Themes by tag: volunteers
Sewing Squad is a volunteer initiative that produces adaptive clothing for wounded defenders — both men and women — as well as civilians affected by russian aggression.
Since the autumn of 2022, the craftswomen of Sewing Squad have also been making orthopedic pillows — bone-shaped pillows, bolsters, and donut cushions. These are used at all stages of evacuation, from stabilization points to rehabilitation and prosthetics centers. Altogether, the team has sewn more than 20,000 pillows. A personal record belongs to a woman from Dnipro who independently sewed and filled more than 2,000 bone-shaped pillows. In addition, on February 13, a workshop on making bone-shaped pillows will take place in Poltava.
The initiative was founded by Maryna Palchenko and Kseniia Samoilych. On February 28, 2022, they brought their own sewing machines and overlockers to a regular office of a Dnipro-based IT company and launched Sewing Squad to produce balaclavas and thermal underwear, which were distributed free of charge to defenders (a record 498 balaclavas in one day). In May, they received a request from a hospital for “cyber clothing” — special adaptive garments with Velcro or snap fasteners that can be put on quickly, do not cause additional trauma, and do not require a wounded soldier to raise their arms or legs. Over time, an active and talented team of craftswomen and craftsmen from across Ukraine gathered around the initiative.
Today, the initiative unites more than 700 volunteers from various Ukrainian cities and other parts of the world, including Canada, Poland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and England. In total, more than 300,000 items of adaptive clothing have been produced, and over 35 clothing models have been developed.
By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with the founders of the initiative in Dnipro, as well as with volunteers who sew the clothing in workshops, production facilities, or their own homes across Ukraine or abroad.
Andrii Bieliaiev is a racer, founder and head of the NGO “Offroadbrothers.” He took part in his first competitions back in 2010, when he also met Vadym Moroz and Yevhenii Sokur. In 2022, they launched their own off-road school together.
On the site where races used to be held, they built a training ground at their own expense and now conduct daily sessions there. Requests for training from military personnel come in regularly, with bookings scheduled two to three weeks in advance.
The “Offroadbrothers” training ground includes an obstacle section, an area simulating various ruts, pits and bumps, ascents and descents, as well as a tent equipped as a lecture space. Basic skills are taught to military drivers in four hours. Most drivers come for training from frontline regions, so the program has been shortened to two hours of theory and two hours of practice. In addition to military personnel, the instructors also train drivers from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine — their course lasts three days. The team is currently working with the National Guard of Ukraine and assisting in the creation of a training center for car and motorcycle training.
Interviews with the “Offroadbrothers” team can be arranged both online and offline in Kyiv by prior appointment.
Tetiana Marina, the wife of Spanish citizen Mariano García Calatayud, who was abducted in Kherson, has been seeking her husband’s release from russian captivity for four years.
Mariano is a well-known volunteer who has been living in Ukraine since 2014. On March 19, 2022, he was abducted by russian security forces in occupied Kherson. It later became known that he was held in occupied Crimea, in particular at Simferopol Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2, in a closed section for so-called political prisoners. It is also known that he suffered a heart attack while in captivity.
russia denies the abduction of the Spanish volunteer and conceals information about his place of detention. Spain has also attempted to facilitate an exchange. On February 2, 2026, Mariano turned 78 years old.
By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with Tetiana online.
For reference: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to regularly shell the city.
Doctors from the United States of America — volunteers of the FRIDA Ukraine medical mission and long-time friends of the organization — have arrived in Ukraine on a visit of solidarity and support.
Despite the war, the challenging security situation, and winter frosts, they have once again decided to dedicate their personal vacation time to helping Ukrainian doctors and patients.
This time the medical professionals have already visited Kyiv and are now in Kharkiv, where they will remain until February 5. They are visiting medical facilities, communicating with Ukrainian colleagues, sharing professional experience, and supporting local teams.
Among the volunteers is Elena Pal-Val, a pediatrician from the USA who has worked for many years at one of the country’s leading children’s hospitals. Elena has Ukrainian roots, and for her this trip is not only a professional mission but also a personal gesture of support for the country of her origin.
Accompanying her in Ukraine is her husband, Gregory Luke Larkin, an emergency medicine physician, medical university professor, researcher and instructor with many years of international experience. The couple are not participating in volunteer initiatives with FRIDA Ukraine for the first time, and each time they emphasize that it is important for them to be useful here and now.
FRIDA Ukraine invites journalists to interview American volunteer doctors.
Reference: The FRIDA Ukraine medical mission brings together Ukrainian and international doctors who provide free medical care, conduct consultations, screenings, and professional exchanges in various regions of Ukraine, including in frontline and border areas.
Valerii and Tetiana Popovych live in Vyshkovo, a village in the Zakarpattia region. Valerii is a carpenter, and Tetiana is a teacher. Their 35-year-old son serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After the full-scale invasion began, the couple took on the mission of returning fallen soldiers to their hometowns for burial. Valerii volunteers with the Na Shchyti (On the Shield) mission, and Tetiana often accompanies him on his trips.
Together, they organize exhibitions of war artifacts to collect donations for their journeys. Previously, they traveled as far as the eastern front to retrieve fallen soldiers’ bodies. Now, they travel to neighboring regions to meet with other Na Shchyti volunteers to expedite the return of fallen soldiers whose families await them in Zakarpattia.
