April 11, 2024
60,668 people evacuated from danger to date
160 people evacuated from danger this week
35 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories this week
This was another ordinary week full of danger and hard work for teams we support. Although in many ways the situation in Ukraine is the worst it’s been since the early weeks of the full-scale invasion, our process has remained steady, which would seem almost uneventful if it weren't for the daily attacks on Ukrainian cities. We reviewed how much aid Ukraine TrustChain support has enabled so far in 2024. Over the three past months, our teams have helped 623,000 people: about 48,000 people weekly. This was done through direct distribution of aid packages in frontline zones to 48,000 families, moving 1,300 tons of humanitarian aid (not counting firewood deliveries) to humanitarian hubs from Europe and Western Ukraine. We have also sponsored evacuations of 2,102 people and the restoration of 265 homes. We are grateful for your continued support of Ukrainian volunteers and the people they help.
Stories
Ukraine under Fire
Every town along the frontline continues to suffer from daily rocket and artillery attacks. These attacks punctuate the daily work of our volunteers to such an extent that we have mostly stop mentioning them in our writeups. However, we feel it is important to remember from time to time how abnormal this daily horror is. Here is an excerpt from Inna’s report regarding Donbas distribution:
“The situation in Donbas is heated. The invaders are trying to take the higher ground near Chasiv Yar, which is really close to Kostyantynivka (9 miles). The night our volunteers came to distribute aid “bread and seeds” was restless - they shelled the city from GRAD rocket launchers. During the distribution on Sunday, all was quiet, but the following day after we left there was an airstrike with guided air bombs.
The situation in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk is tense as well. From April 6th to the 7th, there was a rocket attack, and right before that, Sloviansk was shelled. People are worried and ask about evacuations, because they are afraid they could get cut off.”
Kharkiv is devastated. Ukraine’s second largest city is under an ongoing missile barrage worse than anything since the beginning of the war. Every day a missile or bomb hits a residential building. Power plants have been damaged and the city has faced rolling blackouts for the last month and will continue to face them in the near future. Russia has resorted to the worst kind of terrorist tactics: double-tap attacks, trying to kill as many people as possible by attacking the same site twice, with the second attack timed to occur after the first responders arrive.
Aid in Occupied Territories
310 packages were distributed in occupied towns. 1 man was also evacuated from the Russian-occupied left bank. He had survived a heart attack but refused to leave or get treatment as his health deteriorated. Unfortunately, once he had finally agreed to evacuate, he had to be taken directly to a hospital where he died in the ICU the same night.
Update on the Agriculture Project
Inna’s team is completing the distribution of seeds, with potatoes and seedlings coming next. Seeds have been delivered to centers in Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, where the seeds are packaged and handed out to final recipients. 200 families received seeds in Druzhkivka, 100 in Kramatorsk and Kostiantivka. Though these cities are shelled daily by Russia, the people receiving aid are determined to plant their gardens again this year.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
159 people evacuated during 16 trips to Selydove, Kurakhove, Novohrodivka, Lyman, Mykolaiv, Slovyansk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Kherson, Svyatohirs'k, and Kramatorsk.
Inna’s Team – Krok z Nadiyeyu (“Step with Hope”)
Aid distributed to 8,650 people.
22.5 tons of aid delivered.
9,500 loaves of bread distributed
Work in Kherson:
Disinfected a kindergarten and 4 other buildings;
Rat exterminations performed in 11 apartments;
30 equipment maintenance tasks completed.
Continued distributions in Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Nikopol, and Kramatorsk.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): delivered 1.5 tons of food to the Chernihiv Region for further distribution. Oleksandr’s volunteer Andriy also delivered 2 tons of aid to Pokrovsk and Shakhove (both in Donetsk Region).
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 2,000 people.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): brought 1 ton of clothes to the aid center in Vinnytsia for distribution to internally displaced people (IDPs) and the poor. Delivered 500 kg of clothes to the boarding school in Yaryshiv (Vinnytsia Region). Took one person to rehabilitation.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 2 tons of grocery sets, clothes, and medicine to Chasiv Yar (Donetsk Region) under constant fire and enemy drone surveillance. Delivered 1.5 tons of aid to Kostiantynivka (also Donetsk Region).
Serhii H (Kropyvnytskyi): organized 2 events for 180 children of IDPs, children of scientists, orphans, and children with special needs. Events highlighted the work of famous 12-year-old, autistic artist, Maksym Brovchenko, originally from occupied Berdiansk. Organizers hope to inspire the young people by showing how much can be achieved with faith and perseverance.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): held 3 art therapy sessions for 41 IDP children, children with
disabilities and children from military families. 184 children received food aid and participated in competitions and recreational activities outside the city.
NGO Angelia
The mobile clinic provided treatment to local residents of Kyiv, many of them internally displaced people (IDPs) or pensioners. The clinic included doctors in family medicine, ENT, ECG, gynecology, dentistry, endocrinology, urology, a rehabilitation specialist and a psychologist; ultrasound and colonoscopy equipment, and a lab for blood and urine analysis. A total of 271 patients received 612 medical services.
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh (“Left Bank”)
3 roofs rebuilt in Slatyne near Kharkiv.
Darya's team and a group of Kharkiv volunteers covered 3,000 blown-out windows with plywood after brutal bombardments of Kharkiv last week.
Svitlana distributed 185 family packages in Kherson and Oleksandrivka.
Karina’s Team - My ryatuyemo Ukrainu Dnipro (“We Save Ukraine Dnipro”)
54 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team - Dopomoha Poruch (“Help is Near”)
Distributed 300 aid packages in Zaporizhzhia region.
Timur’s Team – Timur i ego komanda (“Timur and Team”)
Distributed aid packages to 300 people in Saltivka.
Delivered aid to 100 people in Kupiansk.
Another 150 deliveries in the Kharkiv region.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams - (“Touch of Heart” and “Dawn of Hope”)
1,814 families received help in the Mykolaiv office.
170 families received help in Kobzartsi and Novopavlivske.
Kirill, Marina, Andriy - BF Pomahaem (“We Help”)
Delivered 9 tons of water to Marhanets.
580 packages brought to Novopavlivka.
260 packages delivered to Fedorivka, Kherson region.
Dina’s Team -- Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina (“Free People - Free Country”)
Distributed 380 packages of aid, mailed 100.
Sergey T traveled to Studenok, Yaremivka, Dovhen’ke delivering 400 packages of aid.
Bogdan’s Team - Vse robymo sami (“Doing everything ourselves”)
This week, Bogdan's team received a bus full of aid from Finland. This bus will be used to transport children to the Inclusive Children's Center "House of Joy," as well as to festivals and field trips. Additionally, it will serve as a food truck to deliver hot meals to different areas for the needy population.
Kitchen furniture and a dishwasher were installed in the kitchen of the Inclusive Children's Center "House of Joy."
Aid was provided to 42 families.
Alena’s Team – Virgo Volunteer
Provided fuel for generators to Beryslav, Novoberyslav, Tomaryne, Zmiivka, and Shlyakhove residents. 2,000 liters of diesel will power a generator that powers a water pump, providing 1,940 residents water for two weeks. 4,000 liters of gasoline will power 103 generators, each shared by three homes, or about 1,000 people for a month.
Finished installing windows in 54 homes (170 people) in Kyselivka (Kherson region). Previously Alena’s team installed windows in a town in Mykolaiv region.
How to Help
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