November 13th, 2025
69,468 people evacuated from danger to date
47 people evacuated from danger this week
35 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Ukraine is experiencing a growing electricity shortage, caused by the indiscriminate Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure. Improvements to Russian missiles and drones are enabling a larger percentage of them reach their targets, leaving more Ukrainians without heat or light for longer periods.
This problem is silently present in every interaction with our Ukrainian teams. For example, the Mykolaiv volunteers have recently experienced days when lights were out from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Pavel and Olena’s team was asked to assist in the evacuation of Mykolaiv orphanages in case the city finds itself in a total blackout. The shelter we support in Dnipro is struggling to keep its internet connetion going — this connection is essential for registering new refugees from the Donbas for government assistance.
The situation is similar in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and smaller towns, making this perhaps the worst winter in terms of electricity supply since the start of the war. That’s saying a lot. Despite these complications, all our teams are managing to put in full weeks of work and to send us their reports and financial documentation.
Two weeks ago we announced that we are looking for sponsors for our Holiday Giving Drive — supporters looking to donate $1,000 or more over the next six weeks.
Thank you to the several individuals who have stepped up – we are now at 72% of the way toward our sponsorship goal. If you are interested in sponsoring the drive, we are accepting offers for another week. Pelase write to us at donate@ukrainetrustchain.org.
Stories
Three Evacuation Stories from Dobra Sprava
It was an emotional evacuation week for Ihor — a volunteer from Dobra sprava. Three stories stood out for him. One was a mother sending her only son abroad, while she herself remained behind in Sloviansk. When asked why she didn’t go with her son, the woman explained that she is a medical worker and is choosing to remain in the besieged city for as long as possible to help others.
The second evacuation was of a grandmother from Kramatorsk and her nonverbal, autistic grandson, Danilo. Throughout the trip the grandmother sat silently, seemingly lost in thought, while Danilo spent the entire ride tapping the wall of the bus and making sounds that made known his despair at leaving his home.
The third incident involved Volodya — an elderly man who was picked up from a hospital in Kramatorsk, and is heading to a town outside of Odesa to join his son’s family. The family had evacuated earlier, but Volodya had refused to go. By the time he was ready to leave, the only way out was on foot. Along the way, Volodya was wounded in the leg, but still he somehow managed to walk the six and a half miles from Kostyantynivka to Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka. There he was picked up by a military vehicle. Seeing the condition of his boots, the service members gave him new ones and took him to the hospital in Kramatorsk. The doctors at the hospital couldn’t believe Volodya had made it.
Filling the Orphans’ Greatest Need
Last week, the Chernivtsi-based team of Vilis Neikurs (part of Oleksandr D 's volunteer network) visited 130 children at the Berezkivskyi Art Lyceum in the Mykolaiv Region. This art magnet boarding school serves mostly orphans and other children separated from home and parents due to difficult life circumstances. The team brought treats and hygiene products, and made popcorn and cotton candy on location. But the children's deepest, persistent hunger is for relationships and attention from caring adults.
Vilis' team has been building connections with the school for three years. In addition to trips to the school, the volunteers have held a summer camp for the children and have offered long-distance mentoring. It all started with one girl. Despite being turned down for adoption by several families, she has managed to stay bright, loving, and positive, and to continue dreaming of a happy future. The girl's generosity and desire to share the contents of all her gift packages with other children prompted the volunteers to expand their care to all the young women in the girl's room, and then to the neighboring rooms.
During the next Advent calendar they sent daily packages to 12 girls. The gifts included "assignments" and discussion topics with the volunteers, through which relationships grew. More recently, Vilis' team started sending monthly packages to each of the five girls' rooms, maintaining connections with around 30 girls and with each class. One gift package contained tea cups and saucers, as well as snacks to go with the tea. The team then invited the girls to attend "virtual teatime" with the volunteers. These are occasions for the students to discuss topics that interest them and offer a chance for the volunteers and children to get to know each other better. Vilis feels that these long distance mentoring relationships have been very effective and helpful for the girls.
Shahed Drones and Electrical Outages: Running an Aid Center in Kamianske
Our volunteers in Kamianske sent this report on the situation in their city and aid center.
Over the past week, our city suffered a very serious attack. One of the train stations and an electrical substation were destroyed. About 800 meters [half a mile] in a straight line from our volunteers’ home, a Shahed drone struck a four-story house, killing one person and injuring four or five others. But the rescue and repair work there was finished literally the next day. [The workers] cleared everything out, removed the rubble, and pulled people out.
