At the end of September 2022, Ilona and I crossed Ukraine’s border for the first time to collect and deliver humanitarian aid. That journey marked the beginning of our everyday volunteer work: receiving requests, finding and purchasing essential supplies, arranging transportation, completing declarations, passing through customs, preparing handover documents and reports — and then starting all over again.

Over the next two years, we travelled approximately 60,000 kilometres and personally transported several tonnes of aid in our Toyota RAV4.

As the war continued, the needs of the Ukrainian military changed considerably. Our work expanded, while requests, procurement, transportation, customs clearance, handover documents and reporting became a constant part of our lives.

Between 2022 and 2024, we delivered a wide range of assistance, including food, hygiene products, clothing, personal protective equipment, televisions, unmanned aerial vehicles and other essential supplies.

In addition to supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we have undertaken to assist the Dobromyl Special School for children with intellectual disabilities. Approximately 100 children between the ages of four and eighteen live and study there. Some have serious medical conditions, while others require constant specialised care and developmental support.

We lived near Dobromyl from February until July 2022, which is why the school and the lives of its pupils became especially close to our hearts. Bicycles, clothing, footwear, an industrial dishwasher and interactive whiteboards are only a small part of what we have provided to the school.

Since 2025, vehicles have become one of the most urgent needs. Today, we therefore focus primarily on delivering ambulances to Ukraine. These vehicles are being transferred to us gradually by the Republic of Lithuania through its Emergency Medical Service.

Since mid-2023, we have also been running Forefront, our mobile dental care project. Thanks to this initiative, several thousand Ukrainian service members and civilians have already received qualified dental treatment free of charge.

I never believed that the war would end within two or three weeks. Yet I could not have imagined that it would already be in its fifth year, with no end in sight.

It is especially important to emphasise that none of our work would be possible without donors, volunteers and compassionate people from Ukraine and many other countries. Contributions have come from across the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

As I write these words in 2026, reaching people’s hearts is becoming increasingly difficult. The war is gradually being treated as part of everyday life, while the suffering of distant Ukraine is becoming little more than background noise in the news. Nevertheless, we cannot and must not stop while Muscovy continues to destroy our towns and villages and kill our people.

I appeal to everyone who cares: stand with Ukraine and fight alongside us. Every hryvnia, every euro cent and every dollar makes a real contribution to our shared Victory.

Although Help Ukraine remains a civic initiative and is not registered as a charitable organisation, we maintain complete records of all donations received and all expenditure incurred. Our reports provide detailed information about the donations collected, how the funds were used and the assistance that was delivered.

Please continue to stand with us. Ukraine still needs your support.

Sincerely,
Danilo Benatov
Coordinator of the Help Ukraine Civic Initiative