GlobalMedic Ukraine Conflict Response

Violence erupted in Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 when Russian troops crossed the border into the country. Attacks and violence have been seen throughout the nation, with airstrikes and blasts reported in areas such as Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, and the southern port of Odesa. While Ukrainian military bases, airport and airfields have been the primary targets, many civilian and residential spaces have been hit as well. The Ukrainian people are at risk, as fighting and airstrikes have been seen in many cities across the country. Thousands of civilian casualties have been reported.

On June 6^th, 2023, the Nova Kakhovka Dam was destroyed beyond repair in the Russian controlled part of Kherson region. The dam was 3.2km long and contained 18 cubic km of water which is equal to the size of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The dam had been providing residents of the local area with fresh water since 1956. The Nova Kakhovka Dam served three main purposes: 1) provided residents of Kherson region with fresh water, 2) provided irrigation for much of the agriculture in southern Ukraine and 3) the water from the dam was used to cool the nuclear power plant Zaporizhzia which also happens to be Europe’s largest nuclear plant. The destruction of the dam is already being called the “worst environmental disaster” is Europe since Chernobyl. Hundreds of tonnes of lubricant and engine oil are leaking into the Dnipro river, spreading toxic waste over the areas it is currently flooding and contaminating the drinking water of thousands. The flood waters are also moving unexploded ordinances such as land mines and shells across a wide area endangering many places previously deemed as safe. So far 16,000 people have been forced to flee their homes with hundreds more stranded on rooftops, not able to escape the flood waters. According to the Ukrainian President it is expected that 80 settlements will be flooded as a result of the dam’s destruction. As of June 9^th, three days after the flooding began, 14 people have reportedly been killed and so far 30 people have been hospitalized with hypothermia. 

GlobalMedic has been responding to the crisis since it began in February 2022. We have provided life saving aid to people in regions all over the country. Through the deployments of our Rapid Response Teams and through our local partners we have distributed thousands of food hampers, hot meals and family emergency kits to those affected by the conflict. The following is footage of the assembly of FEKs and the distribution of food hampers.

Ensuring access to safe, clean drinking water is a priority, and GlobalMedic is helping to restore access to this resource through the provision of Family Emergency Kits (FEKs). FEKs are kits designed to provide families with a holistic solution to multiple problems they face in an emergency. The kits use a ceramic gravity-based filtration system to provide families with an easy and reliable way to access clean drinking water. This unit can provide families with clean water for up to one year, are lightweight, portable, don’t require electricity, and are highly adaptable to many situations. In the FEKs we also include things like hygiene items and a solar light to provide families with additional resources. To date, GlobalMedic has sent over 25,000 FEKs into Ukraine and Moldova. 

GlobalMedic is responding in Ukraine and Moldova with food security programs. Food insecurity in Ukraine and the surrounding communities is significantly increasing as the conflict continues. GlobalMedic continues to provide food hampers to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. These hampers are filled with a variety of regionally sourced vegetables and pantry essentials. Local Moldovan women have been hired to pack this aid and over the summer we expanded the project to purchase and include produce grown on their farms in the packages. Not only does this program provide food assistance to Ukrainian refugees, it also supports the Moldovan economy which has been strained by the influx of refugees. GlobalMedic is also distributing food hampers to internally displaced persons in Ukraine through our hub in Siret, Romania. Items are purchased and packed in Romania by volunteers at which point they are taken across the border for distribution in Ukraine. Additionally, GlobalMedic has started packing food kits in Ukraine to support the local economy and to better reach those impacted by the conflict. In total, more than 256,000 food hampers have been packed and distributed amongst hardest hit areas. Additionally, we are operating a hot meal program in Odesa, where we have contracted a local restaurant to prepare hot meals which are distributed to IDPs in the city. This has the dual impact of providing food security to vulnerable Ukrainians while also supporting the restaurant’s business and employees.

All donations continue to go towards supporting operations in Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.