September 18th, 2025
69,090 people evacuated from danger to date
60 people evacuated from danger this week
29 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
The 184th newsletter, documenting Ukraine TrustChain volunteer team work from September 8-14, 2025
Stories
Kherson Operations: Simple Acts of Extreme Courage
Oleksandr U. is a volunteer who leads our Kherson team, funded through Inna Kampen’s organization Krok z nadiyeyu. He never ceases to amaze us with his energy and willingness to perform seemingly simple but incredibly courageous tasks that help elderly Khersonians living in the city’s red zones.
For example, many of the team’s deliveries focus on disabled residents who need adult diapers on a weekly basis. Every trip to the red zones is potentially lethal, as Russian FPV drones often hunt civilian vehicles and ordinary people out of sheer boredom and lust for violence. However, Oleksandr’s extreme focus and a deep understanding of a multitude of factors, from bombardment patterns to wind direction, have allowed the team to evade the dangers and find new ways to help the locals.
One of the team’s more unusual missions last week involved removing trash from overflowing dumpsters in a highrise building located in a red zone. Municipal vehicles are always targeted by Russian drones here and cannot operate in Russia-surveilled areas, leaving the trash uncollected. Such gaps are filled by our brave volunteers, who continue their heroic work without any material reward and with little recognition.
Nikopol’ Water Supply Partially Restored
One of the most consequential projects supported by UTC in partnership with our Dnipro friends, Pomahaem Foundation, has been the supply of drinking water to the city of NIkopol’. Situated on the bank of the Dnipro River, across from the Russian positions, NIkopol’ suffers from daily shelling and drone attacks. Nikopol’ had been dependant on the Kakhovka Reservoir for its water. After the destruction of the Kahovka Dam, the reservoir drained, and the Nikopol’ water intake facilities failed, further complicating the life of city residents. That’s when Pomahaem decided to step in.
Thanks to your support, the Pomahaem team has been delivering drinking water to 12 locations across the city. To date 1,436 tons of water have been delivered, addressing water needs for 10-15% of the remaining NIkopol’ residents.
Recently, despite escalating violence, the local government has managed to restore water supply to many neighborhoods of the city. In the last two weeks, independent testing has shown that the water is drinkable in multiple locations of the city. In response, Pomahaem has temporarily suspended the Nikpol’ water deliveries, while the team works with the local government and independent experts to better understand the evolving situation. The volunteers will determine whether their resources would be better redirected elsewhere, or whether some locations within Nikopol’ might still benefit from water deliveries.
Water Deliveries to Mykolaiv on Hold
Meanwhile, water deliveries to Mykolaiv have been put on hold. Vladyslav K.’s team has been leading the water project to Mykolaiv and Kherson since 2023 with great dedication, even through the death of Vladyslav’s son Artur in a drone attack in 2024, which also severely injured Vladyslav himself. However, lately, conditions have become increasingly difficult for the team. Earlier this fall the volunteers had to suspend deliveries to Kherson, as the road there from Mykolaiv has become too dangerous to drive. Now, Vladyslav finds himself short of volunteers for water deliveries to Mykolaiv itself.
After the tragic loss of Artur, another volunteer, Serhiy, left Ukraine to join his family in the Czech Republic. Most recently, Vladyslav’s volunteer Vasyl has been repeatedly summoned by the Territorial Recruitment Center, despite having medical conditions that should excuse him from military service. While trying to address this situation, Vasyl has not been able to go out in public and has now checked himself into a hospital. Vladyslav himself is on a business trip to the US. He summarizes the situation terseley:
“Unfortunately, Vasyl didn't make any trips last week. People were left without water.”
Vladyslav plans to resume deliveries after his return on October 1st.
Help in Occupied Territories
11 people received food and 2 received firewood in occupied territories. These included a refugee with many children, disabled people, and other people in difficult circumstances. In a different location, 86 packages were distributed in 3 occupied towns and areas.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
13 trips, evacuating 51 people, 11 of them children.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
21.3 tons of aid delivered to 8,100 people.
6,600 people received bread.
30 locations visited, 9 of them in high-risk areas.
Conducted rat/insect exterminations in 10 spaces, including 1 large bomb shelter in Kherson.
44 humanitarian missions completed in Kherson, from delivering adult diapers to isolated disabled people, to evacuating trash from a Kherson highrise located in a high risk zone.
The Donbas team came to Kramatorsk and held an event for children on Saturday.
Another team made it into Druzhkivka and also held events for children there.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): unfortunately, the team was unable to deliver water last week due to a shortage of volunteers. See story, above.
Sandra S. (Odesa): the kitchen handed out more than 495 portions of food, as well as providing people with water and cool drinks. The team also provided several families and individuals with clothes and dishware.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered a total of 4 tons (350 humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, “Victory” bread, and animal feed) to Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka. This village is almost destroyed. The team suggested evacuation and gave out contacts. Brought more than 500 loaves of “Victory” bread to the Zelenyi Hai neighborhood of Lyman. The city is very tense, with constant shelling. Residents only go out for 2-3 minutes at a time to get the most basic necessities for themselves and their families. Provided special work uniforms to 6 members of the housing office and village council in Morizivka, Izium District.
Oksana K. (Lutsk): received oxygen machines from Germany. Sent packages to military families. Handed out pies and bread to 60 children with disabilities. Provided 6 visitors at the team’s aid distribution point with 22 kg of adult diapers and urological pads, and 15 kg of clothing, shoes, toys and bedspreads.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and families, children with disabilities, children from military families and large families, orphans, military veterans and service members, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets’, Uizdtsi, and Horodnytsya (all in the Rivne Region). 819 children and adults received help, including art therapy classes, help with bread and other food, a visit to the theater, a development camp, glasses, medical and preventive procedures – including a “medical mobile trailer,” which traveled to remote villages in the Rivne Region to conduct physiotherapeutic procedures for IDPs – and help with the manufacture of prostheses and rehabilitation.
Kseniia’s Team – Livyy bereh (Left Bank)
Darya evacuated 9 people from Dvorichna, as battles rage inside nearby Kup’yans’k.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
96 people in the shelter, 59 of them long term.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 150 aid packages in the village of Odnorobivka, and 100 aid packages in Odnorobivka Persha, Kharkiv Region.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Delivered aid to 297 elderly residents, many of whom were part of the remediation effort at Chernobyl and suffer from various ailments.
Special deliveries to 11 disabled elderly and 25 families with infants.
Timur is currently recovering with a broken leg. We wish him speedy healing.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Psychological support sessions were held in the Mykolaiv office.
Aid distribution and warehouse teams were on hiatus last week getting much deserved rest.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
538 people passed through the transit center in Volos’ke. Residents receive food, coffee, and hygienic products, as well as shelter before they continue on their way further West.
310 packages delivered to Tomakivka near Nikopol’, thanks to aid donation from World Vision.
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)
331 packages distributed in Poltava, Kanev, Kremenchuk, and Dnipro.
Soup kitchen in Kharkiv served 1,450 meals.
Delivered 600 packages of aid to Zmiiv and Valky.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
42 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
This week at the club for children with disabilities, participants learned to grill sausages.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Helped 38 wounded in the Odesa hospital.
Handed out donated bread to 517 people in Odesa.
2,000 liters of fuel made it to Beryslav through multiple connections to provide residents who have lived without electricity for three years the ability to run 100 generators.
How to Help
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