One year on from the invasion of Ukraine, here's how you can help
Waking up to the sound of bombs going off outside your window. Teenage girls wheeling suitcases as they flee their homes. Babies clinging to their mother's chest as they desperately seek an exit from a terrifying situation. Apartment blocks on fire. Queues of cars at a standstill, huge lines of them snaking this way and that – trying to get to the borders. To escape a war that none of them asked for.
It's been one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, forcing millions to flee their homes and seek refuge across the world. Over the last 12 months, we've seen the horrific scenes splashed across the news, looking on helpless and devastated as Ukraine is attacked. It's been truly heartbreaking to watch the panic and chaos unfold as Ukrainians fight for their lives.
The gravity of the conflict is certainly weighing heavy, and many of us have been left feeling powerless. But there are ways we can help. As the conflict in Ukraine continues, the country is crying out for donations that will go towards humanitarian aid, psychological support, medical supplies for paramedics and doctors and independent reporting about what's actually happening in Ukraine.
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of charities and resources that urgently need your support right now.
How to help the people of Ukraine right now
The Red Cross in Ukraine
The Red Cross in Ukraine is looking for donations to help distribute aid and resources to the people of Ukraine who urgently need it.
"The Red Cross has been supporting people affected by this conflict for years, and will not stop now," the charity says on its website. As for how the money donated can help, The Red Cross explains that donations will be used to reach people in urgent need, including:
Providing food, first aid, clean water, shelter support, warm clothing, hygiene parcels and medicines
Supporting hospitals and healthcare facilities
Supporting fire fighters and civil protection units
Training people up in life-saving first aid
Helping families stay in contact with each other
Educating people on the risks of explosives
Repairing vital infrastructure
Helping to repair homes, healthcare centres, schools and community centres
You can donate here.
Sunflowers of Peace
Sunflower for Peace offers medical assistance to Ukrainian people displaced by war. Last year, the group asked for donations to prepare first aid medical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the frontlines. These kind of backpacks are filled with life-saving first aid supplies – bandages, medicine, medical instruments, and a means for survival in extreme conditions – and can save up to ten lives.
You can donate via Facebook, here.
Project Hope
As conflict continues in Ukraine, Project Hope is mobilising to address urgent healthcare needs for people most impacted by the crisis. "There is still no end in sight to this terrible violence," the charity said on its website.
"Project HOPE is actively delivering medical supplies, repairing damaged hospitals, and providing mental health support to Ukrainians and families facing health crises in places like Ethiopia and Colombia. And we stay long after the headlines fade to help rebuild health care for the future."
Donate here to help deliver urgently-needed medicine, supplies and aid to families at risk from violent conflict in Ukraine.
Choose Love
"As it stands, more than 13 million people are estimated to have been displaced from their homes – including more than 4.8 million children," charity Choose Love (supported by Comic Relief) points out on its website. "So far, more than 7.7 million individuals have reportedly left the country, and an estimated of 6.24 million people internally displaced inside Ukraine where there is now active conflict and a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding."
Over the past 12 months, Choose Love has supported over 90 projects that are providing vital aid and services to those still in and fleeing the country, including: emergency medical care, food, shelter, clothes, legal support, mental health support, support for LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and marginalised communities.
You can donate to the emergency fundraiser, here.
Razom
Razom is a non-profit supporting people of Ukraine in their continued quest for democracy and progress. Razom – which means "together" in Ukrainian – is on the ground providing relief for soldiers and doctors on the frontlines.
You can donate to their emergency response fund, here.
Support Hospitals in Ukraine
Hospitals in Ukraine are in dire need of medical supplies – non-profit, Support Hospitals in Ukraine, is raising funds to get that medical equipment delivered to them as soon as they can. "Hospitals in Ukraine are under immense strain that will likely continue for a long time regardless of how quickly the war can be ended," they wrote on their donation page. "Doctors and numerous volunteers have been doing a consistently heroic job, but are in dire need of more trauma-related equipment and surgical tools."
You can donate here.
Voices of Children
Charitable foundation Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support to Ukrainian children affected by the war.
You can donate, here.
Learn, listen, speak up
The Kyiv Independent
The Kyiv Independent is Ukraine’s English-language media outlet, it was created by journalists who were "fired from the Kyiv Post for defending editorial independence". They are currently reporting on the invasion. The publication relies on readers and donors to run, and their editorial aim is to serve "its readers and community, and nobody else."
You can support the newspaper by donating to its GoFundMe or Patreon.
Use your voice
Donations are vital, but not everyone has enough money to spare. You can still help in other ways. Read news and information from reliable resources – this list has been curated by Ukrainian journalists – and share it far and wide with followers, friends and your family. This Twitter list shares information from local Ukrainian journalists. Talk about what's happening. If you feel like you want to protest, there's a list of protests happening all over the world, here.
Contact your local MP
And demand a response – ask them what the British government is doing to help. To find your local MP and how to contact them, visit the government website here.
Feel more informed
Watch something about Ukraine and its history, the Netflix documentary, Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom is a good place to start. You could also listen to Ukraine World's podcast episode 'how Russia uses disinformation as an instrument of war – with Olga Tokariuk'. All reporting on Russia's invasion from The Kyiv Independent can be found here.
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