+++ War in Ukraine: Help the people in need +++

Searching for safety: Displaced for the second time

When the first bombs fell over Mariupol on February 24, 2022, and Darya and Stanislav were awakened by the explosions at five in the morning, memories immediately came flooding back to them. It was only in 2014 that the couple had fled Russian attacks from Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. They fled to Mariupol with their two-year-old son Bogdan. At that time, the Russian army had attacked cities in eastern Ukraine and eventually annexed Crimea. By 2022, there was repeated fighting between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army along the so-called contact line in Donbass, culminating in Russia's war of aggression on large parts of Ukraine in February 2022.

Faces of War - Stories from Mariupol

Kateryna Sukhomlynova was so many things until the war began in Ukraine: A Malteser employee in Mariupol, a paramedic, a member of the city council and a volunteer in the local police association. Today, the 44-year-old is one of millions of refugees from Ukraine and homeless. But Kateryna Sukhomlynova is a strong woman. She travels tirelessly through Europe, together with her 17-year-old daughter, reporting on what she experienced in Mariupol during the first weeks of the war.

Ukraine: 150th aid transport - medication for hospitals

Cologne/Lviv. On Wednesday, 4 May, Malteser International and Malteser Ukraine send its 150th relief transport for the people in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. 44 pallets medical supplies donated by the global healthcare group Fresenius and medicines will be transported from Germany to Lviv in Ukraine. The transport is supported by the organisation "action medeor". The Order of Malta in Ukraine will distribute the aid delivery to hospitals that are currently in great need of medical material.

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine

Interview with Pavlo Titko, Head of Malteser Ukraine

Pavlo Titko, head of Malteser Ukraine in Lviv, has been on permanent duty since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. He tells us about the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine, how the people are feeling, which relief supplies are most urgently needed and how he himself is dealing with this extreme situation.

Ukraine: At least one in ten refugees needs psychological support

Cologne/Lviv. In the city of Lviv, Malteser International has further expanded psychological support for refugees. Around 200,000 people are currently staying in the western Ukrainian city near the border with Poland. "The streets are full of people. They hope that they will not be forced to leave Ukraine. But even as refugees in their own country, the psychological burden is great. They have lost their homes, left their families behind, and face an uncertain future. More than 10 percent of them need psychological support," says Pavlo Titko, head of Malteser in Ukraine.

Malteser International sends medical aid material to Ukraine

Preparations underway to receive refugees

Cologne/Lviv. A relief transport with medical equipment urgently needed by Malteser Ukraine in Lviv started today from the Lower Rhine. The medical aid organization “Action Medeor” dispatched EUR 60k worth of supplies ordered by the Order of Malta. "It is part of the chain of deliveries that we are able to send from Germany thanks to many donations," said President of Malteser International Europe, Douglas Graf von Saurma-Jeltsch. Basic foodstuffs, sleeping bags, and camp beds are also still being brought across the border.

Ukraine: Supply of refugees at risk

Malteser International: "We need humanitarian corridors to bring food into the country"

Cologne/Lviv. Cold, snow, and a lack of food, medicines and other essential goods threaten the welfare of refugees in Ukraine. "The situation for the fleeing women, children and elderly is catastrophic. We are starting to run out of everything," said Pavlo Titko, Head of Order of Malta Ukraine.

Aid transport has reached Ukraine - Order of Malta supplies refugees

Despite the fighting, colleagues continue to work on the ground

Cologne/Ivano-Frankivsk. In the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Malteser Ukraine has started to provide displaced people with tents, cots, blankets and food. The relief supplies sent from Germany on Thursday arrived on site on Saturday and will be put to immediate use. In addition, the displaced people are receiving medical and psychological care. 
 

Ukraine: Malteser International prepares supplies for refugees

Supply shortages of food, water, and medicine.

Cologne/Lviv. Malteser International expects a very high need for help for those fleeing the situation in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of people are already on the run, within the country and to neighboring states. We expect the number of people fleeing to increase further in the coming days. “The supply situation in Ukraine itself is becoming increasingly difficult. What is especially needed are everyday medicines, as well as cots, blankets, food, and cash to provide for the many people affected," says Oliver Hochedez, head of Malteser International's emergency relief department. 

SITUATION IN UKRAINE GETTING WORSE: "WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE CHILDREN?"

The population in Ukraine is increasingly suffering from the consequences of the tense situation in the border conflict with Russia: "Especially for people we have been supporting for a long time and who are suffering from the consequences of displacement from their homeland, old traumas are breaking out again. A major topic in the therapy and group sessions is always: What do we do with the children? How do we tell them that we might have to leave our home? How do we talk to them about war?", reports Pavlo Titko, Head of Malteser Ukraine.