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Monthly Summary – January

With the continuous support and compassion of our donors, we have been able to evacuate 546 animals, perform 158 surgeries, and help 3,408 animals overall in the first month of 2023. This brings our animal welfare spending to $639,068, which has reached 83,496 animals since the beginning of the war. Behind every dollar is a muzzle, a wet nose, a tail or a hoof. Here are some highlights from this month: ZooHouse - Chernighiv Region

For donors, wartime Ukraine aid creates blurry ethical line

“We’ve had these discussions countless times,” said Igor Markov, a director of the nonprofit Nova Ukraine, about where to draw the line between what aid is humanitarian versus that which supports the active defense — the fighting — in his home country. His Stanford, California-based organization, which delivered some $59 million in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded a year ago, decided ultimately not to support volunteer fighters. “We realized there’s a significant amount of money that would be ruled out,” he said, pointing to platforms that facilitate matching employee donations, like Benevity, and some companies, like Google, that require nonprofits to promise their aid does not support active fighting as a condition of receiving contributions.

2022 – Withstanding the War. Impact Report.

After Russia's attack on Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians volunteered to help their Motherland. The Nova Ukraine nonprofit stood up to efficiently channel help where needed most by mobilizing Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians worldwide. Over 180,000 people contributed donations totaling over $55M for NU projects. Read full report here. We established a robust network of partners in Ukraine comprising more than 3000 volunteers, distinguished by a spotless reputation and deep connections in Ukrainian cities and villages. Within days, this network started coordinating evacuation efforts and delivering aid to the civilian population in need. Thanks to the support of donors and partners, we were able to assist more than 3 million people in Ukraine by providing them with basic necessities such as food and hygiene products, evacuating them to safety, or providing medical assistance.We kept our operational overhead low by building efficient processes and employing hundreds of highly motivated volunteers. As a result, over 98% of donations went to fund aid, with operational expenses under 2%.Sadly, as we enter 2023, the attacks on civilian buildings and infrastructure continue, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and affecting millions. We remain committed to our efforts to save lives and provide humanitarian relief. At the same time, we aim to support the Ukrainian people striving toward a prosperous, democratic nation with a strong and flourishing civil society. Our goal is to empower them to realize their aspirations, and work alongside them to create a brighter future for all. Donate. Impact. Change. We greatly value your support, and it is indeed crucial. Please consider donating monthly. Your consistent contributions are vital to sustaining our efforts and driving meaningful change over time. Your commitment will make a lasting difference, and we sincerely appreciate your consideration. Donate now or learn how you can help.

World-First Interactive Website Documents the True Destruction of Ukraine | LBBOnline

Archie’s 365 Days of War

What does 365 days of war look like through a dog’s eyes? Archie’s story takes us through the tumultuous and defining year in his life. A handsome German shepherd with large, intelligent eyes, Barsik lived happily with his human in the city of Krematorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. One year ago, however, the world came crashing down on him. The humanitarian crisis caused by the brutal Russian invasion impacted Ukrainian pets every bit as much as the people who love them. Barsik’s owner, Oksana*, decided to flee when her city came under Russian fire. As much as she wished to take Barsik with her, wartime conditions forced her to part with her beloved pet. A multi-step evacuation while under Russian fire is a difficult enough challenge. Trying to do it with a large dog in tow was virtually impossible at the time. Large animals were being banned from trains and buses, where people fleeing the war were often packed like sardines. Refugees do not know where they might end up, and the odds of finding accommodations with large pets were poor at best.

Christmas gifts for Ukrainian refugee children

In December 2022, the Emergency Housing Team launched a project called Santa for Ukraine. We asked Ukrainian children to write their wishes to Santa Claus. Then we created anonymous Amazon wishlists, each matching a child’s letter. Ukrainian children have lost so much during the year. We wanted to give them something they dream of and make their wishes come true. Of course, all Ukrainian kids have one main wish: to return home and get their old lives back. But they also would have certainly enjoyed receiving a gift and regaining a sense of normality in this disastrous moment of their life. We launched an Instagram account and asked people to buy gifts themselves or donate money through GoFundMe. In total, we bought gifts for 323 Ukrainian children and collected $13,664 in donations. Please check our Instagram account to see the letters and thank you notes. We will delete any personal information from public access by the end of February. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/santa4ukraine/.

