November 2, 2023
57,031 people evacuated from danger to date
162 people evacuated from danger this week
36 trips into the deoccupied and frontline territories
Last week over 500 people came to Capitol Hill for the Ukraine Action Summit to advocate for additional aid for Ukraine. Ukraine TrustChain was proud to join many other organizations in meeting with our elected representatives and sharing what our teams see on the ground every day. We also had the opportunity to present at the summit and share our work with others working to support Ukraine.
While it is always uplifting to join other individuals and groups that support Ukraine, not all the news is entirely positive. There is significant concern among organizations about decreased donations and decreased political support for Ukraine. The new political reality in Washington may be less favorable to Ukraine, while the needs on the ground continue to grow. We hope that you’ll take a few minutes to read these stories, share with your friends and consider us in your plans for holiday giving at this time of need.
Stories
Anastasia’s Trip
This time we were only able to visit the town - Mayaki. We had also planned to go to Zakitne, Kryva Luka, but the army didn’t let us. It was quite loud in that direction, so they told us not to risk it and to hurry back.
We handed out 257 humanitarian aid packages in Mayaki, including hygienic items, laundry detergent, and pet food. We also brought gas canisters and burners. The villagers were surprised we brought gas, and were clearly worried there would not be enough for everyone.
The situation in the town was awful. There are many ruined buildings; electricity goes in and out; there is no gas at all. Most of the residents who remain are elderly or with disabilities. They were thrilled to get the help and send their gratitude to all the donors!
Help in occupied territories
315 families received aid packages in 4 towns in the occupied territory.
A trickle of evacuations from the Russian-occupied left bank, 6 in total, has continued this week in extremely hazardous conditions, hampered by heavy fighting. In the words of one volunteer: “We can't leave some settlements because of shelling; in others we have to postpone trips because of the condition of the people. We hope to [evacuate] our bedridden people next week, but now the front has moved there. I really hope that there will be de-occupation soon, but for now there is very heavy shelling. I really hope that everyone we cannot evacuate manages to stay alive.”
Kherson Flood Relief
This story was by Oleksandr Ushkan, who leads the team disinfecting homes in Kherson:
This story is special. The people that we meet through our work are like family to us already. We became very close. Today we were picking up a dehumidifier from Ivan Ivanovich. He lives on the street that was completely flooded, and now artillery hits it constantly. Next to Ivan Ivanovich, three houses burned down from enemy shells. His roof was damaged by shrapnel, we had to scrap it back together. Another shard hit his car and took out the back window. The man’s son is in Germany.
I’ve been begging him for a while to leave this dangerous place, and he finally agreed last week. After we finished working on his house, he gave us back the dehumidifier as he is heading to stay with his son tomorrow in Germany. He cried when we were saying goodbye – he said we were his family. He would always give us apples when we came. I told him that when the frontline moves away from us, and Kherson is no longer being shelled, I will wait for him with a large German apple.
Alena’s team held an art and poetry evening for displaced families in Odesa. The children sang Chervona Kalina, played games, recited poems, and danced. The team handed out 30 bags of sweet treats for the children and 30 bags of humanitarian aid for their parents. One of the children after reciting his poem brought the adults to tears by announcing to the room, “I feel so good right now!”
Guests of the art and poetry evening under the portait of well known Odesa native writer, satirist and performer Mikhail Zhvanetsky
Team summaries
Ihor NGO Dobra Sprava (“Good Cause”)
15 trips evacuating 156 people from Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, Toretsk, Pokrovsk and Kherson areas
Anastasia - NGO LoveUA
Delivered 257 humanitarian aid packages, gas stoves, pet food to Mayaki
Inna’s Team
29.2 tons distributed to 8,350 people; 40 towns visited
Weekly bread delivery to 9,500 people completed
Flood relief in Kherson:
Focus shifting to rodent extermination in 23 locations;
Disinfected 4 more homes;
Installed washer in a building that no longer has functioning water main;
Performed 8 generator maintenance.
