August 21st, 2025
68,841 people evacuated from danger to date
65 people evacuated from danger this week
36 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Every time the American government and Western media discuss the possibility of a peace deal, there is a deterioration of the situation on the ground in Ukraine. Though the Ukrainian armed forces have been able to block the Russian advance near Dobropillya, violent shelling of Kramatorsk, Lyman, and Kup’yans’k continues daily with growing intensity.
Despite Russia’s attempt to communicate its dominance through these intensified attacks, the front line has remained largely stable in recent days. However, while Russia’s increased violence has not redrawn the front line, it has killed and displaced more civilians and we have seen a growing stream of refugees heading West out of the Donbas.
Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede its remaining territories in the Donbas seem absurd. Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka, and Druzhkivka are fortress towns that have been resisting the invasion for years. Our volunteers have traveled every road in these towns, helping those who hang on to their land there. The thought of voluntarily surrendering these areas is untenable, as these towns form the backbone of Ukrainian defense, holding the whole of the Eastern frontline.
Stories
Assisting Shelters in Dnipropetrovsk Region
Earlier this year, we called on our key partners — Pomahaem Foundation and Krok z nadiyeyu — to establish contacts with local shelters in the Dnipropetrovsk Region. With the deteriorating situation in the Donbas, these connections offer us a unique opportunity to provide efficient, timely help to the growing number of people fleeing the advancing front line. Here is an excerpt from Pomahaem’s report on supporting a key internal refugee (IDP) transit center in Pavlohard:
The transit point in Pavlohrad is bursting at the seams. [To accommodate the overflow,] the shelter Initially set up beds in the hall. Then they put some on the stage, then in the ballroom, then in technical rooms, then in corridors, and now even the former children's room is covered with mattresses...
On the night of August 14-15, over 60 people remained in the evacuation parking area. The shelter staff distributed sleeping bags at night, set up a tent and put people on the ground there. Today they made a floor in the tent and brought in 20 beds. But only six were freed up during the day and they were immediately filled with new evacuees.
In the last 4-5 days the flow of evacuees here has been 400+ people per day. Many have nowhere to live. There are no proper logistics [on the part of the government to deal with this flow]. More precisely, there has been one evacuation train car to the Lviv Region and the rest of the logistics falls on the shoulders of NGOs. All transit points throughout the Dnipropetrovsk Region are overcrowded. There's an accumulation of people with limited mobility in the transit center because all geriatric centers across the country are also overcrowded.
We've already helped the center, thanks to you, and continue to do so. On Tuesday we'll deliver three portable toilets (rented for 1-2 months). We’ve purchased hygiene supplies for one month (mainly cleaning products with chlorine, since there are so many people). That's the situation. Thank you for your support.
Two Vignettes from Kherson
This week, two vignettes with relatively "happy" endings illustrate the worsening situation in Kherson. From the Kherson team that has been evacuating the Korabel neighborhood in recent weeks, we have this story:
Evey day, our team went to one of the houses on a certain street to feed a dog whose owners couldn't take him with them [when they evacuated]. Nobody would accept a large German Shepherd. The owners had decided to leave the dog behind to guard their house (looting is very common in the red zone) and we agreed to feed him. But one day, enemy artillery simply began to demolish the block where the dog was living. The next day, the shelling continued.
The house was completely destroyed. We didn't expect to find the animal alive, but we stopped by [and found that the dog had survived!] We picked it up and delivered it to new owners, whom we had evacuated from Korabel earlier and had provided with housing. They happily accepted their new pet and now the dog Gray is out of danger, as are the people evacuated from the red zone of the Korabel microdistrict.
Meanwhile, we have an update from the Mykolaiv team of Vladyslav K., in Oleksandr D.'s network. Almost every week, the team has been providing drinking water to Mykolaiv and Kherson. This work went on even after Vladyslav's son was tragically killed in a drone attack while delivering firewood. However, this week, deliveries to Kherson paused. Vladyslav writes:
Last week we transported water only in Mykolaiv... We didn't go to Kherson for two reasons. One was the absence of a driver (he was away). The other was the dangerous situation in Kherson. A group of our brothers and sisters [volunteers] were returning to Kherson in a minibus. At the entrance to Kherson a drone flew right at their windshield. The driver barely dodged out of the way and the drone flew past.
We wonder — is this the new normal?
Some Things You Never Get Used To
Every week Timur and his team deliver aid to hundreds of elderly people in Kharkiv and the nearby villages. They also provide diapers to parents with young children. Last week the team made all of their deliveries except one.