Emergency Housing Team’s shelter in Southern California

In April 2022, our volunteer Tatiana arranged a shelter for Ukrainian families on the premises of a church in Costa Mesa. Initially, the shelter provided short-term accommodation for new-coming Ukrainians who crossed the border with Mexico. In August 2022, the church collaborated with I Care Ministries to extend the shelter indefinitely. The shelter has hosted more than 70 Ukrainian refugees and created a fantastic community of local volunteers. Most refugees were able to rent apartments within a few months. They are successfully employed, significantly improved their language skills, and have made many friends. The shelter in Costa Mesa is a great example of how individual efforts can make a change and generate an extensive network of support and solidarity.

Monthly Summary – December

From December 1st to January 1st, we have evacuated 809 animals, performed surgeries for 42 animals, and provided help to 7996 animals overall. This brings our animal welfare spending to $579,039, which has reached 78,480 animals since March. Let’s put some muzzles to these statistics: Elza & Altai Elza and Altai were part of a necessary, but difficult and dangerous evacuation mission from Kherson. The day after their evacuation, a missile hit and destroyed their kennel in Kherson. Our donors made their timely escape possible.

Nova Ukraine Delivers More Than $50 Million of Aid to Ukraine in 2022

Nova Ukraine Delivers More Than $50 Million of Aid to Ukraine in 2022

San Francisco, CA, December 15th, 2022 – This year, Nova Ukraine provided the equivalent of $55.5 million in aid supporting the large-scale humanitarian efforts throughout Ukraine. Of that, $37.5 million were funds spent on projects, and $18 million were in-kind donations. Nova Ukraine leadership reports having raised over $64 million to date, allowing humanitarian projects to continue into 2023 and giving Nova Ukraine the ability to respond to new challenges facing Ukraine. More than half of the monetary donations went to emergency first aid, hospital medicine, supplies, and medical equipment. Another 20% helped procure food and basic-needs items. The remainder funded infrastructure and supply-chain efforts, refugee evacuations, and animal welfare projects. Nova Ukraine applies stringent accounting standards to all projects and ensures transparency through public reporting on NovaUkraine.org . According to Nova Ukraine co-chairman Ostap Korkuna, “since the beginning of Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine, we've been continuously looking for effective ways to help the people of Ukraine. We expanded our volunteer base and built supply chains and partnerships. We have many ongoing large-scale projects, and we also support local volunteers helping Ukrainians survive the harsh winter, often without power or heating due to continuous Russian rocket strikes. None of this would be possible without the support of more than 160,000 individual donors. We continue to collect donations to aid more Ukrainians through this tough winter. Even a small donation can have a significant impact.” Nova Ukraine and the leadership team would like to express their gratitude and appreciation to all partners and donors for their continued support, expertise, and sacrifice during this difficult time.

Warming Centers for Vulnerable Ukrainians During Winter Months

Nova Ukraine Partners with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) on Warming Centers for Vulnerable Ukrainians During Winter Months A USD$2.3 million grant from the Buffett Foundation will fund warming centers, Фортеці Незламності, at railway stations and include emergency internet, hot beverages and water provided by the Coca Cola Company. Nova Ukraine recently announced a grant of USD $2,349,147 from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to construct at least 20 mobile warming stations to offer humanitarian relief to vulnerable Ukrainians this Winter. Ukrainian Railways (Ukraliznytsia) will provide additional logistics, facilities, and resupply support. The joint effort will offer essential services to local and evacuating civilians in areas where critical infrastructure – water and electricity – have been disrupted by Russian military strikes. These warming centers will operate exclusively during the day, with nighttime hours used for maintenance and resupply. Each station will give civilians access to:

