Themes by tag: volunteers

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Oleh Bykov and his brother ran a legal firm as advisors. But their lives shifted after February 2022—Oleh paused his legal career to dedicate himself to volunteer efforts, while his brother joined Ukraine’s National Guard.

Oleh went on to establish the Kremenchuk Volunteer Defense Headquarters, delivering humanitarian aid to front-line regions. During one visit to a stabilization center for injured soldiers, he witnessed the challenges medics faced in removing shrapnel from wounds. Determined to help, Oleh collaborated with a technologist to develop magnetic extractors, innovative devices designed to remove shrapnel from hard-to-reach areas.

His team has since produced five types of extractors, each tailored to different parts of the body. Among their most advanced designs is the Hydra—a flexible tool for extracting shrapnel and bullets from the heart, currently undergoing testing at the Heart Institute and the Shalimov National Research Center for Surgery and Transplantation. Oleh provides these devices to civilian and military doctors free of charge, using their feedback to refine the designs further.

To arrange an interview with Oleh Bykov, you can meet him in Kremenchuk or Kyiv, either online or in person, by appointment.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• Poltava

World Central Kitchen (WCK) has launched a new winter initiative to aid Ukrainian communities impacted by the ongoing war. The organization is distributing vegetable parcels to frontline areas, helping families navigate the challenges of the colder months.  

Every week, 8,550 vegetable packages are delivered to regions including Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhia. Each parcel weighs 9 kilograms and includes staples essential for preparing traditional Ukrainian dishes—beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic.  

WCK emphasized that winter presents significant hardships for many Ukrainians, particularly those in areas where food supplies have been disrupted or where access to essential goods is severely restricted.  

For reference: World Central Kitchen is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meals to people affected by disasters and crises. Founded in 2010 by renowned chef José Andrés, WCK gained global recognition for its work in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake that year. The group continues to support communities in need with on-the-ground food relief efforts.

• casualties
• food
• volunteers

In the Vinnytsia region, volunteers from the group Soldier’s Kitchen are manufacturing smoke bombs to aid Ukrainian defenders on the front lines. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, these homemade devices have been used to shield against enemy snipers, obscure the view of drones, assist in evacuating the wounded, simulate damaged equipment, and force adversaries out of their dugouts.  

The team initially learned the technique from YouTube videos but refined the process through trial and error to create their own version. Despite using straightforward ingredients—nitrate, paraffin, and powdered sugar—the production process is complex. Each smoke bomb costs approximately 60 hryvnias to make, and the volunteers have crafted over 20,000 since the war began.  

To add a personal touch, the volunteers decorate the smoke bomb casings with ornaments and include a unique illustration of a Ukrainian soldier urinating on a caricature of Vladimir Putin.  

Soldier’s Kitchen is open to sharing their story, with interviews available in Vinnytsia or by phone upon prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• Vinnytsia

Luis, a 19-year-old born in Venezuela, has travelled to different countries since he was a child, including living in Canada. Seven months ago, he arrived in Ukraine and  began offering free English lessons to children. Currently, Luis is a volunteer at the Kyiv branch of the Voices of Children Foundation. According to Luis, this project allows him not only to help children learn English, but also to give them opportunities to grow and find joy through play.

Journalists can arrange to meet and speak with Luis in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• children
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On International Volunteer Day, the non-governmental organization Dobrobat will host the country’s main ceremony in honor of 250 heroes of Ukraine’s recovery. The event will bring together volunteers who are working tirelessly to rebuild destroyed homes, schools, hospitals and other critical social infrastructure.

The ceremony will take place in Kyiv on December 5. Invited guests include volunteers, partners and representatives of international organizations. The primary goal of the event is to honor people whose contribution to Ukraine’s recovery is becoming an example for the whole world.

The program includes awards for the most active participants in key categories. The ceremony will be hosted by Volodymyr Ostapchuk, an ambassador of Dobrobat. 

Accreditation is required for the event.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

Highlighting the importance of creating a truly inclusive environment for people who have lost limbs due to landmine and explosive injuries, FRIDA Ukraine had the opportunity to meet Nataliia and help her get back on both feet.

Nataliia is a nurse from the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk oblast. A russian shell hit her house and she lost a limb. In telling her story, she emphasized that in spite of everything, she continues to live life to the fullest and does not want to be pitied. After Nataliia became the face of the FRIDA Ukraine project, their German partners heard about her. A few months of logistical arrangements followed, and Nataliia returned with a prosthesis and an incredible determination to help others.

Her home clinic from Bakhmut has been relocated to Brovary in the Kyiv oblast, where Nataliia continues her lifelong mission.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian mission of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. It has been providing emergency and outpatient medical care to civilians affected by the hostilities since the beginning of the invasion.

