12 Meaningful Ways to Help People of Ukraine

The world has never been so close to World War III as right now. Ukraine has become the bridgehead where two worlds clash – democracy against dictatorship. This is not only our war; this is the war of the entire democratic world.

We are based in Ukraine. We’ve delivered quality software solutions to the entire world since 2005, and we are not planning to stop any time soon. We won’t let Russia deprive us of our future. If you are with us, here are the steps to take right now to help Ukraine stop the war:

Sign Petitions

Living in a democratic world gives us one of the most potent powers – the freedom of expression. It is high time to use this fundamental right and appeal to international governmental organizations with a request to help Ukraine stop the Russian aggression, stop the war where mothers give birth to children never to see them again, where major architectural sights are being wiped out by ballistic missiles, and where peaceful civilians are being shot in broad daylight.

Mariupol after Russia’s airstrikes

Petition to NATO to Close Airspace over Ukraine

This petition was launched two days after Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s been over two weeks of a full-scale war against Ukraine. Over this time, Russia has bombed multiple major cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv and its suburbs, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zhytomyr, and Zaporizhia. Hitting apartment blocks, maternity hospitals, schools, kindergartens, chemical-producing factories, and now threatening to blow up a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, which is the largest facility of its kind in the whole of Europe.

We haven’t recovered from the Chernobyl Accident in 1986: millions of people continue suffering from radiation, prematurely dying from cancer and other health complications caused by radiation. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is also occupied by Russian forces, blocking critical repair works and exposing everyone in Ukraine and Europe to radiation leaks.

Ukraine has 15 nuclear power plants, and damaging even one of them will have a devastating effect on Ukraine and the neighboring countries. Therefore, it is critical to close the sky at least over these objects to prevent yet another technogenic catastrophe.

NATO refuses to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine, fearing Russia will regard this move as an act of war, and no one wants to deal with a nuclear-weapon state.

“We are not part of this conflict. And we have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine,”

said Stoltenberg, NATO’s 13th secretary-general

The truth is this is no longer a conflict or an escalation. The conflict happened eight years ago when Russia took over Crimea and parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Now it is a full-blown invasion, a genocide of the Ukrainian population, and, as Pope Francis calls it, a massacre.

Back in 1990, the international community pressured Ukraine to fully denuclearize, promising us unwavering protection in exchange. Russia clearly breached the Budapest Memorandum, but what about the West? Are you going to fulfill your obligations or wait till the Russian missiles reach your borders? Are you sure if you sacrifice Ukraine, Putin will stop and won’t launch “special military operations” somewhere else, like in Baltic states?

Over one million people worldwide have already signed the petition, so can you. Click here to sign the petition.

Petition to Provide Ukraine With Fighter Jets

While NATO is being undecided whether to close the sky over Ukraine or not, the least EU countries can do is supply us with fighter jets.

Russia’s current tactic is aimed at terrorizing the civilians and bombing multiple cities at once to spread panic and exhaust the citizens.

On March 13, Russia shelled the International Peacekeeping Center where foreign instructors work. The center is about 20 kilometers away from the Polish border. Thirty-five people are dead, and more than 130 are wounded. The same day marks the death of an award-winning American journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud who was filming the humanitarian crisis in Irpin.

Irpin residents hiding from Russian soldiers firing on evacuees

How many more deaths shall we witness for the EU to understand that this war is not only ours? Click here to sign the petition.

Petition to Exclude Russia from UN Security Council

Russia has violated numerous UN conventions, going as far as shelling humanitarian corridors, leaving Ukrainian residents of Irpin and Mariupol no safe evacuation routes.

Another horrendous crime on Russia’s bloody hands is killing a group of volunteers delivering food to a dog shelter in Bucha, a small city in the suburbs of Kyiv now besieged by the Russian military.

Ukrainian village near Sumy after Russia’s airstrikes

Over 18 days of the war, Russia killed at least 79 Ukrainian children, and the list of its crimes against civilians is going on. Such actions contradict the UN’s mission to maintain international peace and security. Click here to sign the petition.

Other Petitions to Consider

We understand that each of us has a unique upbringing and is motivated by a different cause. So we’ve created a list of other petitions in support of Ukraine you may resonate with better:

Petition to provide military support for Ukraine. Sign here.
Petition for unwavering global support for Ukraine. Sign here.
Petition to ban oil import from Russia. Sign here.
Petition to disable STEAM in Russia. Sign here.
Petition to suspend Discord in Russia. Sign here.

Arrange Peaceful Protests

Another way to attract the attention of your authorities is to arrange peaceful protests. This way, you urge politicians and thought leaders to act, be more assertive, and make difficult decisions, like closing the sky over Ukraine, faster. Before thousands of Ukrainian civilians lost their homes and loved ones to Russia’s lethal bombing.

