March 5th, 2026
70,139 people evacuated from danger to date
37 people evacuated from danger this week
25 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Stories
Expanding Frontline Near Kherson
Last week, Tetiana, our long-time friend from Kryvyi Rih, traveled to the village of Khreshchenivka in the eastern part of the Kherson Region. Any trip to the Kherson Region is risky, but, in the past, travelling to the eastern villages was relatively predictable and less dangerous than travel near the city of Kherson.
Unfortunately, in the last few weeks, the increasing proliferation and reach of Russian drones has made these villages more dangerous. In fact, these liminal territories, which have only recently come under the danger of Russian attacks, are perhaps more unsafe than long-established frontline zones, as the locals and military have not yet developed routines that protect visiting volunteers from the worst of the dangers.
In the case of Khreshchenivka , the alderman of the village, who was worried for the safety of the volunteers, drove in front of Tetiana’s trucks with a drone detection device. His instructions to the team were terse: “If you get a call from me, jump out of your cars and run.” Fortunately the trip went as planned and 211 families and 56 children received help.
Electrical Disruptions Hinder Kitchen’s Work
In the midst of continuing harsh weather and Russian shelling, Sandra's Odesa-based team has been struggling to feed residents who have come to rely on the kitchen for much-needed nourishment. "The last three weeks have been extremely difficult," writes Sandra. Electrical outages have made it particularly hard for the kitchen to function, but hot meals are needed more than ever. "There are areas that have been without electricity for 10 days, and people come to us exhausted and frozen."
Our stove depends on electricity, but also the water pump, so the kitchen practically cannot function without electricity. In addition, the shutdown schedules are often unpredictable. During the last three weeks, we have managed to go to the kitchen only five times. Every time [we are able to serve food] is a victory.
One of our volunteers comes to the kitchen every day at 6:00 a.m. to check if there is light. If there is electricity, he immediately puts on water to boil and informs the rest of the team. Within an hour, everyone gathers to start cooking as quickly as possible. We work at a fast pace, because we don’t know how long electricity will stay on. Due to frequent outages, it's also become difficult for us to keep the ingredients we need for our gravy frozen, so instead we started preparing salads with canned beans, to give people extra energy and support for their bodies during this difficult period.
Despite the hardships, the kitchen has managed to serve 1,900 portions of hot food during the last three weeks. The team thanks everyone who has continued to support them, as their city struggles through this critical period.
Two Teenagers and a Dog Evacuate Together
Evacuation efforts are growing more dangerous in Mykolaivka, near Kramatorsk, as the front line grows closer. The Dobra sprava team reports that swarms of drones now complicate every mission in this area. Amidst this peril, the team witnessed a touching story of devotion between 18-year-old Mykhailo and 16-year-old Sofiia, who have been inseparable since middle school. Two years ago, for Sofiia’s 14th birthday, Mykhailo gave her a small dog named Baksik. As the constant shelling recently caused Sofiia to withdraw into herself, Baksik became her primary emotional support.
When Mykhailo’s parents prepared to evacuate to Kharkiv, he refused to leave Sofiia behind in danger. The teenager took the initiative to find housing for Sofiia’s family and had a difficult "man-to-man" talk with Sofiia’s father, Oleksandr, to convince him to let Sofiia evacuate. Ultimately, the family decided that Sofiia and her mother, Marharyta, would relocate to (relative) safety, while Oleksandr would stay behind to care for his elderly parents. The volunteers successfully evacauted the teenagers and Marharyta, along with Baksik. Mykhailo’s parents followed two days later. The team remains ready to return for those, like Oleksandr, who remain in Mykolaivka.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
Completed 8 trips, evacuating 37 people from Mykolaivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Oleksandrivka, and villages in the Synel’nykove District of the Dnipropetrovsk Region.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
20.1 tons of aid delivered to 7,800 people.
6,600 people received bread.
Aid reached 34 towns, 10 of which are in high-risk and deoccupied areas.
Kherson team cleaned a dormitory housing refugees from the city’s red zones, removing mold from room walls in 14 rooms.
