May 21st, 2026
70,713 people evacuated from danger to date
63 people evacuated from danger this week
30 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Stories
Massive Attack on Kyiv and Dnipro
Last week, Russia staged a particularly vicious attack on Kyiv and Dnipro, with 1,500 drones launched in a single night. At this point it’s probably impossible to convey why this attack felt unusual, but we could sense the difference in our Ukrainian volunteers, as they shared their fear and anxiety at living through the latest pounding by enemy drones.
Inna Kampen’s team set up their station on a particularly badly battered street. Their goal is always mostly psychological — providing warm food and drink, friendly faces, a willingness to listen to survivors’ stories, help with making sense of the situation, and looking after the children as the parents try to salvage what’s left of their possessions. Inna’s team was able to help 750 people in this way last week.
Agricultural Project Moving Quickly
The agricultural project has been moving quickly. The weather — not too hot and a little rainy — has created perfect conditions for planting and growing seedlings. Last week, the vounteers distributed in Kharkiv and the deoccupied areas of the Kharkiv Region (Taranivka, Zmiev and surrounding areas, Donets, and Mospanove). They also urgently delivered seedlings to Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Bilozers’ke, Vyazivok, parts of the Dnipropetrovsk Region, Znam’yanka, and Vodolahy. In total, the volunteers distributed over 2,000 seed and seedling kits, which amounts to roughly 20% of the overall volume slated for distribution this year. The project is now in its final stage and is approaching completion.
For settlements located near the front line, such as the Nikopol’ District, the Shevchenko District, and areas near Kharkiv, the seeds and seedlings fill a particularly urgent gap. In these areas, open-air markets of any kind are banned for safety reasons, to avoid the gathering of crowds. Previously, at this time of year, the locals would buy their seedlings at the market. Now that option is gone. People cannot buy their seedlings locally, and not everyone is able to travel far to regional centers.
The arrival of volunteers with seedlings in these settlements is truly a godsend for such residents and provides a solution to a fundamental problem — how to grow their own food. The locals are extremely grateful for the help and for the high quality of the seedlings.
In addition to their distributions elsewhere, Inna’s team has also been helping a group of volunteers from the village of Mezhova (Dnipropetrovsk Region) who asked for the team’s assistance. Based in Dnipro, the Mezhova group maintains connections with a large number of former Mezhova locals, to whom it offers aid. Inna’s team provided over 100 families from the Mezhova community with seedlings.
Evacuations from Mykolaivka
Convincing the elderly of Mykolaivka to leave their homes and evacuate is no easy task. This week, Ihor reported that the Dobra sprava team had evacuated a widow named Hanna, who went to live with her daughter in Poltava. Hanna would not leave without her bed and mattress. She’s had the same mattress since Soviet times, and was afraid she wouldn’t be able to sleep on anything else. The team also evacuated an elderly couple who was traveling with three cats and a dog. The owners were so worried about the journey their pets would be making, that they fed the animals and gave them lots of water before the trip, which resulted in some unfortunate accidents in the van that required stops to clean up.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
10 trips, evacuating 51 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
2,000 families received seedlings and seed packages last week.
46 locations visited: 15 of them in high-risk and deoccupied zones.
Disinfected and cleaned 5 spaces in Kherson.
Continued to refuel generators and deliver bread and other aid items to Kherson residents living in the red zones of the city.
The Kryvyi Rih team evacuated 3 people from Urozhayne, Kherson Region, to the Odesa region.
The team stayed day and night at the airstrike sites in Dnipro, helping 750 people.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S. (Ukrainka): report for 2 weeks. Kyiv Region – distributed 600 kg of food kits for internally displaced people (IDPs) and baby food for children with disabilities and orphans in Boyarka; donated 80 kg of hygiene products to a residential facility for the elderly in Irpin; held programs for restoration of mental and physical health for children in Boyarka and Bohuslav and gave out summer flip-flops to the participants. Sumy Region – distributed 3.5 tons of food kits in Sumy; distributed baby food to IDPs, orphans, and children with disabilities in locations throughout the region. Kherson Region – distributed 1.5 tons of food and clothing to 150 displaced families in Kyselivka. Ukrainian-held Donetsk Region – distributed 1,100 kg of food in Sloviansk; donated 200 kg of baby food to a foundation for the care of children and children with special needs from the destroyed city of Mar’inka. Chernihiv Region – distributed 108 kg of instant rice in an area near the border where shelling is constant; distributed baby food to IDPs, orphans, and children with disabilities in locations throughout the region. Volyn Region – distributed 350 kg of food kits to IDPs and other most vulnerable segments of the population.
