December 31st, 2025
69,844 people evacuated from danger to date
36 people evacuated from danger this week
36 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Dear friends, thanks to you, we have now reached 85% of our $75,000 year-end match goal. Every donated dollar will still be matched through the end of today, still doubling its impact and allowing our Ukrainian volunteers to respond quickly to urgent civilian needs. If you are planning to donate in the near future, today is a great day to do it, or spread the word to others.
For our donors who are 70 1/2 years and older, please note that a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) can be made from your IRA to Ukraine TrustChain. Because the gift goes directly to a qualified charity, the dollar amount of the gift is typically excluded from your taxable income. Please contact us at donate@ukrainetrustchain.org with any questions.
Stories
Supporting Our Volunteers as Russia Attacks Ukrainian Cities
Despite the talk about peace, last week saw some of the most brutal bombings of Ukrainian cities. The attacks affected our Ukrainian volunteers directly. Serhiy — our longstanding friend, who organized a soup kitchen for Kharkiv residents (see the report for Dina’s team) — was awakened by an explosion. “It wasn’t a big deal,” he said in his usual matter-of-fact tone. “Only the balcony windows got blown out.”
Our Kyiv volunteers spent sleepless nights in bomb shelters, as Russia unleashed a brutal attack on the Ukrainian capital, this time deliberately targeting ordinary residential highrises. Tetiana, on Natasha’s team, who travels every other week to villages in the Kherson Region, saw a Ukrainian veteran support center across the street destroyed overnight. She was also “fine,” as the explosion wave did not manage to break her windows. Odesa volunteers have also been severely impacted by intense shelling (see story, below.) These and every other volunteer we support continues to suffer from electricity outages, sounds of explosions, and the terrible uncertainty of this war.
Thanks to a special grant and your generosity, we have once again sent modest cash gifts to our volunteers within Ukraine. We are grateful for their tireless work and grateful for their integrity and knowledge — as they make sure that every dollar we send goes to aid the people who need help most. While our Ukrainian teams occasionally ask us to pay for transportation services, warehouse fees, or purchases at local stores, the volunteers themselves do this dangerous, hard work without any compensation, driven only by the desire to do what’s right, and to resist Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Sandra’s Kitchen: Shelling, Outages and Personal Loss
Recent weeks have been extremely difficult for Odesa residents, including our volunteers. The city has come under intense Russian shelling, enduring long stretches without electricity, heat or water. In these conditions, Sandra's kitchen was forced to temporarily suspend its cooking operations. The volunteers lived without electricity in their apartments for six days in a row. They visited the kitchen often to check if the power had been restored there, but always found the premises without power. Even more importantly — there was no water. Cooking is impossible without water, so the team had to wait to resume its daily cooking schedule.
Fortunately, the power supply in the neighborhood around Odesa's train station has begun to stabilize somewhat. On the one day of power the team had available last week, they immediately got to work and cooked 300 meals. However, due to the frequent power surges, the kitchen's refrigerator broke, leaving the volunteers with an extra worry about spoiled food. The team is now buying supplies in small batches, in order to avoid spoilage.
In addition to the difficulties with power outages and water supply, Sandra's team received tragic news. Olexandr, a local man who often helped the team at the station and on whom they kept a protective eye, disappeared. After a 12 day search, the police confirmed that Olexandr had died. The team has been mourning his passing.
Throughout this hardship, sad news and the constant tension of shelling Sandra's volunteers have taken solace in being together and continuing their work.
We want to sincerely thank you for supporting us every day. For the fact that thanks to you we have the opportunity to gather together, work, cook and be close to each other. Our team has become another family for us during this time. A family where we constantly take care of each other, support each other, lend a shoulder when needed. And most importantly, we feel it in our hearts.
Christmas Tragedy
On Christmas Day, tragedy struck the tight-knit Kharkiv volunteer community in Eastern Ukraine. Vyacheslav Ilchenko — “Slava” — a well known Kharkiv volunteer, was killed. On the way to an evacuation in Kostyantynivka with two other volunteers, his car was attacked by a Russian FPV drone. The drone struck the front of the car, hitting Vyacheslav in the head and killing him instantly. The other volunteers were taken to a hospital and treated for moderate injuries.
While Vyacheslav was not a member of one of our UTC teams, he worked closely with several team members in the Kharkiv Region and was well loved and well regarded by them. Timur, who counted Vyacheslav as a friend, sent a message to his followers expressing the pain and sadness the volunteers always feel at the loss of one of their own. Timur told his viewers that Kharkiv had lost a great man. Slava will continue to live in the hearts of all the volunteers who knew him and all the people he had helped.