Animal Welfare Annual Report 2022

As this year draws to a close, we would like to thank all our friends for your support, which makes our work possible. We couldn’t do it without you. For Nova Ukraine volunteers, 2022 has been by far the busiest and the most difficult year to date, full of unprecedented challenges and great rewards. Through it all, we have been comforted by the enormous support we received and by the successes we had saving and improving the lives of thousands of Ukrainians during these trying times. Here is how your donations have been spent. Since March, we have been able to allocate $573,339 to animal welfare. Over the course of these ten months, we have shifted our funding distribution to ensure we provide the most valuable, efficient, and essential help. For Nova Ukraine, this meant focusing on small shelters and independent volunteers who do not have access to aid from other international organizations due to factors such as lack of English speaking ability, lack of computers, and no official status or registration. Over the past ten months, Nova Ukraine has increased funding for urgent veterinary procedures, preventative care, animal evacuations, construction, and equine care. At the same time, we have slightly decreased spending on food and wild and exotic animals.

Animal Evacuations Explained

Have you ever wondered what goes into animal evacuations? These missions are an essential but complex part of saving animals in war-torn zones. We invite you to take a peek at the everyday life of our volunteers who orchestrate these arduous extractions in Ukraine. Processing the initial request. Once a new request for an evacuation comes in, we begin with triage. It’s important to determine the urgency of the request to allocate our resources accordingly. Criticality is determined by several factors - the state of the animals involved, the likelihood of losing access to the region due to shifting front lines or weather conditions, number of animals and people involved, and more. Currently, we are focused on getting as many animals out of evacuated and newly liberated towns. Evacuated areas (like Bakhmut, North Saltivka, Toretsk, Izum, Kupyansk) are mostly abandoned. Without people, homeless animals will succumb to hunger and the cold. Newly liberated areas face the threat of shelling due to their proximity to the front lines, and often have sick and injured animals that need urgent help. Finding intake accommodations.

Interview with the founder of the first volunteer mobile hospital In Ukraine

Nova Ukraine had an opportunity to sit down for a brief interview with Hennadij Druzenko, the founder of the first volunteer mobile hospital In Ukraine (FVMH). Here’s what he shared with us. How and when the first volunteer mobile hospital (FVMH), which is named after Mykola Pirohov [a prominent surgeon, anatomist, scientist, humanist, and teacher, who lived in 1810-1881], was created? FVMH was born from the spontaneous initiatives of the medical people at Maidan protest. In fact, FVMH was created in December 2013 after some students were beaten at Maidan. I appealed to the medical society with the call for action, “Now is the time when we are needed.” The first “baptism” happened on December 1, 2013, at Bankova Street, when the improvised medical brigades were rescuing the wounded protesters. Then there were underground public hospitals. In particular, one on the premises of a publishing house “Nash [Our] Format” located in Podil district in Kyiv, has helped 150 wounded Maidan participants. Later, there was medical training at the time of war in Donbas. But, in general, FVMH — under this name and with this purpose — was formed as a response to the events that occurred in Ilovaisk in the fall of 2014. The idea was to prevent the unacceptable number of deaths from non-lethal wounds that we saw in Ilovaisk.

Volunteer Metalworkers Turn to Heating Homes

Civilians throughout Ukraine are dealing with shortages of heating and electricity. As winter sets in, Russia is focused on destroying the electrical grids and power plants of Ukraine’s cities to create as much hardship as possible. Heating and water systems are heavily damaged, and for those who live in or near frontline towns, essential daily routines such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing have become luxuries. Finding ways to heat living spaces is especially urgent. Bombardments have destroyed or damaged many homes, making them uninhabitable. Many people have relocated to basements or live in inadequate shelters that were never intended for residential use. They lack proper insulation and heating systems. Nova Ukraine is partnering with volunteers and metalworkers to build simple, portable, and effective wood-burning stoves for families and small groups of people to use for cooking, boiling water, and heating small living quarters. Highlights: From a former art and design space in Zaporizhia to a small manufactory in Odesa, volunteer metalworkers are producing hundreds and thousands of potbelly and rocket stoves of different sizes and capacities. Nova Ukraine volunteers deliver these stoves to areas that have been hardest hit by outages, enabling the people to receive them to provide themselves with some of the basic necessities for surviving a cold winter: hot food, sanitized water, and a warm room.