Tens of thousands of people worldwide have joined demonstrations in support of Ukraine, encouraging the entire world to #StandWithUkraine and think of ways to stop the war, to stop the madness of one callous dictator, merciless despot, and murderer of children.

Another volunteer project showing upcoming political rallies is #WorldForUkraine. Here you can see an interactive map with marks on cities around the world that condemn the Russian aggression against Ukraine and encourage others not to stay silent.

Spread Only Verified Information

The press and human activists with access to trusted information resources have long been recognized as the fourth branch of power. Forewarned is forearmed, they say.

It’s been over the 19th day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine heroically holding the ground and protecting our land against advances of the Russian troops deeper into the country. Clearly, Putin’s blitzkrieg has failed, so the Ukrainian leadership expects Russia to launch numerous disinformation campaigns hoping to shatter our spirit.

The Ukrainian government warns every citizen of Ukraine and the global community at large to be extra cautious about the information they get. Any claims of the capitulation of Ukraine should be disproved. Remember that the aggressors can use deep fakes and other video-editing tricks to spread fake news and Russian propaganda.

Beware of social engineering attacks and think twice before sharing something on social media. While it’s totally fine to condemn the war and show solidarity with Ukraine through your social platforms, remember what information should and shouldn’t be shared.

Information You Shouldn’t Share on Social Media

Why should I follow these rules? Living amidst the war requires us to adhere to the regulations imposed on us to survive, prevent panic among civilians, and not give away useful information to the aggressors.

Here is the list of things you shouldn’t post on your social media:

Photos, videos, and descriptions of locations where you saw or heard explosions (this gives away the site of Ukrainian air defense systems)
Photos, videos, and descriptions of locations where you saw the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s military hardware
Photos, videos, and descriptions of locations where you saw the Russian troops and military hardware (instead, inform the Armed Forces of Ukraine confidentially via dedicated channels)
Unverified accusations of looting (this may cost an innocent person a life)
Account numbers from strangers allegedly raising funds for the military or humanitarian aid (beware of fraudsters; research the organization collecting funds or ask the people you trust for links to donate )
Rumors from friends and relatives about potential airstrikes or shelling
Any unverified information spreading panic, like the number of soldiers killed, women raped, etc.

Information You Can Share on Social Media

Showcase Russians the real side of things happening in Ukraine: leave a Google or Yandex review to popular places across Russia and attach pictures of atrocities their country’s invasion has caused.
Educate Russians on the actual status quo via their social networks like Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki. Keep in mind that Twitter and Facebook have already been banned by Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications.
Footage of captured Russian soldiers. Let their mothers come round and stop sending their children to die for no reason. They are not heroes here; they are murderers.
Examples of Russian propaganda and fake news.
Crimes committed by the Russian military against civilians (you can also report to the Telegram bot created by SBU – The Security Service of Ukraine, collecting evidence for the International Criminal Court)
Information from the official Ukrainian government.
Verified links for donations in support of Ukraine.

Media Resources You Can Trust

It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the information noise from tabloids and social media. Here are the sources our Redwerk team uses to keep up with the latest developments in the country. Cross-check everything you read with the official government sites of Ukraine.

Join the IT Army of Ukraine

The IT Army of Ukraine was formed basically within the first two days of the Russian invasion. So what exactly is the IT Army of Ukraine?

The IT Army of Ukraine was initiated by Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov. It is a community of tech-savvy volunteers, be it developers, pentesters, cybersecurity experts, designers, copywriters, translators, or marketers, fighting on the digital battlefield against Russian aggression. Anyone having a laptop and Internet access can join; no technical background is required.

The idea behind this community lies in disrupting the work of Russia’s major governmental and financial sites through DDoS attacks. Hacktivists commonly use the latter as they only make the targeted services unavailable for their users, thus attracting the needed attention.

In simple terms, DDoS is an attack that brings tons of fake traffic to the site via a network of distributed devices, making it harder to detect timely. This traffic overwhelms the server, thus resulting in denial of service.

Many professionals from the Redwerk team have already joined, including Redwerk’s Founder and CEO Konstantin Klyagin. Here is a detailed instruction from him on how the global community can contribute to the battle at the cyber front.

The IT Army of Ukraine operates via a dedicated Telegram channel with new tasks posted daily. For foreign volunteers, the instructions and tasks are translated into English.

To join the IT Army of Ukraine, install Telegram and follow this link. At the time of writing, we have over 300K volunteers, but we need more professionals to make better progress. United we stand, divided we fall!

Impose Stricter Sanctions

The bravery of Ukrainian soldiers protecting our homeland against Putin’s delusional dictatorship has amazed the entire world, forcing even historically neutral countries like Switzerland to join the EU and impose sanctions against Russia.