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

At just 17, Dmytro Slobodianyk is making a difference far beyond his school in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region. During his free time, the high school student designs and builds essential devices for the Ukrainian military, including FPV drones, charging stations, and power banks. His volunteer journey began at the outset of russia’s full-scale invasion, starting with periscopes before advancing to more complex technologies like soldering charging stations using online schematics.  

Dmytro’s passion for innovation didn’t stop there. He taught himself to build drones and custom batteries, recently delving into inverters—devices that convert car battery power into a stable voltage for operating equipment such as Starlink terminals and walkie-talkies.  

To create these devices, Dmytro prints some components on a 3D printer and purchases others through donated funds. His dedication has already resulted in three inverters being sent to the front lines, with three more in production. The young inventor proudly notes the positive feedback he’s received from soldiers.  

For those interested in meeting or speaking with Dmytro, he is available both online and in person by appointment in the Vinnytsia Oblast.

• children
• volunteers
• Vinnytsia

Olena Hrekova, an ethnic Bulgarian, traces her ancestry to settlers who came to the lands of Bessarabia in the 18th century.

Before the full-scale war, Olena was the director and owner of a successful construction company in Odesa. Today, she is a major and an officer in the Development department of the Naval Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Since 2014, Olena has been actively involved in the volunteer movement in Odesa, supporting the families of servicemen who left Crimea without betraying their oath. Responding to a call to meet a bus carrying belongings for those who fled the peninsula, she connected with other like-minded Odesa residents. Together, they created the “Help the Navy” social media group. The volunteers divided the city’s neighborhoods among themselves and worked to provide military families with everything they needed.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Olena evacuated her son and volunteered in Romania. However, in May, she decided to mobilize and join the army, which she had been helping since 2014. In the Navy, Olena continues her volunteer work, helping the defenders of Ukraine.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Olena in Odesa or online by prior arrangement.

Background: Bessarabia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located between the Prut and Dniester rivers, the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. Approximately 70% of Bessarabia’s territory is in present-day Moldova, while the rest is in Ukraine.

• military
• volunteers
• women
• Odesa

Before russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, environmentalist and scientist Vladyslav Mykhailenko was dedicated to teaching at a university. But after February 2022, he felt his academic work no longer met the urgency of the moment. Determined to contribute to the war effort, Mykhailenko sought ways to merge his expertise in ecology with the needs of the Ukrainian military. The result was the creation of the Plastic Saves Lives initiative.

The project focuses on collecting plastic bottle caps. Vladyslav rallied a team of volunteers to sort through the donations, ensuring only plastic that could be sold for recycling made the cut. The funds raised are then directed toward purchasing essential equipment for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

The math is staggering: it takes 1.5 tons of plastic caps to fund a single FPV drone. Yet, the impact has been remarkable. Since its inception, Vladyslav Mykhailenko and his team have purchased a range of equipment, including an ambulance, two Mavic 3T drones, and three FPV drones, among other critical supplies.

The initiative invites everyone to participate. Individuals can drop off caps in Odesa or ship them to the volunteers via mail. 

For those who wish to connect with Vladyslav Mykhailenko, appointments can be arranged for online or in-person meetings. 

• ecology
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• Odesa

Ilias Sheikhisliamov, a Crimean Tatar and volunteer from the Odesa oblast, was born and raised in Crimea. After the russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014, he stayed there for another four years. Since 2019, he only visited Crimea in the summer to see his family.  Ilias met the beginning of the full-scale invasion abroad: he was studying at a university in Turkey. However, he soon decided to return to Ukraine to volunteer and support the Ukrainian army.

His professors discouraged him from returning, but he insisted and later came to Odesa. He immediately started working there and joined the NGO “Crimean Tatars of Odesa Oblast”. On March 5, 2024, Ilias learned that his father, Ali Mamutov, who was living with his family in occupied Crimea, had been arrested by the russian authorities. He learned the news from his younger brother. The occupiers falsely accused Ali Mamutov of participating in or creating a terrorist organization.

While his father was being held in a detention center in Simferopol, Ilias managed to communicate with him through the russian app Zonatelecom. However, Ali Mamutov was transferred to the russian city of Rostov, and communication with him was cut off. After his father’s arrest, Ilias decided to pursue his teenage dream of becoming a lawyer. He enrolled at the Tavrida National University, which had relocated to Kyiv after Crimea’s occupation. Ilias sees this as one of the ways to keep in touch with Crimea.

Ilias Sheikhisliamov is available for interviews, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

Background: As of May this year, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center recorded 331 cases of political imprisonment and criminal persecution since the annexation of Crimea. Of these, 217 were against members of the Crimean Tatar community.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• Odesa