina was shaken by the attack on Monday and had to cancel aid distributions. In some cities the rockets landed less than half a mile away from Dina’s volunteers’ homes. Thankfully, no one on Dina’s team was hurt.
Inna Kampen’s group delivered 31 tons of aid to 10,500 people. One of the largest missions was the delivery of aid to more than 1,200 families in the liberated territories of Kharkiv regions. These missions are extremely dangerous. In many places roads are destroyed, burnt Russian tanks lined up in the fields and large swathes of territory mined.
Aid distribution in Kharkiv
In addition to the unoccupied territories, Inna’s group continued to bring aid to Nikopol that suffers daily from enemy shelling. Additionally, they delivered help to Zaporizhzhya specifically where the terrorist attack took place earlier last week, supporting 100 families whose residences were damaged in the blast.
Due to the ongoing brutality of attacks on civilian areas in the south of the country, Pavel’s team worked at an accelerated pace. In the last week they evacuated 529 people, 176 of them kids, mostly from Zaporizhzhya and Mykolayiv. As usual Pavel’s group also helped people from central Ukraine in Vinnitsa and Kremenchuk to make it to the border at Shehini.
In the same period Pavel’s team also delivered aid for 3,750 people.
Timur and team have continued to deliver hundreds of aid packages in and around Saltivka, Lozovaya and Tsirkuni. They answer the calls from people in newly liberated areas bringing the basics like candles and water. The team is increasingly concerned with winter approaching and fighting, forcing more people to live without electricity, intensifies that the need for warm winter items will grow. The team will be replenishing supplies and will continue the deliveries this week back to grey areas, answering calls of those who need them the most.
We are additionally so grateful to report that the dog Timur’s team helped to reconnect with its family last week is recovering and happy to be with those who love him and whom he loves.
Despite attacks on the power grid in Kharkiv, the teams we support through Kseniia continue to deliver humanitarian aid around Kharkiv.
Oleksandr continued to coordinate a network of efficient organizations with fine-tuned grants using Ukraine TrustChain funds:
The group of Pavlo Vystratenko delivered 4 tons of aid to the battlezones in central East (Kramatorsk, Slovyansk and Troitske) and Zaporizhzhya. Two people were evacuated upon request.
Mobile Clinic Angeliya traveled to Borodianka. Though this distant Kyiv suburb was liberated many months ago, its residents still have not fully recovered from the occupation, many requiring help in treating anxiety, insomnia and depression.
35 tons of drinking water were delivered in Mykolayiv.
104 families were helped in the occupied Kherson region.
Lutsk volunteers Oksana Kuhariuk sent aid to families in Zaporizhzhya and supported refugees from the East of the country staying in Lutsk.
Yuri Shuliak delivered aid to refugee families in Vinnitsa.
Our teams continued to support teams distributing aid in the occupied areas.
Tetiana distributed aid to an orphanage. This facility especially needed arts and crafts supplies to help the children sheltering in the basement during air raid sirens. These are children with special needs, and at regular times, they are in small groups for individualized attention, but during air raids they are all crammed together in the basement. Having crafts to do offers them more comfort and something to do during these long hours. The children in the orphanage make protective amulets and send them to the front lines to keep up the spirits of Ukraine’s defenders.
We want to send a big thank you to Regina Spektor, Grammy nominee, Soviet-American pianist, songwriter, and singer, for her generous support of Ukraine TrustChain’s volunteer teams through her fundraiser.
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.