July 17th, 2025
68,460 people evacuated from danger to date
70 people evacuated from danger this week
37 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
This week has seen the all too familiar attacks on major and minor cities across Ukraine — from Lutsk in the West, to Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv Region, to Kharkiv in the Northeast. Missions to the East have also become increasingly stressful, with enemy drones gaining control of one of the two remaining roads into Dobropillya. Yet the number of trips and people receiving assistance from our Ukrainian volunteers each week has held steady, with 37 missions into frontline zones and more than 30,000 people receiving help.
Stories
Deadly Drive to Dobropillya
In the last two months, the logistics of going to the Donbas have become increasingly more dangerous, but last week it became apparent that there is only one relatively safe remaining road from Dnipro and Kharkiv into these regions. The Dobra sprava team reported the following to us, after making an impressive 14 trips through this lethal terrain last week:
The most difficult situation right now is in the areas of Rodyns’ke, Bilyts’ke, and Dobropillya. All transportation routes [to these locations] have been taken under enemy drone control. Moving around is very hard and starting tomorrow, movement on the highway between Dobropillya and Kramatorsk will be completely prohibited.
[Up till now,], the enemy could reach these areas with drones, but now they completely control vehicle movement on that road. I drove on it for the last time on Friday. On my outward trip in the morning there were eight burned cars, but on the return trip I saw more than 15. Honestly, I drove that way because I was very tired and decided to take this road despite the danger, to get [to my destination] faster. But the scenes I saw while driving around the mangled and still smoking vehicles quickly sobered me up.
I haven’t felt so much tension in a long time. You drive practically without watching the road, just looking in all directions and listening for drones. I put my small bag over my shoulder with my most important items, planning to jump out of the car if I saw or heard a drone.
And here's the situation — you can't drive slowly, or you'll be more vulnerable to drone attack, but if you drive fast you might not have time to brake and jump out. So I visually scanned the area as much as I could, pressing the gas pedal with one foot and actually keeping my left foot on the brake pedal.
Thank God I made it. But after arriving, I watched my hands trembling for about two hours…
Cleaning up After Attack in Bila Tserkva
Here is a report from volunteers in Inna K group Krok z nadiyeyu from the Central Ukrainian town of Bila Tserkva:
Recently, cities far from the front lines have been shelled frequently. In our city, drones and missiles often fly by in transit, but this time there was direct shelling with 19 hits. For a small city, this is extensive damage. There was significant destruction to a hospital, a recreation center, a clinic, a furniture factory, and many hits in residential areas.
The attack occurred in the early morning. By 8:00 a.m. we arrived at the hospital site with volunteers. After the firefighters left, but before the emergency services arrived, we began helping to carry out the remaining medical equipment. We thought we'd help out only briefly, but wound up staying until 8:00 p.m. The head doctor expressed surprise that we worked without a break for 12 hours.
Near the hospital, there was a hit in a residential sector. Some pensioners had come outside at night to see what was flying and exploding so loudly. Just then a Shahed drone hit their house. They survived, but their home was completely burned down.
The next day we came to ask how we could help. The pensioners said they couldn't clear the rubble themselves. After discussing what to do next and waiting until a commission documented the house destruction, we arranged for a bulldozer and a dump truck to haul away debris. Seven truckloads of construction debris were removed from the site after the hit. When we tried to pay the dump truck driver, he learned that we were helping people for free and charged us only half the cost.
Help in Occupied Territories
86 people received aid in three Ukrainian occupied towns.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
Completed 14 trips to evacuate 66 people, 14 of them children from the areas of Rodyns’ke, Bilyts’ke, Dobropillya, Kostyantynivka, and Lyman.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
Delivered 20.5 tons of aid to 7,900 people.
6,600 people received bread.
Aid delivered to 37 locations, 9 of them in high-risk zones.
Kherson efforts:
Removed rat and insect infestations in 10 buildings, 3 of them large basement bomb shelters.
Closed up blown out windows in one building.
7 miscellaneous humanitarian support missions.
Kramatorsk volunteers organized a camp for children from Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka.
