October 15th, 2026
72,658 people evacuated from danger to date
70 people evacuated from danger this week
24 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
For all of us who care about the people suffering in Russia’s war on Ukraine, the recent news is painful. The decision to ease sanctions and let Russian diesel flow into American markets, sending American money straight into Putin’s war chest, feels like a betrayal. It is an act of pointless harm against the people of Ukraine.
The news feels surreal. Picture a fire started by Russian bombs. Ukrainians, Americans, Europeans stand in a line, passing buckets of water hand to hand. And then a helicopter appears overhead and pours tons of diesel onto the flames.
What makes this decision so bewildering is that within US politics, support of Ukraine is a bipartisan issue. Just a month ago we celebrated the passage of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, named for the late senator who fought for stricter sanctions against Russia and was backed by members of both parties. Every week we receive donations from people from every walk of life and every political view. They share the simple understanding that Ukraine is fighting a just fight and has no choice but to resist a totalitarian regime that relentlessly bombs its cities and tortures its citizens.
A Woman Tortured Under Occupation and a Wounded Soldier Try to Find Peace
Olena and Artur Yagupov are a married couple from Kamianka-Dniprovska in the Zaporizhzhia Region. The town was occupied by Russian forces in early March, 2022. Olena’s neighbors “sold” her to the occupiers for 10,000 rubles. Olena endured nine days of FSB torture and humiliation in a pre-trial detention center and was forced to dig enemy trenches under fire.
Artur was serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the time, while living with the unbearable pain of not knowing the fate of his wife. He was subsequently wounded and underwent several operations, one of which was the installation of implants in his spine.
Today the couple live in internal evacuation and come to Oleksandr Shnurenko’s volunteer center in Boyarka, where they are surrounded by care. Olena, who in solitary confinement did squats and doused herself with ice water, so as not to break down, is now learning to trust the world again. The pair participates in the Support Nearby program, where they receive spiritual and psychological help, trying to heal wounds that are invisible to the naked eye.
The Risks of Refueling Generators in Kherson.
Alexander, from Inna’s Kherson team, gives us an update on a local resident of Kherson’s red zone, who has been helping his neighbors obtain much needed generator fuel.
Mr. Viktor lives in an apartment building in the red-zone Ostriv neighborhood. Victor has been collecting fuel from us, to refuel the building’s generator. He also repaired the generator when it broke down.
Unfortunately, Victor was recently hit by an enemy drone. A previous drone had struck the building and burned down four apartments. Viktor and his neighbors tried to put out the fire in the apartments on their own, because fire trucks don’t go into the red zone in Kherson, due to the danger of strikes on fire brigades. While the neighbors were fighting the fire, a second drone struck near the place where Viktor was standing and the shrapnel shattered his leg.
This happened at night, and it was too dangerous to evacuate Viktor in the dark, because of landmines and drones with night vision. We had to wait 'till morning. Now Victor is in the hospital. His little toe was amputated, and he suffered a fractured leg with significant shrapnel wounds. We continue to help him in the hospital. Meanwhile, Victor has handed over his generator duties to Mr Serhiy and we have already delivered fuel to him. The 21 people who remain in Victor’s building have electricity only thanks to the generator and the fuel we provide. Without it the people in the bulding wouldn’t be able to charge their devices and flashlights or to cook food.
A Rehabilitation Center for Birds from the War Zone
Dogs and cats aren’t the only animals who are evacuated from the war zone. Together with evacuees from the Zaporizhzhia Region, Oleksandr Zhalovaga’s team in Lutsk also accepts birds with injured wings, and other injuries incompatible with further stay in their natural environment. For this purpose, the team worked with a local wildlife veterinarian to create an aviary for birds needing rehabilitation in the village of Ostrozhets. Children from the local school bring apples and branches with berries for the birds, and learn a better appreciation for nature.
The team is also beginning the construction of a similar center In Lutsk. In addition to rehabilitation, the center will be a space to promote zootherapy, which is helpful for children with mental disorders.
Team Summaries
Alina H.’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
8 trips evacuating 42 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
14.9 tons of aid delivered to 6350 people.
4400 people received bread.
Aid reached 30 locations, 8 of them in high-risk areas.
The Kherson team is preparing a shelter for Kherson residents in Mykolaiv district, in case power outages will make Kherson conditions unlivable.