Continued support for 4 highrises in Kherson red zones, providing bread to 18 families.
Team came to provide support at the site of bombardments in Sloviansk after KAB attacks last week.
Held children's art therapy sessions in the Sloviansk/Kramatorsk area alongside food distribution.
Delivered bread directly to a hospital in Kramatorsk.
Delivered bread to a shelter for homeless people in Kam’yans’ke.
Massage therapy offered to displaced persons as part of the Kam’yans’ke aid center services.
Chaplain provided individual counseling sessions alongside food and goods distribution in Kryvyi Rih.
Ran a dedicated recovery and renewal course for volunteer chaplains in Kryvyi Rih.
Women's community circle Berehynia and children's center Usmishka are both operating out of the the Kam’yans’kehub.
Over 160 people visited the Shevchenkove center in a single week.
Wood-burning stoves delivered to individual addresses on request.
A shipment of clothing from Germany is currently in transit and earmarked for future delivery run to Kam’yans’ke.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv. Also delivered 22.5 tons of fuel briquettes to 75 households in the deoccupied village of Pavlivka in the Mykolaiv Region.
Sandra S. (Odesa): over the last 3 weeks the kitchen distributed 1,900 portions of food, despite very challenging conditions and frequent electrical outages (see story).
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 3.5 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Shebelkivka, Kramatorsk District. Distributed 500 loaves of “Victory” bread at a farm in Balakliya, on the edge of the Izium District, where there are no open stores or mail delivery. Put on another event with Vincent, the visiting magician from France – this time in Kharkiv, attended by internally displaced (IDP) children and children from military families.
Oleksandr D. (Lutsk): volunteer Vadym T. brought 1,100 kg of canned goods, pasta, sauces, muesli, energy bars, and clothing from Germany and Poland. The aid was delivered to Lutsk, then sent by mail to Pavlo B. and Serhiy S.’s teams in Zaporizhia.
Artiom S. (Hostomel’): brought 2 tons of used and new clothes, incontinence materials, disposable gloves, soft drinks, baby diapers, rice, oatmeal, pasta, red cabbage, and bread for sandwiches from the village of Levkiv, Zhytomyr Region to Hostomel’. Part of the aid was transferred to the Care Center and Father’s House in Hostomel’. These organizations regularly support vulnerable segments of the population, such as IDPs, single pensioners, people with disabilities, large families, low-income families, and mothers with children. Part of the aid was also distributed in the Hostomel’ community villages of Horenka and Moshchun In total, about 300 people received help..
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children and adults with disabilities, orphans, elderly people, military service members, children from military families, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets', and other parts of the Rivne and Volyn regions. 990 children and adults received help, including art therapy, theater therapy, music therapy, sports activities, help with bread and other food, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, and help with the manufacture of wheelchairs for children and prostheses and rehabilitation for adults.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
119 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 110 aid packages to recently displaced refugees in Smila.
Delivered 150 aid packages to Kramatorsk and neighboring villages.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Tetiana from Kryvyi Rih distributed 211 packages and 56 children’s packages in Khreshchenivka, Kherson Region.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered 275 aid packages to the village of Cherkaski Tyshky outside Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 23 disabled elderly and aging families with infants in Kharkiv.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
182 families received packages in Shevchenkove and Posad-Pokrovs’ke, Kherson Region.
Finished distribution of fuel briquettes to Novohryhorivka, Pravdyne and Posad-Pokrovs’ke. 478 families received a total of 115 tons of fuel.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
333 people arrived to Volos’ke transit shelter last week.
219 packages delivered to villages near Nikopol’ (Topyla, Nastasivka, Zorya, Vesela Fedorivka, and Tomakivka).
Team finished a major project of distributing targeted cash aid, vetting 991 people last week, during 5 trips in the Dnipropetrovsk Region.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 261 packages of aid in Kanev, Kremenchuk, and Poltava.
Served 1,540 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Distributed 2 tons of flour and 100 packages of aid in Kharkiv area.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
This week at the Club for Children with Disabilities, children attended art and culinary classes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Helped 29 wounded in the hospital.
How to Help
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