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For nine days, since the aggravation of the situation in the country, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society has been continuously helping the injured and evacuated people. Volunteers and staff do not stop their work for a moment to help everyone who comes to us. We work to provide humanitarian assistance, psychosocial support, information activities on first aid, mine danger and international humanitarian law, and our Emergency Response Teams are saving lives.

All resources have been mobilized to attract as much support as possible, including the Red Cross working with international donors, the public and private sectors, and partners from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Dozens of fundraising and crowdfunding platforms have been launched in Ukraine and abroad. We are approached by individuals from all over the world, collecting and providing all possible assistance.
Operational report as of 4/03/2022:

More than 90,000 people have already received humanitarian aid, which was formed from Red Cross stocks in case of emergency: including hygiene and food kits, warm clothes and medicines.

In recent days, our volunteers have taught first aid skills to more than 12,000 people, online and offline.

In some cases, by agreement with local and state authorities, the population is evacuated from the places where the shelling takes place.

The Emergency Response Teams of the Ukrainian Red Cross provide support to firefighters and the Emergency Service of Ukraine in repairing damage to civilian buildings and infrastructure. More than 100 lives have been saved during this time. Emergency Response Teams are also on duty at congested border crossing points: arranging places for mother and child; provide people with water, food and hygiene items, etc.

Organized collection points for essentials in the regions to be handed over to those who need them now: clothes, food, hygiene items, drinks, blankets, etc.

Volunteers and staff 24/7 provide first aid and first psychological aid to all who need it.

If necessary, transport people in serious condition to medical facilities.

They transfer medicines and medical supplies to medical institutions, as well as organize the collection of everything necessary for hospitals.

Assistance is provided in the organization of blood donation points.

Explanatory work on mine danger and international humanitarian law is being carried out. Announcements of online trainings on mine danger can be found on the official website of the Ukrainian Red Cross.

Employees of the Restoring family links department of the Ukrainian Red Cross help to contact relatives through the Red Cross hotline.

The Hotline is working on a list of reserve volunteers and providing support to the population on mental health and psychosocial support, in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The capacity will be increased by involving Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers.

7,000 people, who were at Kyiv metro stations during the shelling, were provided with food and basic necessities.

The Ukrainian Red Cross has joined the advocacy campaign to provide hours of silence, evacuation corridors and humanitarian supplies.

The Society is also working to attract international humanitarian aid.

Currently, the main humanitarian and other needs and priorities for the Ukrainian Red Cross are:

First of all, these are medicine, first aid kits for injuries, and medical care for the wounded.

For those who are now moving to safer places, first aid, hygiene kits, and financial support are needed.

People moving to the borders of the EU to leave Ukraine need medical treatment due to exhaustion, poor nutrition and deteriorating health due to severe stress.

There is an urgent need for food, hygiene and medical treatment for people trapped in bomb shelters due to curfews and shelling.

Everyone who cares can also join in providing assistance to the population by supporting the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. You can donate right now:

Also, everyone can join the reserve of volunteers. In addition to employees, the Ukrainian Red Cross employs more than 3,000 volunteers across the country in 280 local and 24 regional organizations. In these 4 days, more than 1,000 people have joined the ranks of Red Cross volunteers and we are infinitely grateful to each of them for their efforts, indifference, perseverance and tirelessness. You can become a volunteer of the Ukrainian Red Cross by filling out the form at the link: https://cutt.ly/VPLnGWM

Useful resources about the Ukrainian Red Cross activities and contacts.

Information about the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross, the needs of the population and educational materials can be found on the official resources of the Ukrainian Red Cross:

Let's support each other in this difficult time for the country!

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society is always where people need it.

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Nine days 24/7 The Ukrainian Red Cross Society provides support to the population of Ukraine

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For nine days, since the aggravation of the situation in the country, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society has been continuously helping the injured and evacuated people. Volunteers and staff do not stop their work for a moment to help everyone who comes to us.

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Some people have found a novel way to get money to Ukrainians as their country is under attack from Russia: booking immediate Airbnb stays they don't intend to use.

Sarah Brown, who lives in Salt Lake City, is one of those who got the ball rolling in a Facebook group for Airbnb hosts. She booked a stay in Kyiv.

Someone in the Facebook group noted that it was important to support Ukrainians in places other than Kyiv, so Brown booked two more stays in smaller cities, with plans for more.

Ekaterina Martiusheva is the host of the first apartment Brown booked in Ukraine.

Speaking to NPR from Kyiv, Martiusheva says the bookings mean a lot: "These days we do not have any income. We do not have any right to ask our country to help us, because all the country's resources are for the war and for the victory."

Airbnb hosts are paid 24 hours after a guest checks in, so people abroad are booking stays and letting hosts know that it's a gesture of solidarity, and they don't plan to appear.

The idea spread over the last few days, and Airbnb is waiving all host and guest fees in Ukraine for now. On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 61,000 nights were booked in Ukraine from around the world - bookings that grossed nearly $2 million, Airbnb tells NPR.