Kherson team refueled 6 generators, and performed pest control in 6 basements.
Nikopol team received a shipment of humanitarian aid for children from Germany and delivered it to IDP families with children dispersed across western part of Dnipropetrovsk region.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S. (Ukrainka): provided 500 kg of assistance, including medicines, clothes, toys, hygiene products, shoes, food, and household appliances to an orphanage, kindergarten, and social workers who take care of people in difficult circumstances (location unspecified). Received 700 kg of humanitarian aid in Ukrainka for further distribution. Distributed 60 kg of food assistance and 250 kg of clothing to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Brovary. Donated toys, household appliances, groceries, and shoes for families to a kindergarten in the village of Pariivka, Vinnytsia Region. Provided medications and medical equipment to the stabilization point at Azov State University. Delivered 20 kg of assistance to a children’s school.
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. Distributed over 500 loaves of “Victory” bread in the village of Stepne, near Kramatorsk. Since Kramatorsk has become more and more dangerous, the team tries to deliver bread to the outlying villages. Delivered crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, toilet seats, and other necessities for independent living to applications in Kharkiv and the Kharkiv Region.
Alla A. (Kremenets’): held an event for 81 children of military personnel and fallen soldiers. The children had an opportunity to draw and received gifts and treats. Provided psychological support to 70 children and adults, as part of Project Resilience. Distributed new clothes to 75 people. Held a knitting and embroidery circle for IDPs. Provided free haircuts to 10 people.
Hryhoriy M. (Tal’ne): children from the program had a chance to participate in a youth song festival in Bila Tserkva. The team also held a special program in the city of Uzyn, in the Kyiv Region.
WeCare Centers (Lviv): report for September, 2026. Received 103.96 tons and distributed 79.39 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, clothing and footwear, hygiene products, medicines, furniture, household appliances and other necessary items. The largest share of aid (44.78 tons) is food products. Support was provided to IDPs, families of military personnel, the elderly, people with disabilities, and families experiencing difficult life circumstances in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Ukrainian-held Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Zaporizhia regions, and in other territories.
Oksana K. (Lutsk): distributed 250 kg of adult diapers, urological pads, clothing, and shoes to 48 families. Provided a baby box to the wife of a soldier.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to internally displaced people (IDPs), children and adults with disabilities, children from military families and large families, orphans, elderly people, and amputees in Lutsk and the surrounding villages. 1,326 children and adults received help, including art therapy, music therapy, theater therapy, hydrotherapy, sports activities, a visit to the theater, an outing to Lubart’s Castle, help with bread and other food, 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)
87 people in the shelter.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
245 packages were delivered to Lyman IDPs in Kramatrosk. After the successful push of the Ukrainian armed forces retaking the city of Lyman, some packages were successfully delivered into Lyman itself.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
The team distributed 276 aid packages to seniors in Saltivka Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 21 disabled elderly and 17 families with infants.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
100 packages delivered to the village of Lubomyrivka.
60 packages delivered to families with children with disabilities in Mykolaiv.
58 tons of fuel briquettes delivered to the village of Zorya and Novohryhorivka, as well as the city of Sumy.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
474 packages delivered to Kamyanske and Pysmenne.
36 people arrived at the Voloske transit shelter.
Alina S.’s Team – Dity novoho pokolinnya (Children of the New Generation)
1 trip evacuating 4 people from Mezhova, Shakhtarske and Malomyhailvska.
Transported 23 people.
Team went through drone safe training this week.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobrо 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 437 packages in Kaniv, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Dnipro.
Served 1,460 meals in the soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Delivered 200 packages of aid to Staryi Saltiv.
Bohdan’s Team – Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
Food and hygiene kits were distributed to 42 families in Zhytomyr.
At the club for children with disabilities, kids had culinary classes and art classes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Traveled to Kherson delivering 62 packages of aid, 100 flashlights, a charging station for an underground shelter where children have classes during the day, 3 sets of large chargeable lights, donated bread, clothes, and shoes.
Distributed bread to 326 families in Odesa .
Anastasia’s Team – LoveUA
Traveled to 4 towns: Novostepanivka, Novoandriivka, Rozdollya, and Dmytrokolyne, delivering 80 packages of food and 80 of household supplies.
How to Help
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