Provided help to Bila Tserkva, which suffered 19 explosions during a massive attack last week.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): delivered 1,000 kg of food kits to Bilozers'ke, near Pokrovsk and 2,500 kg of food kits, clothes, and shoes in Kherson. Distributed orthopedic shoes to 45 people. Provided 30 families in the Kyiv Region with quickly preparable food. Also delivered clothes to a boy with a disability in Kyiv, whose family are refugees from the Kherson Region. Provided 17 families in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions with baby food. Received 120 canisters for use in humanitarian needs at the Boyarka headquarters. Sent targeted aid with food and baby hygiene products to a family of displaced people (IDPs) with a disabled child.
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 to Kherson. Mykolaiv is currently again without water due to a water supply network accident. Technical water is not available, and only drinking water dispensing points are working, but there is a catastrophic shortage of these.
Sandra S (Odesa): over the last 2 weeks, the kitchen fed more than 650 people. Now including fresh salads in the served meals.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): delivered food aid on 2 occasions to the Safe Space Vinnytsia night shelter for the homeless. 16 people total were staying at the shelter on the 2 nights combined. Delivered 50 kg of second-hand goods to the village of Brusyiniv for a large family. Brought 20 kg of oil, apples, and cherries to the Vinnytsia center for further distribution among 15 IDPs.
Artiom S (Hostomel’): delivered 1.8 tons of humanitarian aid to the village of Levkiv (Zhytomyr Region). Part of this delivery went to the Design of Christ church and to the WeCare Center in Druzhkivka for the support of residents of frontline territories and IDPs from occupied villages. Delivered aid to the above locations a second time – about 200 people received help on the second occasion. Delivered grains to the Social Rehabilitation Department of the Raykivska Penal Colony No. 73 (also Zhytomyr Region) and to the pastor of the Father's House Church in Hostomel’, which supports large families. About 350 people received assistance.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits (food, clothes, medicine, and animal feed) to one of the hottest spots in Lyman. Distributed more than 500 loaves of “Victory” bread in the recently unoccupied village of Nova Husarivka (Izium District, Kharkiv Region). Provided about 15 Housing Department workers in Balakliya with summer work uniforms. With the help of the military, performed a dangerous evacuation of 3 women and 1 man from Kostyantynivka, which is now almost destroyed.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): Vadym T evacuated 2 people and their belongings from Dnipro. In collaboration with the Seventh Day Advetist Church, organized and held a children’s camp in the village of Velykyy Myd’sk (Rivne Region). 100 IDP children and children from the surrounding villages attended.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children with disabilities, orphans, and amputees – held 2 art therapy sessions for a total of 58 children. Visited a museum with 50 IDP families. Distributed bread and other food to 70 orphaned students from the Sumy, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions and to 380 other people living in IDP assistance centers. Provided glasses for 55 adults and children. Conducted 87 medical and preventive procedures for the recovery of 35 IDP children with disabilities from the Kherson Region. Helped 60 children with prophylactic health procedures, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and gym classes. Through partners, assisted in the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation for 15 people.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
Delivered aid to Nikopol’: 274 families received packages of hygiene products and 73 families received necessary medicine.
103 people in the shelter.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Distributed aid packages to 387 families in Kharkiv and the nearby village of Danylivka.
Special deliveries to 39 disabled elderly and 14 families with infants.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
320 packages delivered to Prybuz’ke (Mykolaiv Region).
60 packages delivered to IDPs housed in Novohryhorivka.
Provided aid to 50 children with disabilities in Mykolaiv.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
16 tons of water delivered to Nikopol’.
505 packages delivered to Vyshneve, Levadne, and Romanky on the Eastern side of Dnipropetrovsk Region, adjacent to the advancing contact line.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobrо Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
The team celebrated its 6th birthday this week.
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to IDPs in Zhovty Vody.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 278 packages of aid in Kremenchuk, Poltava, and Kanev.
Mailed out 70 packages from Dnipro.
The soup kitchen in Kharkiv served 1,370 meals.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
At the club for children with disabilities, children learned how to cook on a grill.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Helping 43 wounded in the hospital.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Delivered 264 packages of food and 264 packages of hygiene aid to the villages of Yaremivka and Studenok.
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.