A family with a one-and-a-half-year-old toddler lived in a building where the volunteers had previously made regular aid deliveries. Last week the building was hit by a missile. Over 30 people were injured and the toddler and several others were killed.
Even people used to living in a war zone never get used to some things. One week you bring diapers for a baby and the next week the baby is dead.
Article about Ukraine TrustChain in BORDERLESS
Earlier this year, we connected with Wendy Wei, a journalist about to travel to Ukraine. Wendy took a sincere, deep interest in the functioning of Ukraine’s volunteer network. She has just published an article detailing meetings with Ukraine TrustChain volunteers both in the US and in Ukraine. Wendy paints a complex picture of the evolution of Ukraine’s volunteer movement and UTC’s role within it. You can read the article here: More Than Three Years After Russia’s Full-scale Ukraine Invasion, Aid Workers Question: “Is Rebuilding Enough?”
Help in Occupied Territories
86 families received help in 3 occupied towns.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
14 trips evacuating 64 people, 13 of them children.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
21.1 tons of aid distributed.
6,600 people received bread.
Missions in 9 high-risk frontline areas, aid delivered to 37 locations.
Disinfected and conducted exterminations in 6 buildings.
Evacuated 1 person from Kherson red zone.
Despite the order of mandatory evacuations for children in Druzhkivka, there are still children there. Inna’s volunteers are organizing daily events for kids to cheer them up as Druzhkivka is partially encircled by Russian forces.
The team continues to go to the Donbas 3 times a week despite growing risks.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of water to Mykolaiv. There were no Kherson deliveries this week, partly because the driver was unavailable, but also because the road has become too dangerous.
Andryi P. (Mykolaiv): delivered vehicles loaded with 3 tons of humanitarian aid from Germany to Mykolaiv. Vehicles included: Nissan X-Trail SUV, VW Crafter van, Mazda pickup, Renault Kangoo van, Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, and Peugeot 807 minivan. Aid included electrical household appliances, air conditioners, fireplaces, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, clothes and shoes, tires, food, medicine, and bicycles.
Sandra S. (Odesa): the kitchen fed more than 380 people. As Odesa has been subjected to more shelling over the last 2 months, more and more people are in need of extra help. The team tries to extend support however they can, beyond simply serving food. One day this week, the team had to serve food outside the train station, because the station itself had been mined.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): delivered food to 8 people staying at the Safe Space Vinnytsia night shelter for the homeless. Delivered 40 kg of fruit to the Vinnytsia Assistance Center for further distribution among 30 refugees. Delivered 15 kg of berries to the Harmony Association of Disabled People for distribution among 10 people with disabilities.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered 700 kg of clothes, desks, tables and chairs to the team’s main warehouse, for further distribution across Ukraine. Delivered a total of 3 tons of clothes, bicycles, baby strollers, toys, car seats, playpens, as well as equipment for firefighters and rescuers, to Khmelnytskyi, Obukhiv, Pereyaslav, Kaniv, and Cherkasy.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits (food, clothes, medicine, animal feed, and “Victory” bread) to Lyman. Distributed over 500 loaves of “Victory” bread in the unoccupied village of Morozivka, Kharkiv Region.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children with disabilities, children from military families, orphans, and amputees. 901 children and adults received help in Lutsk, Ostrozhets’, Malyn, and Mlyniv, including art therapy classes, help with bread and other food, a visit to a museum, glasses, medical and preventive procedures, including a “medical mobile trailer,” which traveled to remote villages in the Rivne region to conduct physiotherapeutic procedures for IDPs, and help with the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
93 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 140 aid packages in Zaporizhzhia.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Natasha delivered 260 packages to Yarova, from where they will be forwarded to Lyman. Lyman is currently closed to volunteers, due to shelling on approach.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered aid packages to 243 elderly in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 16 disabled elderly and 11 families with infants.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
122 packages distributed in Novopavlivske and Shevchenkove.
21 children packages distributed in Novohryhorivka.
Conducted 3 meetings for children in Mykolaiv office.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
Brought 24 tons of water to Nikopol’.
2 trips to frontline areas of Dnipropetrovsk Region, delivering 35 packages.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobrо Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to internally displaced people in Zhovti Vody.
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 337 packages in Poltava, Kanev, Dnipro, and Kremenchuk, and mailed 100 packages.
Served 1,600 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Delivered 250 packages to Myrne.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
43 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
This week at the club for children with disabilities children had culinary and art classes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
610 families received bread.
39 wounded in the hospital received help.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Traveled to Zoloti Prudy and Sofiino-Lyman delivering 243 packages of food and 243 packages of hygiene products and adult diapers.
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, LinkedIn, or Bluesky Social 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.