Animal Welfare – November Summary

With the generous donations of people from around the world, over 50,000 animals have received help from Nova Ukraine since March. Over 4,000 animals have been evacuated, and over 2,400 surgeries have been performed. We are humbled and honored by our donors’ trust, and we work hard to deliver meaningful and efficient projects in a transparent way. To see daily first-hand reports from recipients, please join our Nova Ukraine Animal Welfare Reports group. Happy Highlights:

Nova Ukraine cooperates with savED for reconstruction Ukrainian schools

The war against Ukraine has also become a war against education. 216 schools in Ukraine have been completely destroyed and 391 are damaged, leaving more than 177,000 children with no access to education. To counter the devastating effects of this lack of access, Nova Ukraine supports the savED charity foundation of Ukraine whose goal is to preserve access to education during the war as well as after Ukraine’s victory. savED is an international charity foundation which was launched in Chernihiv and operates across all of Ukraine. Of the 34 schools in Chernihiv, 2 have been completely destroyed and 25 were heavily damaged. Of 52 kindergartens, 37 were damaged. 29,711 school aged children and 10,263 kindergarteners live in the city, and consequently many of these children are not able to continue their education. It will cost 80 million dollars to restore the education infrastructure in Chernihiv fully. The reconstruction of damaged schools and kindergartens, and the continued efforts to keep Ukrainian children safe, are the priorities of this partnership. Nova Ukraine and savEDwill focus on repairing schools and arranging shelters in schools and kindergartens. We will also strive to restore the concept of a school as a safe space where children can come to every morning, an idea which has unfortunately been lost as a consequence of this war.

Nova Ukraine with Firefighter Aid Ukraine Deliver $3M of Equipment to Ukrainian Firefighters

Hundreds Gather in SF Condemning Russia’s New Wave of Attacks Across Ukraine

Nova Ukraine Co-Chairman Honored with Ukrainian State Award

The efforts of Ukrainian diaspora in the US to support Ukraine during the Russian aggression were recognized by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who awarded an Order of Merit Third Degree to Nova Ukraine co-founder and co-chairmain Nick Bilogorskiy, along with several other leaders of American nonprofits that advocate for Ukraine and run large-scale aid projects. This award was given for “significant personal merits in strengthening interstate cooperation, support of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as a significant contribution to the popularization of the Ukrainian state in the world.” "The impact we achieved relied on the efforts of hundreds of selfless volunteers in North America and Europe, thousands of volunteers we supported in Ukraine, as well as partner organizations, to whom we extend our gratitude," said Nick Bilogorskiy. "We will continue our efforts to help the people of Ukraine survive the winter, support the reconstruction effort, and rebuild the civil society in Ukraine." Donate. Impact. Change.

