Ukraina SOS Vol. 7 - June 23
How to think about giving, lots of new ways to help, a window onto eastern Ukraine, and more
Welcome to Volume 7 of Ukraina SOS, a guide for how to help and what to read/watch/follow in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A Note About Giving
Even if you have not been paying as much attention, things in Ukraine are not getting better. In many senses, they are getting harder, as the death toll on the frontline mounts, Russia continues its merciless occupation of Ukrainian territory, and Ukrainians attempt to plan their lives as they face the likelihood that their country may be in turmoil for years.
In other words, Ukrainians still need help—a lot of it.
The UK NGO Humanitarian Outcomes recently published an important study of the international humanitarian response to Ukraine in the first months of the war. Some key points:
For the first six weeks post-invasion, virtually all humanitarian aid inside Ukraine was organized and implemented by local actors, including 1,700 newly formed local aid groups.
As of mid-May, 20 international NGOs are operating in Ukraine but rarely in the worst-hit areas. In comparison, hundreds are working in neighboring countries to assist Ukrainian refugees.
Despite raising significant sums of money in the first days and weeks of the crisis, international organizations still have not used the vast majority of the funds they received.
Local aid group volunteers report that they are “burning out,” physically and emotionally, and their financial resources are drying up, having gone through “everything we had in our own wallets”
Bottom line: At this point, if you want to help the people who are most in need, you would do best by donating to local Ukrainian organizations and aid groups (or the Ukrainian Army).
Local aid groups still operate mostly informally and share ways to contribute through social media. I’ve listed several local aid efforts recommended by trusted contacts below; more are available in my master list of how to help. Often it is possible to send contributions through Paypal, which is super easy.
Ukraine’s need is tremendous and will continue to be so for a long time. I deal with this by giving a small, manageable amount to every cause that resonates with me rather than try to be strategic with bigger amounts. Western currencies can go far in Ukraine. Maybe you would also find this approach helpful.
Ways to Help
Sign a quick petition asking Amazon.com to create a separate category for Ukrainian literature and poetry (it is currently characterized as Russian literature and poetry)
Buy a commemorative stamp with the infamous “Russian warship, go fuck yourself” design via the Ukrainian Postal Service’s official Ebay store (yes, this is real)
Donate to Ukrainian artist Denis Minin, who has been personally evacuating residents of Mariupol. You can send him some cash via paypal at denisminin1@gmail.com.
Donate to a local aid group out of Odessa that is providing medication and food to vulnerable residents. You can send them cash via paypal at vorobini66@gmail.com.
Donate to Livyy Bereh (Left Bank), a local aid group out of Kyiv that is providing diverse kinds of assistance (construction, food, transport) to Kyiv oblast (Paypal: baindeminuitstore@gmail.com)
Donate to Mariupol’s Friends, an NGO providing direct assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Estonia, many of whom have come to the country after being deported to Russia from occupied cities like Mariupol (featured in NYT doc linked to below).
Donate to longtime Donbas aid worker Brian Milakovksy, who is assisting eastern Ukrainians who are evacuating (link to podcast interview with Brian below)
If you’re in London, the wonderful Ukrainian Institute London is looking for volunteers. “We particularly need support to set up an English conversation club as part of our language school, help with social media, design, newsletters, website updates, running our in-person events…”
What to Read/Watch/Follow Etc.
What are the origins of Ukrainian national sentiment? Was the famine of 1932-1933 really a “genocide”? What was the relationship between Ukrainian nationalists and the Nazis during WWII? These controversies and more are broken down by leading historians in this excellent New Books podcast.
A quick and useful explainer from Meduza about Ukraine’s potential EU candidacy.
The NYT produced a powerful 10 minute documentary on Ukrainians’ experiences being deported to Russia and processed through its notorious “filtration camps” (featuring Mariupol’s Friends).
After being censured by his Ukrainian colleagues for supporting cultural pluralism in the wake of the invasion, Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa made an elegant case against cultural sanctions at Cannes: “Contemporary Ukraine is a multinational and a multicultural country. A call for a boycott of Russian-language culture, which constitutes an indispensable part of the heritage and cultural wealth of modern Ukraine, is deeply archaic and destructive in its nature.”
Longtime Donbas aid worker Brian Milakovsky speaks on the SRB podcast about life and death in the area following Russia’s second invasion in less than 10 years. Very accessible. (See link to give to Brian’s work above)
Feisty Babushka of the Moment
Motria Derkach, a resident of the village of Yakubivka in northern Ukraine, came under Russian fire early in the war but survived. “A missile blew up in the garden, there’s this huge hole!” she exclaimed. “I planted some watermelons in that hole so the land isn’t idle.”
About this Letter
The image above, “Ukrainian Dancers,” is by the late, great Maria Prymachenko.