Ukraine Still Needs Our Help!

The war in Ukraine is now in its fourth year. Millions of people remain without homes, without means of livelihood, or at risk of losing them. In eastern and southern Ukraine, many families live near the frontlines or the Russian border, without sufficient assistance.

The June appeal supports an emergency relief project by Caritas Spes, which will help 3,018 vulnerable households — a total of 5,060 people — meet their basic needs.

Aid is distributed in six particularly affected regions: Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Sumy. In these areas, seven local Caritas Spes centers operate alongside mobile teams that reach even the most remote communities. Assistance is given to internally displaced people, returnees, families who remain in active war zones, and rural residents who have no other channels of support.

What is the situation like on the ground?

Children must play outside very carefully, as they have heard that Russian troops hide explosives in toys:

“We’re not allowed to pick up dolls from the ground — there could be a bomb inside. I get really scared when the air siren goes off. But many of my friends aren’t afraid. We children need care and love. I dream that we win. That would mean everything to me — happiness, health, and safety. I want to be a doctor, so I can help people and heal them,” says a girl living in Nikopol. 
Throughout the war, Caritas Spes Secretary General Vyacheslav Grynevych has stressed the importance of keeping hope alive:

“It’s important to keep the fire in people’s hearts. But now, during the war, many have lost that fire,” he says.
Aid workers deliver supplies to remote areas, and some have themselves been forced to flee their homes.

With your donation, families receive financial support to purchase food and essentials. Many homes also receive help for heating, as well as hygiene and cleaning products, cooking pots, mattresses, soap, and buckets.

The Caritas organizations of the Nordic countries and Estonia launched this joint appeal at the end of May. The bishops of these countries are calling on all Catholic parishes to support the collection on June 1 or June 8. You can also participate in the same appeal on this website — all donations go directly to Caritas Spes in Ukraine.