Our first aid delivery was to the village of Shevchenkove, situated 35km from the front line. The town acts as a distribution centre for the local community as well as nearby front line villages of Kupiansk and Dvorichna.
We delivered electrical goods including extension cords, flash lights and kettles as well as power tools such as drills, angle grinders and a circular saw. These will be used to help with the reconstruction efforts in the area.
Our journey continued to Balakliya, situated 90km from the front line. A community in Kharkiv oblast, de-occupied in Autumn 2022. A lot of villages in the area have seen local residents return over the last few months. However, very little is back to normal. Homes, schools, shops and churches are destroyed or damaged. Residents who experienced occupation or had to escape live in the constant fear of shelling and another occupation. Many haven’t returned or still live out of their suitcases ready to escape at a moment’s notice.
We delivered a large quantity of personal hygiene goods and non-perishable food as well as a chainsaw, trimmers and a wheelbarrow to help maintain the village.
We were welcomed to a traditional Ukrainian lunch and tea by our hosts who took an hour of their time to explain their work with the community as well as the front line villages in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts. We also got to understand what life under occupation was like. Everyone who experienced it fears its return.
As we were leaving the town all of our phones were jammed, with GPS and offline maps blocked and no communication possible. We used the experience of the volunteers and knowledge of the oblast, together with the landmarks in the area to exit the area safely.
The journey home was intense with a vast amount of smoke visible on both sides of the road back to Kharkiv. We made a safe return to our hotel later in the afternoon.
We finished off our day with dinner and the first bit of downtime in 5 days. We were welcomed by Igor & Mykola, two Kharkiv based volunteers who have been running the UAid Direct Buy & Deliver missions since Autumn 2022. A special moment for us as we finally got to meet in person after a year of virtual cooperation.