The bookings have helped build a sense of connection

Brown says the experience has helped her feel more invested in Ukraine beyond the news, by connecting with an actual person - in this case, with an Airbnb host like herself. Brown and her husband own three properties listed on the platform, and she owns a business that operates another 28.

"It makes me feel like I have so much more skin in the game. I am so heartbroken for Ukraine, but I don't know anyone there. And now I care so much about this woman and what happens to her," she tells NPR.

"It's not happening to someone happening far away - it's happening to people we now know."

Of course Airbnb hosts may not be the neediest cases. But Brown says there are ways of finding hosts who are likely of limited means, for instance by looking for those who rent out a shared room or live in smaller towns.

Martiusheva says the donations via Airbnb bookings have been valuable because of human connections. "It's not just money, it's the support and encouragement. We get these notes of people who are calling us brave, and it does feel great," she says. "It's just amazing, really."

She has also been directing donors on Airbnb to contribute to a fund for the Ukrainian army as well.

In Kyiv, the donations make up for lost income and help neighbors

Along with her husband from whom she is separated, Martiusheva operates 30 apartments on Airbnb in central Kyiv for property owners who live abroad; most of the owners are not Ukrainian.

Martiusheva says the property owners understand that the money coming in now is intended as donations to help Ukrainian people, and they don't ask for a share of it.

With the money that has come in via Airbnb, Martiusheva is able to pay the six people on her staff of maintenance workers and cleaners. Most of them have fled to western Ukraine, she says, and the money helps them as they're on the move.

She's also using the money to support elderly neighbors with food and transportation, as the price of basic goods and taxis have risen.

The mother of two school-aged children, Martiusheva says she stayed in Kyiv because her parents are in their late 70s and have health problems that make it difficult for them to travel.

But she has also stayed to give encouragement to the Ukrainian army.

"It's hard to protect to an empty city," she says.

Last week Martiusheva woke up to the noise of bombs, helicopters and planes.

But the last three days have been quiet, she says, as Ukrainian forces hold back the Russian army outside Kyiv.

"Only pharmacies and supermarkets work now," she says. "Everything else is stopped. People are just surviving on their savings, and that's it."

The company has taken its own steps to help Ukrainians

While this solidarity-booking phenomenon appears to have developed in a grassroots manner, Airbnb also has its own initiative to provide housing to those in need. The company will offer short-term housing for free for up to 100,000 of those fleeing Ukraine. People can go to Airbnb.org and sign up to host refugees or donate to the cause.

CEO Brian Chesky said this week that the company had suspended its operations in Russia and Belarus.

For Brown in Salt Lake City, the bookings are not meant to replace donations to organizations like the Red Cross that provide crucial aid.

"This is a multiprong approach," she says. "This is just as much about shared solidarity and making sure people don't feel alone, as much as getting money to those who need it most."

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People are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine - not to stay, but to lend their support

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Some people have found a novel way to get money to Ukrainians as their country is under attack from Russia: booking immediate Airbnb stays they don't intend to use. Sarah Brown, who lives in Salt Lake City, is one of those who got the ball rolling in a Facebook group for Airbnb hosts.

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CARE - Fighting Global Poverty and World Hunger

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CARE is an international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and world hunger by working alongside women and girls. Help fight world hunger.

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Unaccompanied and separated children fleeing escalating conflict in Ukraine must be protected

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Joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on unaccompanied and separated children fleeing Ukraine.

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"In Kurdistan, where I am based, we have several refugee camps as well as camps for displaced people. Displaced Iraki people arrive on a daily basis. It is a lot of stress, people need everything, they are traumatized. In my job, I can't bring back their former lives, but I can try to make sure we provide them with shelters, health care, security."

-Hassan, Program Associate, UNHCR Kurdistan

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Emergency Relief Efforts | USA for UNHCR

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"In Kurdistan, where I am based, we have several refugee camps as well as camps for displaced people. Displaced Iraki people arrive on a daily basis. It is a lot of stress, people need everything, they are traumatized.

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Following an escalation in hostilities on the night of February 23, 7.5 million children in Ukraine are in grave danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress and displacement. Just days later, the deaths of three children and two teachers were reported when a missile struck a school in Gorlovka in Eastern Ukraine as Russia military operations escalated.

Today, war is forcing children and families across Ukraine into basements and bomb shelters to escape explosions. More than 67,000 people have already crossed into Romania, some traveling on foot with minimal belongings.

In Eastern Ukraine, more than 400,000 children live in the areas at high risk of the direct impacts of the presence of soldiers and artillery, including being injured or killed by guns, landmines and explosive weapons, or being displaced from their homes.

Temperatures in the capital of Kyiv are dropping below freezing, and displaced children may face long nights and days exposed to brutal conditions. Many families forced to flee will require help with their shelter, food, and clean water needs

Every effort should be made to find a diplomatic solution and avert a catastrophic war. Children must be protected from harm at all times.