The US has already banned imports of Russian oil and gas, including Americans’ new investments in the Russian energy sector. This move is likely to cause gas prices to go up, yet it might be “the last step that America can take to inflict harm on Russia without putting boots on the ground in Ukraine.”

Unfortunately, Europe is not yet ready to follow suit immediately as about 40% of its gas and more than a quarter of its oil are imported from Russia. But we need to act now. There’s no more time for devising plans, postponing them, and hoping to achieve the desired targets by 2030. Every new day Ukraine wakes up to the news about innocent people dying, leave alone military and volunteers shielding Ukraine and neighboring countries from the Russian terror.

So what can an ordinary citizen do? Pressure politicians and policymakers in your country to act. Here is the list of European government officials to appeal to and a sample letter you can use for starters.

Every voice counts. If you are working for a company that hasn’t suspended its business with Russia, write to your leadership, ask them to show solidarity with Ukraine and be more like Airbnb, PayPal, and Atlassian. Depriving the Russian population of the civilized world privileges will force them to finally care about politics and do something to overthrow their autocratic government.

Provide Humanitarian Aid

The uninterrupted Russian attacks on civilians and cities’ critical infrastructure have created a severe humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians got trapped in heavily bombed cities, petrified by the inhuman behavior of occupiers. Going without water, food, medicine, and warm clothes for days…

Ukraine needs continuous humanitarian aid as new homes are being destroyed daily. Russians go as far as dropping deadly thermobaric bombs on the civilian population, committing a heinous war crime.

Donate to Reputable Organizations

It is unspeakably cruel that some people are trying to profit from the war in Ukraine by spreading fake donation links. To avoid this trap, make sure you donate money only to the well-known organizations or volunteers you know personally.

To save you time, we prepared a small list of trusted nonprofits:

Take Care of Delivery Logistics

Donating money goes a long way in supporting the Ukrainian population. However, a ton of time is wasted on purchasing items, delivery logistics, and associated bureaucracy.

“A great challenge in regards to delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine is organizing the entire supply chain from A to Z efficiently. Dozens of rigs packed to the brim with humanitarian aid may stay unloaded for three days straight or more just because we lack people who could do the work.

There is also a ton of bureaucracy involved when it comes to large charity organizations and nonprofits. I wish they were faster in processing our requests.

Much of the progress is achieved thanks to the active minority of selfless volunteers and highly conscious citizens,”

says Lesia, Redwerk marketer, now a full-time volunteer

One way to override bureaucratic processes is to take care of the logistics yourself. Here is a detailed instruction on how to deliver aid to specialized aid centers in Europe or directly to a Ukrainian recipient.

“Almost every European city hall has a special coordination center for humanitarian aid. Inquire if you can bring your boxes directly to them or where those should be sent. Currently, medicine and paramedic devices are in the highest demand.

The biggest humanitarian aid warehouses are in Poland; they have streamlined logistics there. At the same time, there are plenty of Facebook and Telegram groups for volunteers across Europe to get together to collect, sort, and package humanitarian aid items,”

says Kateryna, Redwerk PM/BA, now a part-time volunteer

Please also check out this resource containing the list of verified aid collection centers and warehouses in Europe and the USA. It also details what items can be donated, how to package them, and what military supplies are needed. Here is an extensive list of the military, medical, and humanitarian aid required, including non-perishable food.

Meest also delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Here you can find the list of Meest centers that accept humanitarian assistance in Canada, the USA, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Greece, and Poland. Make sure the aid has cardboard or plastic packaging, attach a list of items on top of the box, and it shouldn’t weigh more than 30 kilos. You don’t need to mention a specific address in Ukraine; all these packages will be delivered to an aid distribution center in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine.

Another delivery service sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine is Nova Poshta. It is the number one delivery company in Ukraine with over 9K offices across Ukraine and international warehouses globally. Bring your donation boxes to Humanitarian Nova Poshta centers in Poland, the UK, Turkey, France, Romania, the USA, Germany, and Latvia. Find the addresses and walk-through process here.

If you don’t have time to drive yourself to the above-mentioned aid collection centers, purchase all the needed items on Kazidomi and choose the free delivery option ‘Donation against the war in Ukraine’.

Kazidomi is a Europe-based e-commerce startup selling healthy food, beverages, health & beauty products, baby care, homeware, cleaning products, pet food, basically everything that can be sent as humanitarian aid. The company collects these orders and sends them to Ukraine, and all the profits will be donated to the Red Cross.

Provide Shelter

More than 2 million people, primarily women and children, have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24. Most Ukrainians go to the very west of the country, and from there, they rush to the Polish border. Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova also remain common destinations for Ukrainian refugees.

