December 25th, 2025
69,761 people evacuated from danger to date
52 people evacuated from danger this week
46 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
As we move into the final stretch of the year, we also want to share a quick update on our matching campaign. Thanks to your generosity, we have now reached 65% of our $75,000 year-end match goal. Every dollar donated continues to be matched, doubling its impact and allowing our volunteers to respond quickly to urgent needs like water delivery, firewood, evacuations, and emergency aid. If you are able, this is a great time to donate to UTC, or to spread the word about our work.
Stories
Partial Thaw Creates Treacherous Conditions for Firewood Trucks
Our firewood delivery project is moving at top speed in Donbas territories controlled by Ukraine, as well as in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The weather conditions are difficult. With temperatures slightly over 34°F the ground has softened, creating a big challenge for heavy trucks loaded with firewood and fuel briquettes, as they try to reach their remote destinations. Most of the deliveries are currently handled by ZIL trucks, which were built decades ago at Soviet factories. These trucks are extremely uncomfortable, smelly, noisy, and missing the most basic ameneties, but they are able to get through on tough, muddy roads and deliver twenty plus tons of fuel briquettes each to their final destination. Our teams hope that temperatures drop in the near future, since frozen roads would be more easily navigable.
Firewood Deliveries to “New Life” Shelter in Pavlohrad
In recent months, our Ukrainian teams put much effort into providing aid to Pavlohrad, an important transit hub for the refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. One of the shelters there is run by Oleh, who was originally displaced by the war and moved to the town of Novohrodivka, in the Pokrovsk District. There, Oleh created a shelter for other refugees, which housed 20 people. As the Russians began shelling Novohrodivka, Oleh and his family refused to abandon the shelter residents and managed to move all of them to a new location in Pavlohrad. Now this small new shelter houses 30 people, most of them disabled or elderly. Oleh has built a second floor and continues to expand the premises to house more displaced people. We were honored to provide firewood to this frontline shelter as part of our firewood delivery project.
Life in Zaporizhzhia – a Hell People Face Every Day
The city of Zaporizhzhia is located close to the front lines, its residents living under constant threat, often with scarce resources. A substantial minority of Zaporizhzhia's population is made up of refugees from nearby conflict zones.
Pavlo B., who heads one of the teams in Oleksandr D.'s network, describes some of the daily hardships of supporting people in these difficult conditions.
For several hours we distributed aid, waiting until the enemy shelling stopped. Then we provided assistance in the form of rice and soybeans. Our city suffers from the constant pressure of the enemy army, as well as from small sabotage groups. People are scared: many displaced people have lost all their property, houses, livestock, land -- everything that they worked for over many years has been lost and broken. Some areas of the city go without light for 18 hours and there is no heat. It is extremely difficult to gather people in these conditions.
110 people received assistance: 60 of them are elderly, 10 are disabled, two are families with single mothers with 6 children. One large family of 11 had their house destroyed and are living with their mother-in-law. 20 people are pensioners and 15 are low income. Five of the women have lost their husbands.
This is not life – this is a hell that people face every day and night, suffering from kamikaze drones and everything that the enemy releases into the air of our city. In addition, when factories are destroyed people lose their jobs. We are very grateful to the sponsors who are not indifferent to the plight of our people.These people are very grateful because they have such a large family who helps them from abroad.
Evacuation to the Czech Republic Turns into an Adventure
On the way back from delivering fire extinguishers to several cities, Yuri, who normally drives for Andriy P., but was helping out Oleksandr D. 's team, conducted a complex evacuation from Kharkiv. Two women, who had relocated to Kharkiv from Kup'yans'k last summer, were now fleeing further West with their many dogs and cats. Two animals had sustained wartime injuries: one cat had lost an eye in an explosion and one dog had lost a paw.
It isn't always easy to find accommodations for refugees with animals, but a kind person in the Czech city of Děčín agreed to shelter these women, along with their animals. The plan was to drop the women off at their destination, after which Yuri was supposed to go to Bad Bergzabern in Germany for another load of supplies. However, 185 miles from Děčín the van was damaged in an accident and could no longer continue the journey. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the women, dogs, and cats were in danger of being stranded.
At this point the team called on the help of a Ukrainian volunteer who had been living in the Czech Republic for a long time. The volunteer arrived in his car with a trailer. The people and animals were transferred to a new vehicle, transported to their destination with a delay of six hours, and then temporarily put up in a hotel in the early morning. The unlucky van had to be evacuated back to Ukraine for repairs.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
9 trips, evacuating 41 people, primarily from Sloviansk, Mykolaivka, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
8,250 people received aid — 21.4 tons total.
6,600 people received bread.
404 tons of firewood delivered.
38 locations visited, 12 of them in high-risk zones.
Kherson team restored 1 basement and provided aid to 33 families living in red zones.
Kherson team taught children’s classes in two schools, teaching children to provide first aid after drone attacks, and the basics of anti-drone safety.
Delivered bread, firewood and potbelly stoves to besieged Druzhkivka.
Angelia Charitable Fund
Volunteers Volodymyr T. and Vadym brought aid from Germany and Poland.
