May 14th, 2026
70,650 people evacuated from danger to date
70 people evacuated from danger this week
27 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Last week, Russia marked Victory Day with its customary pageantry — parades celebrating the World War II defeat over the Nazis, which nowadays it invokes to justify a genocidal war against the Ukrainian people. However, this year, for the first time, Russian authorities chose not to parade thier military across Red Square. This precaution was taken out nervousness about possible Ukrainian drone strikes, which have proven capable of reaching deep into Russian territory.
Russia also announced a three-day ceasefire around the holiday — not out of any genuine desire for peace, but to secure a few days of respite and reinforce its domestic narrative. On the ground, the truce meant little: drone and missile attacks in the Ukrainian-held Donetsk Region continued. The area around Nikopol’ did see two days of relative calm, however. Our Ukrainian teams made full use of use of this lull, distributing seeds and seedlings to frontline communities, while our evacuation teams worked to move as many vulnerable residents as possible out of the area. When the celebrations ended, Russia resumed its bombardments, hitting Mykolaivka — a town our teams have been steadily evacuating over the past several weeks.
Stories
A Life That Might Have Been Lost
With over 70,650 evacuations completed to date, it’s easy to lose sight of what comes after. People are moved to safety, and the work moves on to the next town, the next family, the next call. It is rare to hear what becomes of those who left and rarer still to realize specifically what might have happened to the evacuees if they had stayed. One phone call last week served as that kind of reminder.
When Russian aircraft dropped two bombs on a nine-story residential building on Muzychna Street in Mykolaivka, volunteer team leader Ihor was on the road, transporting evacuees from Sloviansk. He knew the building — he had evacuated residents from it more than once. That evening, settled in for the night, Ihor received a phone call. On the other end was a woman, crying. When she steadied herself enough to speak, she said: “Ihor, it's Grandma Tanya. From Mykolaivka. You evacuated me from Muzychna 54."
It took Ihor a moment to place the woman — an elderly resident who had resisted leaving for a long time, but finally agreed to go stay with her grandchildren. Ihor asked if Tanya was alright. She said she was. Her home was gone, destroyed that day, but she was alive. She had called, she said, simply to thank him. “I'll pray for you, son,” she said, and then hung up.
Agricultural Project Update
This year, we are once again supporting a large-scale distribution of seeds and seedlings to people living in Ukraine’s frontline regions, from Kherson to Kharkiv. Every year, this project requires careful planning and coordination. Fragile seedlings must be transported to dozens of villages and towns over perilous, run-down roads. This needs to happen quickly, so that the plants can be put back into the ground within 24 hours. Otherwise, the seedlings might die.
Everything about the agricultural project is difficult, including, of course, the growing danger of enemy drones, which continue their unrelenting and indiscriminate terror of the civilian population. Last week, the volunteers distributing seeds and seedlings in the Nikopol’ and Marhanets’ districts had a brief reprieve from the incessant shelling. They immediately took advantage of the situation, distributing seedlings to 4,700 people, many of whom reside along the Dnipro river, right across from the enemy on the other bank.
We are so happy that these distributions went without a hitch. In the coming weeks we will share pictures of people's gardens, which will once again be full of life, thanks to your support.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
11 trips, evacuating 53 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
8,050 people received aid.
4,200 received bread.
20.2 tons of aid delivered.
Delivered bread to 48 families.
36 locations evacuated, 9 of them in high-risk zones.
4,700 people received seedlings.
Kherson's team disinfected 7 spaces, including 1 bomb shelter and 1 large basement.
Continued to refuel generators in Kheron red zones, supporting 80 people.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 3.5 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Sloviansk. Delivered over 500 loaves of “Victory” bread to Pidsobne, Izium District.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): delivered a total of 98.4 tons of food, clothing and footwear, medicine, hygiene products, household goods, and furniture to 9,114 people in Rivne, Korosten’, Lviv, Uzhhorod, Ternopil, Boryslav, Hostomel’, Kam’yanka, Khotiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Druzhkivka, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and the Odesa Region, and Nikopol’. Conducted an evacuation from Druzhkivka to Cherkasy.
Hryhoriy M. (Tal’ne): held an event for 120 children and their parents, which included psychological support, crafts classes, singing, and a festive dinner. The attending children included those from large families, orphans, and children of fallen military members. Transportation was provided for children from the surrounding villages and towns, who couldn’t get to the event on their own.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): took a person with a disability to a medical laboratory for tests. Delivered 50 kg of food and clothing to a family of 4 people with disabilities. Delivered 100 kg of clothing to a psycho-neurological boarding school in Stryzhavka, Vinnytsia Region.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDPs, children and adults with disabilities, children from large families and from military families, orphans, elderly people, military service members, and amputees in Lutsk and Ostrozhets' and surrounding villages of Rivne Region. 1063 children and adults received help, including art therapy, music therapy, zootherapy, sports activities, a visit to a puppet theater, help with bread and other food, meals served at a social cafe, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, and help with the manufacture of wheelchairs for children and prostheses and rehabilitation for adults.
Darya’s Team
Evacuated 17 people from Kovalivka, Samborivka, Hrushivka, and Husynka.
Delivered 137 food packages Kut’kivka and Kasyanivka.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
98 people in the shelter.
Sent 315 food aid packages and 210 packages of seeds to Nikopol’.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Tetiana from Kryvyi Rih traveled to the Kherson Region.
215 packages delivered to Lyubymivka, Kherson Region.
Volunteers are no longer allowed to enter Lyubymivka itself, due to drone danger. The cargo is reloaded to the cars belonging to locals, who then deliver the packages to the recepients and provide photo evidence of delivery.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered aid packages to 266 seniors in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 37 disabled elderly, 18 families with infants, and 11 families with many children.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
300 families received food aid packages in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, in the villages of Kyselivka, Myrne, and Novohryhorivka.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
82 people arrived at the Volos’ke transit center.
In the coming weeks partnering with Pomahaem, UTC will support additional evacuations from Ukrainian-held Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro 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 251 packages in Kaniv, Kremenchuk, and Poltava.
Served 1,490 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 food and hygiene kits were distributed to families in Zhytomyr.
At the Club for Children with Disabilities, children attended art and culinary classes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Distributed bread to 346 families in Odesa.
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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