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Andriy P. (Mykolaiv): acquired several vehicles abroad and brought them to Ukraine loaded with 7.5 tons of humanitarian aid. The vehicles and vehicle equipment included a Volvo truck, a car lift, a Nissan X-Trail jeep, a Renault Master minibus, a TABBERT camper, a Volkswagen T4 truck, 2 car trailers, a Fiat Scudo minivan, and a Ford Transit ambulance. The humanitarian aid included 3 electric generators, 200 tires, an engine box for a volunteer team in Zaporizhzhia, as well as furniture, clothing, bedding, hygiene products, medicine and food.
Sandra S. (Odesa): the kitchen prepared and distributed 850 portions of fresh food. The team is working smoothly and enjoying the long-awaited arrival of spring.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 3.5 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Krasnotorka. Kramatorsk District, very close to the front line. Delivered 1.5 tons of animal food to various locations in the Sloviansk and Kramatorsk districts, to support homeless, abandoned animals and also people who have taken in abandoned strays. Delivered over 500 loaves of “Victory” bread to Sloviansk. Visited low-income people and people with disabilities in Kharkiv, delivering humanitarian aid and wheelchairs.
Yuri P. (Boryslav): delivered a total of 2.5 tons of aid, primarily bread and car tires, to Pereiaslav, Kaniv, and Volodymyr.
Alla A. (Kremenets’): as part of Project Resilience, provided psychological support, as well as humanitarian aid to 57 families in vulnerable groups. Also, distributed bread to 82 people, diapers to 3 people, shoes to 10 people and humanitarian aid to 2 dorms housing IDPs.
Hryhoriy M. (Tal’ne): held an event for 105 children and their parents, which included psychological support, 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. 23 children from Tal’ne, who lost their fathers at the front, as well as those whose parents are currently defending Ukraine, attended a rest, recovery, and rehabilitation program at You Camp camp in Bukovina, Chernivtsi Region.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): ordered food delivery from local grocery stores for people with disabilities in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Poltava. Provided financial support to an organization that feeds the underprivileged on the streets of Vinnytsia.
Oksana K. (Lutsk): provided food and other necessities to a poor family of IDPs.
Oleksandr D. (Lutsk): volunteer Vadym T. returned from Germany with 1 ton of powerbars and muesli, 2 walkers, and 1 boiler for heating. The team immediately sent the powerbars and muesli by mail to teams within Oleksandr’s network in Dnipro, Cherkasy, Kaniv, Tal’ne, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, and Kremenets’. Some powerbars and muesli were also left in Lutsk to be delivered to Oksana K.’s team.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDPs, children and adults with disabilities, children from military families, foster 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, help with bread and other food, meals served at a social cafe, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, psychological support, and help with the manufacture of wheelchairs for children and prostheses and rehabilitation for adults.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
103 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Prepared to deliver 150 aid packages to Ukrainian-held Donetsk Region, but had to postpone trip due to airstrikes on Smila.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Organized the delivery of humanitarian aid to Sloviansk. Aid was delivered to 227 families.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered 313 aid packages to seniors in Saltivka, Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 25 families with infants and 33 disabled elderly.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
244 families received aid in the villages of Afanasivka and Dobrokamyanka.
387 internally displaced families received aid packages in Mykolaiv.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
106 people arrived at the Volos’ke transit shelter last week.
A new team supported by UTC through Pomahaem, evacuated 9 people last week.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
Food and hygiene kits were distributed to 150 internally displaced families in Zhovti Vody.
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 426 packages of aid in Kaniv, Kremenchuk, Poltava, and Dnipro.
Served 1,540 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Delivered 250 packages of aid to Nova Vodolaha and Sharivka in the Kharkiv Region.
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)
Traveled to Kherson, delivering donated yogurt and rice pudding to 700 children, as well as 1.5 tons of clothing and shoes for displaced people and people with disabilities.
Distributed bread in Odesa to 336 families.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Traveled to an animal evacuation center near Pavlohrad, delivering 600kg of pet food. The evacuation center houses 150 cats and 93 dogs rescued from the frontlines and fostered there while volunteers search for new homes for the animals.
How to Help
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