If you are an Airbnb host, consider supporting the company’s initiative to host refugees for free or at a discount for a few days or weeks.

Some Airbnb users found a more efficient way to support Ukrainians directly – by booking a stay in Ukraine but not visiting, a so-called “virtual stay to help people of Ukraine.” The Airbnb enthusiasts worldwide have collectively donated over $15 mln to Ukrainians.

Another way is to contact a nonprofit in your city and offer accommodation for refugees as well as share online about your willingness to shelter Ukrainians escaping from war. Search for Facebook groups specifically created for this cause and share with friends who can help.

Volunteer

Imagine if your good deed could change the course of history? Yes, one person is unlikely to make a significant impact. But together, we are an invincible force. There are multiple ways to contribute, such as:

Register as a volunteer even if you are not sure of how exactly you can help: UkraineNow will review your application and inform you of possible options based on your skills.
Become a truck driver to recurrently deliver humanitarian aid from Poland to Ukraine.
Have excellent organization skills or looking to gain such experience? Volunteer at aid collection centers and share ideas on how to fix logistics problems.
Use your ties. Your friend is a large business owner, an influential politician, a celebrity, or an influencer with a massive following? Ask them to use their power to raise awareness about the situation in Ukraine and lobby for the international protection of Ukraine.

These are just some of the ways. Volunteering is loved by many for the sense of fulfillment one receives in return. Do what you love and know best, follow your heart, but please don’t stay indifferent. Speak up and encourage others to act.

Support the Ukrainian Army

Just like civilians, the Ukrainian military is in need of ongoing support. Unlike Russia, we haven’t been preparing for this war for years. We’ve lived 30 years as a sovereign country. We couldn’t foresee a scenario where we would need to risk the lives of young soldiers and pilots in the fight for fundamental human rights, such as freedom and the right to live in a democratic country.

By no means do we encourage the continuation of the war. We want to live in peace. But Ukraine is now the shield of Europe, fighting for the entire democratic world to be able to live in a civilized society. For that shield to endure the Russian aggression, we ask for your support.

Here are the nonprofits raising funds in support of defenders of our homeland:

Continue Doing Business with Ukraine

It is estimated that Russia spends about 20 billion euros per day on war with Ukraine. But the war is expensive not only for the aggressor. Fighting off the Russian occupiers may cost Ukraine daily several milliards too.

Because of the war, multiple sectors of the Ukrainian economy are being affected. At the same time, businesses understand the need to keep going to fuel the economy of Ukraine. Enterprises are swiftly relocating to the west of Ukraine into safer areas, whereas digital and IT services agencies like Redwerk continue operating like usual, thriving in remote-first and distributed environments.

So there’s no need to panic and cancel your partnerships with Ukrainian companies. Did you know that world-known startups like Grammarly, GitLab, and Ajax have Ukrainian roots? Learn more about other Ukrainian startups that have amazed the world here and here. Purchasing a service from a Ukraine-based company is as important as donating to a nonprofit.

To support individual Ukrainians, explore marketplaces like Etsy. Purchase digital assets, like fonts, artworks, photographs, and kid’s drawings from Ukraine-based creators. We highly appreciate Etsy’s move and encourage marketplaces worldwide to follow suit and adapt their services in support of Ukraine.

Here in Ukraine, we continue paying taxes, buying products, and donating money to the mentioned funds ourselves. Life has not stopped in the entire Ukraine. While some of us fight for freedom and democracy, others work hard to preserve our economy and rebuild our lives once the war is over.

Join the Armed Forces of Ukraine

This option is definitely not for everyone. Yet we also understand that professional fighters who’ve already spent years in hotspots and peacekeeping operations around the world may find it challenging to adapt to regular civil life.

As Reuters mentions, foreign soldiers are motivated by the cause and the sense of camaraderie. Their most valued skills are fighting skills, so they see a purpose in sharing those with Ukrainian colleagues. Here in Ukraine, we have a shortage of specialists who know how to operate modern military hardware like Javelin or NLAW, so fighters with international experience possess invaluable expertise.

Under Ukrainian law, foreign nationals between 18-40 years of age, having military experience and no criminal records, can join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine’s International Legion expects to have at least 16K foreign recruits. Here you will find a step-by-step guide on how to join the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine.

Stand With Ukraine

We are immensely grateful for your support no matter what option you choose. The entire world has shown solidarity with Ukraine, condemning Russia for its imperialistic ambitions and heinous crimes against a sovereign country. But we want Ukraine to be known for its incredible cultural heritage, for its hospitable people, for its scientific and tech accomplishments, for its beautiful nature, not for war. Let us unite and bring this war to an end! Let democracy and peace win!