Challenges
We first wanted to thank everyone for remaining focused on our cause and a war that no one wished for and to continue for so long.
Our dedication and attention has always maintained through all the ups and downs even when our own lives hit walls with challenges and forced us to make adjustments to the plans.
October 2023 through February 2024, Nadiia and I faced countless difficulties both of a personal nature and obstacles providing direct aid within occupied territories inside the city and the outskirts near Nova Kakhovka.
War & Family
Two years ago today, on February 24th, 2022, Ukrainians went to bed in their homes, thinking about tomorrow and making plans, but tomorrow they woke up to a war. Millions of lives turned upside down and changed forever in one night of horror. Since then Ukrainians continue to live through that horror.
For the rest of my life, I will remember the phone call from my sister around 5AM (Kyiv time) on February 24, 2022, when she said, barely putting letters into words, – “there are explosions in the city, we are in the hallway”.
Even now, remembering it, my hands tremble.
This war took many lives, homes, turned the plans and dreams of millions of Ukrainians into ashes. People had to say goodbye to their family, their homes and their lives.
The life of every Ukrainian will never be the same, even after Ukraine’s victory over its bloody neighbor. Up until February 24, 2022 there was life, now it is a constant struggle for life & freedom.
After moving to Newburyport in 2018 I continued to travel back to Ukraine two or three times a year. On February 4, 2022 was my last visit to Ukraine. That time I was leaving back to the US with some anxiety inside, but I didn’t even remotely feel what is coming.
At that time, I had no idea that was my last opportunity to hug my father. On January 17, 2024, he passed away unexpectedly at the age of 69, and I was not able to be there to support my mother and say goodbye to my father.
My parents decided to stay in Nova Kakhovka to wait for liberation and protect their home. My mother’s quote: “Why should I leave when they came to my house? They should leave, not me.”
That was my parents response. My mother is rock solid in this statement even after my father’s passing. I respect her position, but I feel guilty for not being able to protect them, yet I know there is only one guilty, one culprit country, which has separated millions of families and caused even more tragedies.
Our Progress Oct 2023 - Feb 2024
Due to the aggressive behavior of the Russian military, in October 2023, we were forced to stop the distribution of humanitarian aid within the city. The Russian military constantly interrogate people in cars, checking phones and searching the personal belongings of our volunteers, harassing and threatening them. We realized a long time ago that the Russian military do not know the word “humanity”, so they consider our helping civilians as a threat, and view our volunteers as criminals, intending to punish everyone who dares to show “humanity” and especially give food away.
October 2023
The Armed Forces of Ukraine penetrated the left (occupied) bank of the Kherson region nearby Nova Kakhovka, the village of Krynky (Krynky https://g.co/kgs/guDmHo6). Ukraine began to establish a base within Russian occupied Ukrainian territory and operations to expand it.
Krynky is one of the many settlements in the occupied Kherson region where our volunteers have been delivering food kits and other humanitarian aid since October 2022.
Due to these events, the situation and risks for our team of volunteers became more and more dangerous.
We distributed the last batches of food and household kits to the remaining citizens of Nova Kakhovka and neighboring occupied towns in October 2023, letting the citizens know about the temporary suspension of our distributions due to the circumstances and increased risks.
It was hoped that we would resume work in two or three weeks, as soon as the situation in the city and its surroundings stabilized. However, events began to unfold rapidly. The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed not only to create, but also to expand on the left (Occupied) bank of the Kherson Region, where operations are still being conducted to destroy the concentration of Russian troops.
Unfortunately, the village of Krynky now exists only on the map. Instead of houses, schools and parks, you can see only ruins and ashes. The Russian army continues to burn the territory of the village of Krynky with guided aerial bombs. Neighboring settlements along the left bank of the Dnipro River are also affected.
Unfortunately, we are still unable to resume our food distributions to help those in need as it is too dangerous and we have no right to risk the lives of our brave volunteers.
November 2023 – January 2024
We did not sit idly by and instead shifted gears by focusing on delivering humanitarian aid to the contact line within Kherson region, Ukraine. Presently we have shipped over 850 lbs of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. These are clothes, medical supplies, basic household items, and other needed items.
Of course, at the moment we are not able to deliver goods directly to the left bank, to Nova Kakhovka, but we found an opportunity to support the residents of Nova Kakhovka and its surroundings neighbors. Many who left their homes were able to cross the dam in time and settle on the right (northern) bank of the Dnipro, which is under the control of Ukraine since November 2022.
Current Humanitarian Situation
The mainstream humanitarian companies and the Ukrainian government have been supplying liberated areas with basic humanitarian needs such as blankets, food and basic clothing.
The issue is that these big organizations end up being very inflexible and lack the ability to fulfill the requests of people’s personal needs.
Our goal is to fulfill the gaps for those in need. Our first shipments and distributions were a great achievement and we were able to reach this with your support of course.
Some clothing was distributed among citizens and some went to local hospitals, which are overwhelmed with war-related injuries.
Basic items like gauze, bandages, blood pressure and temperature units, over-the-counter pain medicines, allergy relief, and other basics are very much valuable. We are finding these basic needs to be especially important for people to have within their homes so potentially they won’t need to go to the hospital, creating an even more overwhelming medical situation for the hospital staff.
Currently, our focus is the supplying shipments of essential goods to people who are close to the contact line and in constant need of help.
We have established direct contacts with volunteers and representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located in these towns to get a more detailed understanding of peoples needs.
How you can Help
We have created an Amazon Wish List of items that you can purchase directly from your own Amazon account and have it shipped to us. Once we get enough supplies to ship we will package it all and send to our contact in Kherson, Ukraine, where it will get distributed to these towns close to the contact line.
You can also Donate directly to our cause here as freight costs to Ukraine are currently $1.39 per pound so costs add up quick.
Another way you can help is to directly donate clothing, medical supplies or anything else you think might be helpful that you have or have access to. Please contact Nadiia at [email protected]
February 2024
Citizens of Nova Kakhovka and surrounding settlements are suffering from daily prolonged power outages, Disruptions in cell service communication, Internet, and intermittent water supply.
The streets of the city are empty, the Russian Military are occupying residential properties including private houses and apartment buildings. On New Year’s Day, they threw grenades from apartment windows on the 9th floor directly into the courtyard of the house and fired automatic weapons into the air. Such things can be observed every day, total lawlessness and disrespect for the local population.
People are tired and scared, but indomitable and grateful for all the support they have received. They hold on despite all the difficulties and intimidation. They hold on thanks to you – caring people, thanks to you and your sensitive hearts.
We are personally grateful for your unconditional and unwavering support during this difficult time for Ukraine and Ukrainians for now over 730 days. Humanity is a very powerful force.
We thank you !