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What's the Situation for Kids in Ukraine?

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Following an escalation in hostilities on the night of February 23, 7.5 million children in Ukraine are in grave danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress and displacement. Just days later, the deaths of three children and two teachers were reported when a missile struck a school in Gorlovka in Eastern Ukraine as Russia military operations escalated.

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International Committee of the Red Cross

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In Ukraine, the ICRC is helping people affected by the conflict and is supporting the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross.Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine

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Boston-Based Non-Profit Helping Ukraine | Sunflower of Peace

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Sunflower of Peace Foundation is a Boston-based non-profit organization committed to providing medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since 2014.

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Голоси дітей

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Голоси дітей

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Charitable Foundation Voices of Children helps children affected by the war in eastern Ukraine. Thanks to you, we provide psychological and psychosocial support to children. It helps them overcome the consequences of armed conflict and develop.

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On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine. This rapidly escalated into a war across most of the country. As the conflict escalates, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is stepping up its medical humanitarian response to the deepening humanitarian crisis, both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, where more than one million people have fled as of March 2.

MSF has a longstanding presence in Ukraine, including in regions of eastern Ukraine that have been affected by armed conflict since 2014. A large part of our work from 2014 to 2021 was responding to the needs of patients with HIV, tuberculosis, or other chronic illnesses. When the war escalated dramatically on February 24, 2022, we had to make the painful decision to halt our normal activities.

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How MSF is responding to the war in Ukraine

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On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine. This rapidly escalated into a war across most of the country. As the conflict escalates, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is stepping up its medical humanitarian response to the deepening humanitarian crisis, both in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, where more than one million people have fled as of March 2.

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As Ukraine declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, UNICEF appealed to all warring parties to allow full humanitarian access to families and children who have long suffered the adverse effects of the protracted conflict in the country - and whose lives and well-being are now under even greater threat.

"Heavy weapons fire along the line of contact has already damaged critical water infrastructure and education facilities in recent days," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine M. Russell said in a Feb. 24 statement. "Unless the fighting subsides, tens of thousands of families could be displaced, dramatically escalating humanitarian needs."

Fighting has taken an increasingly heavy toll on Ukraine's civilian population - including 510,000 children

UNICEF has been working nonstop in eastern Ukraine, delivering lifesaving programs for affected children and families as fighting has taken an increasingly heavy toll on the civilian population of 3.4 million people - including 510,000 children - living in the Donbas region.

Even before the Feb. 24 attacks, the crisis had disrupted the daily lives of those living on both sides of the contact line between government- and non-government-controlled areas, leaving them in continued need of humanitarian assistance. The socio-economic strains and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have only compounded the situation.

As needs escalate in line with the conflict, UNICEF is rapidly stepping up emergency response efforts from field offices in Kramatorsk, Mariupol, Luhansk and Donetsk while also working with partners to expand relief operations across the country.

UNICEF's emergency response in Ukraine

Key emergency interventions include:

prepositioning health, hygiene and emergency education supplies as close as possible to communities near the line of contact

trucking safe water to conflict-affected areas

supporting mobile child protection teams providing psychosocial care to children traumatized by chronic insecurity, responding to cases of violence and abuse against children and assisting children separated from family

working with municipalities to ensure there is immediate help for children and families in need

Long-running programs already in place will continue as part of UNICEF's action plan for the country for 2022. These include efforts to immunize children against measles and polio - there have been recent outbreaks of both vaccine-preventable diseases due to lapses in routine immunization coverage - and to shore up critical water, sanitation, electrical and heating facilities and school infrastructure that have already been heavily damaged and remain run-down.

Education support is focused on improving access to learning where it has flagged due to weak teaching capacities. Health and nutrition support seeks to improve quality services where they remain limited.

"The past eight years of conflict have inflicted profound and lasting damage to children on both sides of the line of contact," Russell said. "The children of Ukraine need peace, desperately, now."

UNICEF joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres in calling for an immediate cease-fire, and for all parties to respect their international obligations to protect children from harm and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely and quickly reach children in need. UNICEF also called on all parties to refrain from attacking water and sanitation systems, health facilities and schools - all critical infrastructure on which children depend.
Help UNICEF deliver aid to hundreds of thousands of children in eastern Ukraine impacted by violence - and to hundreds of thousands more as UNICEF races to meet increasingly urgent needs across the country. Your contribution can make a difference. Please donate. Top photo: Ten-year-old Lera sits in the basement bomb shelter at her school in Mariinka, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. © UNICEF

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UNICEF: Children in Crossfire of Ukraine Crisis

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As Ukraine declared a nationwide state of emergency on Thursday, UNICEF urged warring parties to allow full humanitarian access to families and children who have long suffered the adverse effects of the protracted conflict - and whose lives and well-being are now under even greater threat. Learn more and how you can help.