Multiple villages in Donetsk region were no-go zones due to shelling, yet 80 packages made it to Tostoye and Podduble villages.
60 packages distributed in Kramatosk and Slovyansk
78 families received firewood in Mala Rohan’ near Kharkiv
8 tons of water delivered to Nikopol
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): distributed 2,000 kg of groceries, household chemicals and a generator to the Riasne and Hrabovske settlements of the Sumy Region.
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): transported 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons of water from Mykolaiv to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 2,000 people.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): served 300 meals at communities and aid centers in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil. Supplied 30 people in Voronovytsia with clothes and grains. Brought 700 kg of vegetables from Bruslyniv, delivered 1,300 kg of grains, canned goods and clothes to Plyskiv, Mykolaiv and Stanislavchyk.
Oksana K (Lutsk): Brought 400 kg of humanitarian aid from Pruszków (Poland) and distributed it to 30-50 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Lutsk. Sent 5 25 kg aid packages to families in Zaporizhzhia.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): held 3 art therapy sessions and provided humanitarian aid for 94 children in Lutsk and Ozertse (Volyn Region). Included were IDP children, children with disabilities, children from military and large families.
NGO Angelia
Angelia Mobile Clinic: spent two days in Dnipro; 134 people received 566 medical services including visits to family doctors, ECG, ENT, urine, blood and other lab work.
NGO Angelia: brought 1,800 kg of humanitarian aid from Lüneburg (Germany) and Krakow (Poland) to Kyiv, bound for Kherson; delivered 300 kg of humanitarian aid to Chunkiv (Chernivtsi Region); brought 2,800 kg of humanitarian aid from Lüneburg, Mökern and Wittenberg (Germany) to Kyiv and Chernivtsi.
Kseniia’s Team - NGO Livyj Bereh
7 homes received new roofs in Slatyne, Tsupivka, Prudianka.
Svitlana delivered aid to 60 families in Kherson and Pryozerne despite brutal bombardments.
Natasha - Vysnia Volunteer Center
180 packages distributed to residents of Myroliubivka and Trudoliubivka in Kherson region
Delivered chemicals for rat extermination - an acute need in Kherson village where rodents move to residential areas due to the absence of crops in the mined fields.
Karina - We Save Dnipro
69 people in the shelter
Helped repair 2 homes in the Dnipro suburbs that suffered damage in a rocket attack
Brought medicine to hospitals in Nikopol and Dnipro
Alena - Virgo
Distributed 30 humanitarian aid packages and 30 packages of sweet treats to children of internally displaced families in Odesa
Timur’s Team-Timur and Team
Delivered 150 packages to Novoosynove
Distributed 200 packages in Saltivka, Kharkiv
Brought diapers for 100 families with babies
Continued the window repairs and have already replaced 16 windows in the damaged apartments
Pavel and Olena - Touch of Heart and Dawn of Hope
Distributed aid to 2,854 people from Mykolaiv office
Provided help to 1,260 people in Izyum area, in villages Myrne, Pidvysoke, and the surrounding area
1 ton of potatoes delivered to Kherson villages from Vinnytsia
3 tons of water delivered to Kobzartsi
Warm clothing delivered to Novopavlivske and Novohryhorivka
Andriy - BF Pomahaem
674 packages delivered to Nikopol and Pavlohrad
Team traveled to Chernihiv area to vet home repair grants for the initiative we are starting together in this area
Marina – Good Give Ukraine
150 lonely senior citizens residing in the Lykhivka and Piatykhatky regions received assistance.
Dina - Vilni Liudy – Vilna Krayina
Distributed 380 packages of aid at the usual distribution centers
Delivered 200 kg of pet food to an evacuated dog shelter
Provided 900 candles to 180 families of IDP’s in Kanev for the winter
Sent 2 tons of aid (clothes, diapers, baby food, and more) to Maksymovka in the Kharkiv region
Bogdan - Vse robymo sami
43 families received aid
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