In this disaster as in others we are reminded of the basic needs for survival – safety, security, food, water, medical response, power, heat, and communications.

The mission of the Risk and Resilience HUB is to consolidate and communicate information related to disaster response/recovery, crisis/emergency management, and business continuity. During times of disaster we must ask, “What do we need to learn and apply to better our organizations and communities? And, more importantly, what can we do to help in this current crisis?”  As we began our research, we were given the names of trustworthy news sites in Ukraine where we could learn about the humanitarian disaster unfolding. It was through these sources that we discovered several important stories – about those staying and those evacuating, about the suffering when the basics of survival are missing.  Read some of the important stories we discovered.  And… if you click the links, you may want to choose “English”.

To Stay or Evacuate?

• Evacuees risk their lives as they flee to Kyiv

Kyiv Independent news site has gathered stories from people who fled various towns attempting to reach Kyiv.  The civilian accounts are sobering and heartbreaking.  To date more than 3 million have fled the country and this doesn’t include the people displaced within the country.  The numbers are staggering.

Here’s just one of many stories…

One woman shared, “Houses were demolished. We didn’t have a phone connection, food or water.” All this made the woman and her husband decide that it was time to go. They linked up with a group of people to cross the Irpin river and into the northern outskirts of Kyiv.  When they got to the river, they saw it wasn’t going to be easy. To cross, the evacuees, including children and the elderly, would have to plunge into waist-high water, while the temperature outside was three degrees below freezing. All they had on hand were a few Styrofoam floats for the kids. She said, “I don’t remember how I made it across – we had a dog and I apparently dragged her with me. I have a sick husband – I don’t remember how we came out of it.”

After they forded the river, they had to walk eight kilometers with all their stuff, while soaked, in subzero temperatures, until they could be picked up and taken to Kyiv.  Read the stories >> https://kyivindependent.com/national/war-stories-evacuees-risk-their-lives-as-they-flee-to-kyiv/

•  One Kyiv family stays and documents 21 Days of War

As publisher of the HUB, I have followed Maia Mikhaluk, the mother, via her Facebook posts since the beginning. Through photos and poignant but hopeful posts Maia has let her 27,880 Facebook followers know what it is really like “on the ground” in the midst of war. Her family leads a non-profit organization to assist churches in Ukraine.  They decided to stay to work with their ministry partners and serve the people.

On February 24^th, she writes, “At 5 am, parents in Ukraine woke up their children to say that the war had begun. Try to imagine this for one second – you are standing at the bedside of your sweet sleeping kid, your heart jumping with every explosion outside your windows, and trying to gather words in your head to explain this madness.”

On March 15^th, she writes, “Not much sleep. Around 5am we heard a very loud explosion, the cars downstairs wailed with anti-theft alarms that were set off by shock waves. Later we will learn that four residential areas of Kyiv were hit with rockets at 5am today.

On March 16th, the 21st day of war, Maia shares the birth of their first grandchild in a Kyiv hospital.   “Our beautiful miracle has arrived today, March 16th!  May our sweet and strong Briana bring peace to Ukraine with her birth!”  Read Maia’s posts >> https://www.facebook.com/maia.mikhaluk

Volunteers Who Want to Assist

•  Trendy restaurants in Kyiv switch to cook for army, hospitals, and the elderly amid war

Before the war, one trendy restaurant in central Kyiv was always packed, no matter the time of the day. It was a popular spot among creative youth and foreigners. The place is hardly recognizable from its days of partying. The decorations are gone, and the windows are covered with black fabric.

The quality of army food is far from fancy restaurant dishes.  The goal is to provide soldiers with healthy and tasty meals.   One manager said, “Good food keeps the spirit high. Considering the intensity of physical activities of the soldiers, they require food different from what they have in the army, something more delicious,” he said. “The soldiers do everything so we can sleep at night and we do everything for them to be well-fed.”  Read the story >>  https://kyivindependent.com/national/trendy-restaurants-in-kyiv-switch-to-cook-for-army-hospitals-elderly-amid-war/

• Platform launched to provide operational assistance

The goal was to unite and coordinate the actions of all volunteers working to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The platform provides the ability to track in real time the possibilities of volunteers to meet specific needs for the army.  “How does the platform work? Volunteers register on the https://people4ua.com platform. For convenience, the needs are divided into categories: clothing, food, transport, cash assistance, etc. After the war, the People for Ukraine portal will be used to distribute humanitarian aid for the reconstruction of the country.  Read the story >> https://www.epravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/03/12/683867/

Logistical Considerations for Basic Needs

•  Almost a million Ukrainians have no electricity, a quarter of a million have no gas

As of March 12, more than 960,000 Ukrainians have been left without electricity and 260,000 have been left without gas. Despite the significant damage, Ukrainian energy companies are making every effort to maintain the stable operation of the energy system, and emergency response crews are working around the clock despite the risk to life.   Read the story >>  https://www.epravda.com.ua/news/2022/03/12/683871/

• The City of Kyiv launched a platform for connecting the Internet in shelters

The officials of Kyiv understand how important it is for people to maintain communications with friends and family.  A website has been launched in Kyiv that allows citizens apply for Wi-Fi in shelters. To read more >> https://www.epravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/03/12/683852/

• The war jeopardizes global food security, increasing famine risk

As the winter softens, Ukraine’s farmers used to take to their fields, sowing the seeds of wheat, sunflowers, and buckwheat and tending to poultry farms whose yields are sent across the world.

This year, planting has become a luxury, in many cases fields and livestock have been abandoned. While the world watches one humanitarian crisis after another, a no less critical casualty is the mounting impact on the food Ukraine supplies the world. This season, the engine of Ukraine’s food supply has ground to a halt.

Read the story >> https://kyivindependent.com/national/russias-war-on-ukraine-jeopardizes-global-food-security-increasing-famine-risk/

•  Covid-19 patients face dilemma of infecting others while hiding in bomb shelters

In late February, Kyiv resident Serhii Fokin had a tough decision to make: walk into a bomb shelter during an air raid and risk infecting those around him, or stay at home, risking being killed by a Russian missile. Fokin chose the second option, staying in his apartment’s corridor near a bearing wall, known to resist blasts better than others.  Since Feb. 24. the precautionary measures recommended during the pandemic have largely been neglected by Ukrainians, who are now focused on saving their lives from constant shelling and other attacks.  But the virus hasn’t disappeared. By mid-February, 60% of Covid-19 tests conducted in the country were positive.  Read the story >> https://kyivindependent.com/hot-topic/covid-19-patients-face-dilemma-of-infecting-others-while-hiding-in-bomb-shelters/

• Channel for Missing People in Ukraine

As in all disasters, accounting for missing people is a major logistical challenge.  Ukrainians have created a special channel in a messenger app to search for people missing at war.  The faces and stories are reminders that the missing are husbands, wives, parents, sisters, brothers and children.  Read the stories >> https://t.me/s/poshuk_znyklyh