According to the UN Refugee Agency, over 7.7 million citizens are displaced inside Ukraine. Around 13 million are unable to leave due to immediate life threats, destruction of infrastructure, lack of resources to travel, and no information on where to find safety and shelter. Another 5.7 million people had to flee their homeland and seek refuge elsewhere in Europe, their lives uprooted and thrown into chaos by the invasion.

Russian troops have repeatedly bombed civilian areas, including schools, kindergartens, and maternity hospitals, in addition to targets of military interest. According to the mayor of Kharkiv, Russian artillery destroyed more than 2,200 infrastructure facilities, including 1600+ residential buildings. Once the second-largest city in Ukraine and the country’s center of culture and education, Kharkiv is now getting flattened to the ground while its residents—moms and dads, their children and babies, the sick and the elderly, caregivers, doctors and nurses—struggle merely to survive amidst the ruins.

Since the bombing has never stopped, Restore Ukraine is aiming to reach all displaced residents who were not able to relocate, working around the clock to provide life-saving assistance. According to Belingcat, Kharkiv is the most destroyed city in Ukraine by far, and it is clear that Ukrainian families and communities desperately need protection, shelter, and access to basic necessities such as medicine, food, and water.

Ukrainians continue to endure unspeakable atrocities—mass rapes, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse—at the hands of the invaders. Meanwhile, Russian forces have launched 1,300 missiles worth at least $7.5 billion as reported by Forbes. Since February 24, the total damage to infrastructure in Ukraine amounts to $94 billion, while the total loss to the nation’s economy has already surpassed $600 billion, as reported by the Kyiv School of Economics. 

In the midst of this massive devastation, Restore Ukraine faces a near-overwhelming challenge as it strives to expand its humanitarian and reconstruction operations. But with a substantial increase in funding from supporters like you, Restore Ukraine can—and will—deliver Kharkiv nationals from poverty, hunger, atrocities, and extreme violence. Restore Ukraine will mediate the process of Ukrainian people coming back home where it is warm again – where Ukrainian people have the strongest sense of family and community.