We don’t need to tell you that the situation in Ukraine is dire. Early reports from the peace negotiation between Russia and Ukraine have broken down, and for the foreseeable future, Ukraine is still under attack by Russia.
There’s no story here that is deeper than the truth: Russia has sanctioned a war that, in this day and age, should not have happened. It stands alone against a mostly United Europe, with no allies.
That’s good news, but it’s not helpful to Ukraine at the moment.
So here’s what you can do to help.
Donate
Money will go a long way towards keeping civilians out of the immediate conflict and help the military defend their borders. Don’t donate to individuals on Twitter or private accounts: here are the latest verified sources so whatever you give goes to the right place.
Ukrainian National Bank Fund
Support for: The National Armed Forces on a specially-established account that takes international currencies including U.S. dollars, Euros, and U.K. pounds and hryvnias. More detailed information, including addresses and account numbers, can be found on the page.
International Committee of the Red Cross
Support for: ongoing operations to support hospitals and primary healthcare facilities and provide humanitarian aid. They’ve been operating in Ukraine since 2014, and need all of the additional support you can provide. They’re working with the Ukrainian Red Cross society, and helping families who have crossed the border reconnect, repair water stations, and rehabilitate destroyed homes. You can donate more than once.
Ukrainian Red Cross
Support for: mobilising volunteers and resources, emergency services, blood collection, first aid.
Voices of Children
Support for: psychological and psychosocial support for children experiencing war at home, family therapy, children’s rights.
Revived Soldiers Ukraine
Support for: medical aid, sustainable living standards for former soldiers in Ukraine, support for citizens affected by the current military conflict.
Ukraine Emergency Aid
Support for: non-lethal army supplies such as helmets, body armour, first aid kids and radios. Donations are collected in Polish złoty and taken to the border by volunteers.
Come Back Alive
Support for: thermal imagery equipment, mobile surveillance equipment, night vision devices, UAVs, mine clearance kits to Donbas, where the Joint Forces Operation is stationed. Donations are taken in Ukrainian Hryvnia.
World Central Kitchen
Support for: feeding families who cross the border into Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, and Hungary. They’re also working in restaurants stationed in Odessa and Lviv to support the families who have remained in Ukraine.
UNICEF USA
Support for: clean water in parts of Ukraine where the water systems are no longer functioning, health care, nutrition and education support, and protecting children from violence. UNICEF USA has been working in Ukraine from four field offices, and has been on the ground since the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations are in USD.
Save the Children
Support for: Ukrainian children and their families who have fled their homes or are hiding in basements and bomb shelters to secure safe places to stay, delivering winter and hygiene kits, providing humanitarian aid, and providing psychological and mental help for children in war zones. Donations are in pounds.
SOS Ukraina
Support for: humanitarian aid to people leaving their homes and Polish refugees. You can donate via text, but all donations are in złoty.
United Help Ukraine
Support for: first aid kits with blood-stopping bandages and tourniquets, emergency response teams, humanitarian aid for civilians, and emergency medical supplies for the frontlines. You can donate via Paypal. They’ve been in operation in Ukraine since 2014.
United Nations Refugee Agency
Support for: protection and shelter for displaced citizens and refugees, counselling services and psychological support.
Medicins Sans Frontieres
Support for: emergency preparedness response teams, humanitarian assistance and medical aid in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, medical kits for dispatch. They’ve been working in Ukraine since 2014 to support health care initiatives such as HIV, however, the conflict has made them pause this project in order to pivot their attention to more pressing matters. They’re also involved in training and supporting family doctors and community nurses.
International Rescue Committee
Support for: medical care, mobile clinics, temporary shelters, supporting and helping refugees to safer locations.
Vostok SOS
Support for: medical and humanitarian aid to locals, evacuation procedures for vulnerable citizens, trauma support for survivors and maintaining a hotline for Ukrainian citizens in need. You can donate via Paypal, bank account or credit card.
Nova Ukraine
Support for: currently, humanitarian aid for victims of the Russian invasion, which include supply packages with diapers, baby food, hospital supplies, and food for a children’s hospital – however, Nova Ukraine has been working in Ukraine for years, and has also supported book translation, teaching initiatives, English-language learning support, COVID-19 relief and more.
Sunflowers of Peace
Support for: first aid backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front line. They raised money in 2014 for a similar cause following the annexation of Crimea. This has surpassed its collection call, however Sunflowers of Peace is still accepting donations.
Malteser International and the Order of Malta
Support for: mental health and psychological support for refugees, mobile soup kitchen, medical supplies including cots, blankets, food, and cash. Malteser International has been active in Ukraine since the 1990s.
CARE
Support for: aid and recovery, food, water, hygiene kits, cash assistance with a priority for families, the elderly, and women and children. Donations in USD.
International Medical Corps
Support for: emergency care for vulnerable civilians, mobile medical teams, mental health and psychosocial services. It has been in operation in Ukraine since 2014 and is raising funds to continue to support people who are now displaced by war.
People in Need
Support for: emergency preparedness response and humanitarian aid trucks in affected areas including Lviv. Donations are in Euro.
OPU
Support for: a new accommodation facility in Prague for Ukrainian refugees, interpreters, lawyers, social support and material aid.
With Ukraine Global Support Fund
Support for: humanitarian assistance for victims of the Russian war, set up by the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom. You can donate via Paypal, bank card, or bank transfer.
Razom
Support for: medical supplies such as tourniquets, sterile pads, satellite phones, and combat gauzes, Ukrainian support and information amplification, procurement and logistics to send the supplies to Ukraine via air drop and delivery services in the Ukraine and Poland.
Ukraine Humanitarian Fund
Support for: partner organisations in the front lines to enable them to support a greater number of citizens in need.
The $1K Project Ukraine
The $ 1K Project Ukraine is a volunteer-based effort to directly connect sponsors in the USA and around the world to help Ukrainian families impacted by the senseless and inhumane war. After a quick application process, new sponsors get matched with a family in need and are provided with instructions for how to send a donation directly to them.
Conclusion
When Russia invaded, the war was intended only to be a one-day bombardment, with a victory for Russia at the end.
Ukraine has held out so far.
Help them keep going. Help their people. Stand with what Ukraine is fighting for: the freedom to live as they want, to elect their own leader, to make their own decisions and trade agreements, to foster partnerships with the West and with other countries without the fear of retaliation, to keep their homeland and their home theirs.
Support Ukraine. Stand with Ukraine.
In the words of President Zelenskyy, on the front lines with his soldiers, the goal isn’t victory, but “peace in Ukraine and the safety of our people.”
Each member of the Switch team is donating an hour a day of expertise to humanitarian causes. If you would like to offer time, money or resources, but don’t know where to start – get in touch with us and we’ll help put you in touch with people who need your help.