Sent muesli, cereal, energy bars, cookies, and clothes to Kharkiv, Sloviansk, Kyiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, Kramatorsk, Cherkasy.
Delivered 1 ton of aid from Chernivtsi to Mykolaiv, including 63 boxes of clothes, shoes, and blankets, 11 boxes of household items, 1 wheelchair, and 6 walkers.
Delivered 543 kg of aid to the Kharkiv Volunteers Fund, for further distribution. Aid included 7 bags of clothing and linens, 3 wheelchairs, 1 toilet, 16 walkers, 5 sets of crutches, 1 pallet of muesli, and 0.3 pallets of cookies.
Mailed 192 kg of aid to Kryvyi Rih, including 2 bags of clothes, shoes and bedding, 2 toilets, 2 wheelchairs, and 12 walkers.
Delivered 91 kg of aid to Kaniv, including 2 wheelchairs, 5 walkers, and 3 sets of crutches.
Delivered 95 kg of children's clothes, stationery, and toys to the orphanage at Krups’ke (Lviv Region).
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Andriy P. (Mykolaiv): brought a 2009 Ford Transit to Kup’yans’k for use by medics. Delivered 45 tires to use in the Kherson direction. Distributed Christmas gifts for 85 children in Kherson, the Mykolaiv Region, and Odesa. Delivered 700 kg of aid to families whose property has been damaged by the enemy in the Zaporizhzhia direction, as well as in Orikhiv and Komyshuvakha (both in Zaporizhzhia Region).
Sandra S. (Odesa): kitchen unable to work for the second week due to electrical outages (no light) and shelling. The team plans to resume work on the day following this report.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): brought food to 8 people staying at the “Safe Space” overnight homeless shelter, as well as food for 15 other internally displaced people (IDPs) in Vinnytsia. Brought 70 kg of cabbages for 45 people in Zhmerynka (Vinnytsia Region), and 50 kg of fruits and vegetables for 20 disabled people at the “Harmony” center. Delivered food to disabled people in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Poltava about 30 times between September and December.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 3 tons of medicines and specialized instruments to the Institute of Radiology and Oncology in Kharkiv. Much of this aid was brought from abroad and is severely lacking in Ukraine. Delivered 3 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to the Old Town location in Kramatorsk. Distributed almost 500 loaves of “Victory” bread in Nova Husarivka, Izium District. Delivered 180 tons of field briquettes to 600 households in the Balakliya community. Also, distributed 1 cubic meter of firewood each to 206 households in the villages of Vilkhovatka and Morozivka, Kharkiv Region.
Artiom S. (Hostomel’): delivered 1.8 tons of food, clothing, and medical supplies to the village of Levkiv, Zhytomyr Region. Mailed aid to about 300 people in different locations.
Pavlo B. (Zaporizhzhia): distributed rice and soybeans to about 110 residents in very difficult conditions. Many of the recipients are elderly, disabled, or single mothers.
Alla A. (Kremenets’): throughout December distributed gifts and treats to 55 children with disabilities, IDP children, 80 IDP adults, 45 people with special needs, and 58 single pensioners.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered a total of 12 tons of aid, including gifts to Khmelnytskyi, and rice to Cherkasy and Kaniv.
Oleksandr D. (Lutsk): delivered 2.2 tons of fire extinguishers, tires for volunteer vehicles, clothes for children and medicine to Ukrainka, Kaniv, Cherkasy, Dnipro, and Kharkiv. On the way back from Kharkiv, evacuated 2 women with a large number of dogs and cats. 2 of the animals had sustained injuries during attacks on the city. The women evacuated to the Czech Republic, where a local contact agreed to host them and their animals. (See story.)
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children and adults with disabilities, orphans, elderly people, military service members, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets' and other parts of the Rivne and Volyn regions. 958 children and adults received help, including art therapy (a Christmas master class), theater therapy, music therapy, visits to a puppet theater and to a museum, help with bread and other food, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, and help with the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation.
Darya’s Team
Darya is preparing for 2 trips on New Year’ Eve.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
111 people in the shelter.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
The supplies that Natalya delivered to Sloviansk a week earlier were finally delivered to Lyman last week.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
During the previous week the team delivered aid packages to 296 people in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Made 2 trips to evacuate people from danger, including both children and their parents. The youngest child was just 6 months old.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Delivered aid to 452 families in the villages of Kvitneve, Prybuzke, and Liubomyrivka.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
10 trips last week, delivering aid to 814 families.
5 of these trips were to high-risk areas near Nikopol’.
There a many new arrivals in Volos’ke shelter.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to internally displaced people in P’yatykhatky.
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 270 packages in Kanev, Kremenchuk, and Poltava.
Mailed 100 packages from Dnipro.
Served 1,470 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Helped displaced people from Kup’yans’k with 200 packages of aid and 100 packages of aid for children.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
40 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
This week at the Club for Children with Disabilities, children attended art class and culinary class, where they made crepes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
38 wounded in the hospital received medical aid.
401 families in Odesa received bread.
How to Help
Donate — The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
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Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
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