Alena’s Trip
Alena, who leads one of our volunteer teams in Odesa, recently traveled to the Veryslav District of the Kherson Region. This is one of the most dangerous parts of the region under Ukraine’s control. Despite the threat of drone and artillery attacks, Alena and her team managed to deliver aid to 280 families — mostly much needed hygienic products, as well as presents and sweet treats for the children still trapped in the region and accounted for by local administration. Perhaps the most heartwrenching part of the expedition was visiting the village of Lvivski Otruby. Not a single building has been left standing, through the almost four years of Russian terror, but people still live here, surviving in temporary shelters — winter military-style tents. Alena delivered four generators, gas heaters, and bread, which will make it easier for the locals living the shelters to survive longer power outages during this harsh winter.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
9 trips, evacuating 36 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
21.1 tons of aid delivered to 8,250 people.
6,600 people received bread.
151.2 tons of firewood delivered.
Team delivered aid to 34 locations, 11 of them are in high-risk zones.
Kherson team disinfected 1 large bombshelter.
Other Kherson missions included providing fuel for generators, and bread for 17 families in Kherson’s red zones, as well as 10 other humanitarian missions.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Sandra S. (Odesa): due to massive shelling of Odesa, the kitchen was entirely without access to heat, electricity or water during much of the week. The team’s refrigerator also broke down due to constant power outages. However, as soon as power was available, the team prepared 300 meals.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Krasnatorka in the Kramatorsk District. Distributed “Victory” bread in Asiivka, Balakliia District. Delivered a total of 135 tons of fuel briquettes to 450 households in Sloviansk. Also, distributed 1 cubic meter per household to 338 households in the Izium District.
Artiom S. (Hostomel’): delivered 1.4 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, a refrigerator, and a generator, to the village of Levkiv, Zhytomyr Region. Part of this aid was delivered to the local care center, where it was distributed to people in need. The care center regularly supports vulnerable segments of the population and serves hot lunches twice a week. Distributed aid in the villages of Horenka and Moshchun in the Hostomel’ community. Mailed aid to about 250 residents of Hostomel’.
Oleksandr D. (Lutsk): after an accident in the Czech Republic during a recent evacuation, the team’s van was towed back to Ukraine, quickly patched up, then sent to Lviv and loaded with food, bottled drinking water, and medicines. From there it traveled to Mykolaiv. The aid was unloaded and the van handed over to Andryi P.’s team for complete repair.
Oksana K. (Lutsk): distributed 125 kg of adult diapers and urological pads, and 30-50 kg of clothing at the team’s humanitarian distribution point in Lutsk.
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 children from military families, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets' and other parts of the Rivne and Volyn regions. 918 children and adults received help, including art therapy, theater therapy, music therapy, visits to a theater and a puppet theater, sports activities, help with bread and other food, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, and help with the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
99 people in the shelter, celebrating the holidays together.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 100 aid packages in the orphanage in Mikhailivka, Cherkassky Region, 100 aid packages in Ternivka, also Charkasy Region, and 100 aid packages in the village of Zoryans’ke, near Kup’yans’k, Kharkiv Region,.
Sent 25 aid packages to children with special needs who evacuated from Pokrovsk to Western Ukraine.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Tetiana, from Kryvyi Rih, traveled to the Kherson Region villages of Myrolyubivka and Trudolyubivka. 205 packages delivered.
Delivered 70 packages for children.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered 310 aid packages in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 17 disabled elderly and 15 families with infants.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Delivered aid to 266 families in Pravdyne, and Novohryhorivka.
Organized holiday events for children.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
422 people arrived at the Volos’ke shelter.
5 trips to high-risk areas to Nikopol’ and Zaporizhzhia Region, delivering 171 packages.
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 260 packages in Kanev, Kremenchuk, and Poltava.
Distributed 15 sets of bedding and clothes to 60 families in Kremenchuk.
Served 1,330 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Delivered 140 packages of aid to towns near Kharkiv.
Held celebrations in Kharkiv, distributing 1,600 bags of candy to children.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
40 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
At the club for children with disabilities, children participated in art class, psychological relief games, and culinary classes.
Despite an air raid alert, the integrated ensemble representing the children’s public organization We Do Everything Ourselves in cooperation with the NGO Children of the Sun, successfully took part in the final of the All-Ukrainian Festival “Four Seasons – Winter” and won first place.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Helped 38 wounded in the hospital in Odesa,
Delivered aid to 280 families in Urozhaine, Tarasa Shevchenko, and Rakivka.
Delivered gifts and food to 300 children in Velyka Oleksandrivka.
Delivered 4 generators, 5 gas tanks, bread, 56 gifts for children, and food to Lvivski Otruby.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Delivered 148 packages of food aid and 148 packages of hygiene products to Ocheretyne.
Delivered 146 packages of food aid, 146 packages of hygiene aid, and 49 children’s gifts to Vysokopillya.
Delivered 68 children’s gifts to Zaparo-Mar'ivka.
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.