Delivering Medications by Supporting Local Ukrainian Pharma Darnitsa

At the beginning of the war, people bought medications in bulk, standing in lines for several hours as they feared being left without vital medications. In the fifth month of the war, the tension subsided, and, despite the instability of demand, lost infrastructure, interruptions in the supply of raw materials, and pharmacies destroyed as a result of shelling, domestic pharmaceutical companies still continue their work. Not every resident of Ukraine can obtain appropriate medications. Some cannot afford it; others no longer have working pharmacies nearby after the Russian attacks. Vulnerable populations such as the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and single mothers are the most affected by their cost and deficit. That is why Nova Ukraine, together with the Kharkiv-based medical coordinator Rodion Bronnikov, started cooperation with the leading Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Darnitsa. The company, which has been operating since 1930, has survived many major historical events, including the current war with Russia. Production hasn’t stopped for a single day. Moreover, Darnitsa added another product line for ampule medications. During the last five months, Darnitsa has released 11 new products on the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market — for blood pressure stabilization, the painkillers, an anti-radiation drug, and others — in addition to its main product lines, which are medications for heart conditions, neuralgia, and pain relief. In addition, the company was the first and the only one in Ukraine to obtain a license from Pfizer to produce antiviral drugs, and it also began the process of obtaining the technology for the production of mRNA based vaccines from the World Health Organization. Since June 2022, Nova Ukraine has purchased more than 2,000 kilograms of medications for the Kharkiv region. Our supply chain management begins with the Nova Ukraine MedHub, a regional coordinating center where all requests from Kharkiv are directed. Requests are verified by our American medical team before getting fulfilled. It takes record time for the Darnitsa team to fulfill verified orders. On average, orders are shipped by the carrier within two working days. Next, at the Kharkiv warehouse, the orders are distributed between our trusted partner volunteer organizations that collected original requests from the public. More than 18,000 medication packs have been delivered, to help stabilize blood pressure, relieve pain, and save lives. In less than two months of this collaboration, about 4,500 people have received our help.

Helping Disabled Ukrainians with NGO “I Know You Can”

Since the start of the war in Ukraine vulnerable demographics within the country have been disproportionately impacted often due to their limited mobility. Elderly people, the sick, and families with small children have been especially hard hit. But there is one group who have been impacted more than others and received little attention or assistance: people with disabilities. One woman, Olena Osadcha, is working to make sure disabled Ukrainians are not forgotten. Founder of the NGO "I Know You Can" in Dnipro (central Ukraine), Olena Osadcha herself has been wheelchair bound since childhood due to the rare birth defect Osteogenesis imperfecta - brittle bone disease. Her experiences, and the constant support of those around her who always said, “I know you can do it”, inspired Olena to start an organization dedicated to advocating for those with disabilities. Due to the fear of imminent attack and their inability to flee danger quickly, the members of I Know You Can can no longer meet in public places. All of the organization’s educational programs have been cancelled, and many of their in-person services have ended due to the ever-increasing impact of the war. Despite these challenges, I Know You Can continues to provide support for disabled Ukrainians. Together, Nova Ukraine and I Know You Can are working to ensure that people with disabilities are able to receive the funding, services, medication, food, and support they need. Thanks to this partnership, disabled Ukrainians serviced by I Know You Can are receiving regular food deliveries, life sustaining medication, and the support they need to stay safe during a war the has no clear end.

Animal Welfare Spending Report

Thanks to our donors, between March 16 and July 20 we have spent $262,520, and helped over 21,000 animals in Ukraine. We are grateful to every supporter that has contributed, and we couldn’t be more proud of the results. Please follow along with first-hand reports from the recipients of our aid in the newly established Nova Ukraine Animal Welfare Reports Facebook group. Here is a quick breakdown of what each category entails: So many lives are hidden behind these numbers and percentages. Incredible stories of survival, love, and perseverance. Meet a few of our lucky four-legged friends: JACK

Living a Day At a Time in Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv reached a distressing achievement this week - it has become the third hardest hit city in Ukraine by Russian shelling, following Izyum and Mariupol. According to local officials, nearly 8,000 regional buildings have been damaged by artillery and missile strikes since February, and over half the city's 500,000 residents have fled. Due to the strikes, the city has been without running water since April. But as many as 250,000 residents still remain in Mykolaiv, and the city has seen an influx of people fleeing from Kherson as Ukraine battles to regain control of the occupied city and the fighting in the region intensified. Nova Ukraine continues to support Mykolaiv - by providing drinking water, equipping hospitals, supplying bomb shelters, and continuing to evacuate residents. Your donations help the residents of Mykolaiv survive the assault » A Day in the life of a Mykolaiv Resident Hanna Chmelyova is a resident of Mykolaiv who decided to remain in her city in spite of the daily shelling and air raid sirens that have been terrorizing inhabitants since the onset of the Russian invasion. Her words offer us a glimpse into daily life in a city under Russian occupation.