Electricity is a huge problem, as it is everywhere, really. The kitchen in our center has no gas equipment — only an electric stove — which makes it very hard to feed people [when there is no electricity]. One of our big needs right now is for something like dry soups, instant noodles, or anything similar. People come every Sunday [for a meal], and it would be great to have some reserve stock — something for which we could just boil water, using the generator to feed those in need. Because the generator can’t handle the electric stove.
This time, we were very lucky. [The power went out.] The girls [volunteers] were about to leave around 10:00 a.m., but they stayed to tell the people coming for lunch that we wouldn’t be able to feed them. Then, at 10:00, as if by a miracle, the lights came back on. The girls stayed, quickly boiled some pasta, and our charity lunch at the center did take place after all.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
9 trips, evacuating 42 people, (6 of them children) from the Druzhkivka, Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka, Novodonets’ke, Bilyts’ke, Mykolaiv, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Svyatohirs’k areas.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
20.3 tons of aid distributed to 7,800 people.
6,600 people received bread.
Aid delivered to 36 locations, 13 of them high-risk areas.
60 tons of firewood delivered to Shevchenkove and the shelter in Pokotylivka, which is serving displaced people from Kup’yans’k.
Kherson team performed deratization in 2 large basements.
Delivered bread to 18 families.
Eelivered gas for 4 generators in Kherson’s red zones.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv. The team is also preparing communications and equipment for the winter.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): sent food to disabled people in Poltava. Delivered food to 15 people at the “Safe Space” homeless night shelter in Vinnytsia 4 times. Brought 30 kg of cereals and apples to a disabled family. Took a disabled person to social rehabilitation.
Sandra S. (Odesa): despite continuing frequent and unpredictable power outages, the kitchen served more than 600 portions of food, both directly at the train station and through partner teams that deliver food to IDPs and bedridden patients.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Shabelkivka, in the Kramatorsk District. Brought almost 500 loaves of “Victory” bread to Kramatorsk. Also evacuated a woman with her belongings from Kramatorsk to the Poltava Region. This woman had previously relocated from Lyman, but Kramatorsk is also a hot spot. Her children were relieved to see her leave the Donbas for a safer area. Started off the season’s fuel briquette delivery with 45 tons of briquettes, delivered to Sloviansk.
Alla A. (Kremenets’): report for 2 weeks. Provided psychological support, a 500 UAH certificate and food aid (yogurt, porridge, and watermelon) to 300 adults and children with disabilities, 225 internally displaced people (IDPs) and 267 people who live alone in difficult life circumstances.
Vilis N. (Chernivtsi): visited the Berezkivskyi Art Lyceum in the Mykolaiv Region. This is a boarding school with 130 students, most of them orphans or other children separated from their homes and families due to difficult life circumstances. The team has a long relationship with the children at this school. Volunteers brought fruit, candy, hygiene products and shampoos, and made popcorn and cotton candy on the spot. (See story above for more.)
Oksana K. (Lutsk): distributed 137 kg of adult diapers and urological pads, as well as 80 kg of clothing, shoes, bedspreads, and toys, to 30 visitors to the team’s aid distribution point. Visited civilian and military patients at the Lutsk hospital, bringing them diapers, urological supplies, and treats.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children and adults with disabilities, children from military families, orphans, elderly people, military service members and veterans, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets, and other villages of the Rivne Region. 865 children and adults received help, including art therapy, help with bread and other food, help with glasses, medical and preventive procedures, sports and recreation activities,visits to the theater and to a museum, and help with the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation.
Vitaliy opens the first bag of fuel briquettes of the 2025 season.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
101 people in the shelter.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
Natalya traveled to the Donbas with 210 packages for Lyman. The aid had to be left in Sloviansk for further transportation by local volunteers, as the security situation did not allow Natalya to go into Lyman itself.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered 313 packages of humanitarian aid to the elderly in Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 22 families with infants and 8 disabled elderly.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Distributed aid to 281 families in Novohryhorivka, Tavriiske and Shevchenkove in the Kherson Region.
Held an art therapy event for women in Mykolaiv.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
Helped 192 families in 5 locations. 2 of these, in Marhanets’ and Derhachi near Kharkiv are high-risk zones.
326 people arrived at the Volos’ke shelter last week. Most leave within days to their next destination.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to internally displaced people in Zhovti Vody.
17 packages were sent to disabled people in different parts of Ukraine.
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 261 packages in Poltava, Kanev, and Kremenchuk.
Delivered 200 packages to Staryi Saltiv.
Kharkiv soup kitchen served 1,610 meals.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
In Zhytomyr, 42 families received food and hygiene kits.
At the club for children with disabilities, activities continued despite power outages — children took part in candlelit cooking classes, as well as art, dance, and psychological relief sessions.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Helped 24 wounded in the Odesa hospital.
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Delivered 144 packages of food and 144 packages of hygiene to Mykhailivka.
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.