Valerii has organized a team of seven drivers, including two priests. The drivers take turns on missions to retrieve fallen soldiers’ bodies. Valerii and Tetiana explain that these journeys are psychologically exhausting, yet they feel they cannot stop.
Valerii and Tetiana Popovych are available for interviews online and in person in the Zakarpattia region by prior arrangement.
For reference: The Na Shchyti (On the Shield) project, run by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is dedicated to locating and evacuating the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
Before the full-scale invasion, Iryna Koval worked with metal constructions for the building industry. On February 24, 2022, however, her business had to pivot to support the military.
The first product developed by Iryna’s team was the Brammer tactical evacuation cart, which is designed to transport an adult over long distances. Weighing 25 kilograms with a load capacity of 150 kilograms, the cart allows one person to independently evacuate a wounded comrade. The team also developed lightweight drag stretchers for use in areas inaccessible to vehicles.
Their latest innovation is tactical trailers for ATVs (quad bikes), which can evacuate three wounded soldiers simultaneously. This work was recognized with the “Created by Women” award, which supports women entrepreneurs during the war.
Since starting this project, Iryna’s company has produced over 8,500 evacuation devices. With their help, soldiers on the front lines are saving the lives of their comrades.
Iryna Koval is available for interviews online and in person in Odesa by prior arrangement.
The B50 community, a grassroots volunteer network born in the opening days of russia’s full-scale invasion, has evolved from post-liberation cleanup efforts to producing critical military supplies for Ukrainian troops.
The group took its name from the code-name “B50,” the clandestine designation for a Territorial Defense Forces headquarters in Kyiv where its founders first connected in the chaotic early weeks of the war.
After Ukrainian forces pushed russian troops out of the Kyiv region, B50 volunteers were among the first on the ground in Bucha, Irpin, Vorzel, and Hostomel, helping clear rubble and debris from devastated areas.
In the war’s initial phase, the community concentrated on humanitarian work: traveling to recently deoccupied towns and villages around Kyiv to remove wreckage, repair shelters, and even brighten children’s bomb shelters with decorations.
As the conflict wore on, B50 redirected its efforts toward direct support for the armed forces. Today, volunteers repair specialized equipment before it’s delivered to frontline units, assemble batteries for drones, weave camouflage nets, and address a range of other urgent needs expressed by the Ukrainian military.
Those wishing to connect with the B50 team, whether online or in person in Kyiv, can do so by prior arrangement.
Yevhen Tkachov manages the Proliska humanitarian center in Donetsk Oblast. A veterinarian by trade and a volunteer by calling, he has spent 11 years evacuating civilians from towns on the front lines. His mission intensified after russia’s full-scale invasion, and he worked in Bakhmut, Siversk, and Soledar. He delivers aid and provides care for people and animals affected by the conflict.
Yevhen continues these evacuations today, facing challenges like russian drone attacks and the aggressor country’s blatant disregard for humanitarian law. According to Yevhen, evacuations are also hindered by the people themselves, who are difficult to persuade to leave despite all the dangers.
Years before the full-scale war, Yevhen established a hospice for the elderly in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk oblast. It was destroyed by russian forces in 2022, forcing the relocation of its patients to the Khmelnytskyi oblast. His family, including his son, now helps sustain this vital work.
Yevhen Tkachov is available for interviews online or in person by appointment.
From January 10 to 11, groups of volunteer doctors from FRIDA Ukraine will travel to provide medical aid to civilians in areas near the front lines. They will head to the Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts.
Journalists will have the opportunity to cover the work of the medical volunteers on the ground and interview patients and doctors by prior arrangement.
Background: FRIDA Ukraine medical volunteer missions involve regular trips by a team of doctors to frontline and remote communities in Ukraine. Each mission comprises over 20 specialists in various fields, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, and dermatologists. During these trips, the team provides free medical appointments, consultations, and tests for local residents. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings — early diagnostics for oncological diseases — to help detect illnesses at their initial stages.
Patrick van ‘t Haar, a journalist from the Netherlands, is bucking the narrative of “war fatigue.” In just one week around Christmas 2025, he mobilized readers of three Dutch newspapers to donate a record €885,000 for Ukraine.
This isn’t a one-off effort. What started as a personal initiative has evolved into a major media-driven campaign, delivering more than €2.5 million to Ukraine over three years.
Van ‘t Haar brought together three regional outlets, the Leeuwarder Courant, Dagblad van het Noorden, and Friesch Dagblad, transforming everyday readers into a dedicated network of supporters.
Most of the money supports the Voices of Children Foundation. Van ‘t Haar believes investing in the psychological recovery of children is the smartest priority right now. Through his efforts, children of service members and youth from frontline regions have received rehabilitation at Voices Camp and Camp+.
He makes the trip to Ukraine himself six or seven times a year, driving his own van to deliver generators, medicines, and other aid from Irpin to Kherson and Kharkiv.
Journalists can request comments from van ‘t Haar on how he keeps Ukraine front and center in Dutch media coverage. A joint interview is also available with Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, discussing how trust is built between a foreign donor and the organization.
Van ‘t Haar is open to online interviews as well. He is scheduled to return to Ukraine in March.
