In a town in Western Ukraine, everyone is mobilized to help the war effort, writes Olga Tokariuk.
Tokariuk is an independent journalist based in Ukraine. She is a former head of international desk at Ukrainian Hromadske TV. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, EFE , BuzzFeed News, among others., so do ordinary civilians across the country.
“These are only those people who reached out to us asking for help with accommodation. But there are many more who arranged it on their own and who are not registered,” says Viktoriya Hatrych, director of communications department at the Chernivtsi regional military administration. “We couldn’t remain indifferent to what was happening in the country,” says Svitlana Oleksiychuk, director of the Chernivtsi youth community center. “In the morning of February 24, when the news of the Russian invasion broke out, there were just ten people who work in this office. But within hours, dozens of volunteers knocked on our door offering help.”
Katya Diachynska, 23, is one of the volunteers. An English teacher in Chernivtsi, she used to come to the youth center for lectures and film screenings before the war. “When Russia invaded, this was the first place I rushed to, because I knew there would be people willing to help,” she said. Nadia Vaskivska, 25, is a university student in Kyiv; her parents live in Chernivtsi. She returned to her hometown due to war and is currently spending her days helping to sort clothes and bed linen.
According to Sadovnik, most of the humanitarian assistance they receive is from local residents, but more and more buses carrying aid are coming in recent days from countries such as Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and Spain.“The war will end very soon and we will organize movie screenings and cultural events once again here,” Tetyana says. “I told all these volunteers: don’t you dare to ignore our events in the future! All of you who are here now should come back to us once the war is over.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Order breaks down in Mariupol as people attack each other for foodRed Cross has warned that there is no heating and food supplies are running low as temperatures are set to plummet to minus 5C
Read more »
Books against bombs: how Ukrainians are using literature to fight backDuring Covid, Ukraine’s population bought books, thanks to a government vaccine initiative. Now there is no time to read, they can still be useful
Read more »
Foreigners go to join Ukraine fightNearly 20,000 international volunteers have signed up to fight alongside Ukrainian forces, officials say.
Read more »
Boris warns Russia could use chemical weapons as Ukrainians seen 'fighting for food'Boris Johnson has warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine while locals have been seen 'attacking each other for food'.
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine war latest news: US House passes $13bn Ukrainian aid bill; outrage at bombing of Mariupol hospitalAid bill includes $6.5bn to send troops and weapons to eastern Europe, and $6.8bn to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies. Follow the latest, live
Read more »
Dolly Parton urges fans to do 'whatever they can' to help UkraineThe legendary singer moved the spotlight away from the ceremony's Las Vegas home and placed it squarely on the plight of fleeing Ukrainian citizens and their stricken country.
Read more »