About Us

On May 5, members of the Luhansk Human Rights Center “Postup” the Crimean Human Rights Center “Diya” and the Civil Sector of Luhansk Euromaidan became the first to launch an initiative to assist those affected by Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The team coordinated safe evacuations, secured accommodation, provided full support to victims of abduction, offered psychological assistance, collected and distributed humanitarian aid, and delivered essential supplies to frontline settlements.

This year, former foundation representatives were forced to flee Luhansk and Crimea due to the occupation. After relocating to Kyiv, they focused on supporting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those seeking to leave the temporarily occupied territories (TOT). The team launched a call center that handled between 10 to 60 calls per hour, receiving requests not only from victims but also from those eager to help. Initially, the information was managed using an Excel spreadsheet, which was later replaced by an adapted CRM system.

From the beginning of the war and the occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Foundation has continuously monitored the situation along the contact line. Through field missions, we documented escalations, recorded evidence of enemy attacks, and assessed human rights conditions in closed settlements while crossing the contact line and checkpoints.

In the spring, we continued assisting victims and advocating for democratic change by officially establishing the Charitable Organization “Charity Foundation “East SOS”. We provided essential supplies to people in frontline settlements while also focusing on systemic community development.

The team concentrated on humanitarian support for those living in areas affected by Russia’s armed aggression. With the help of volunteers and responsible businesses, we delivered over 100 tons of aid. We also responded to housing requests and provided primary legal, informational, and psychological counseling.

In six cities across the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, we assisted people with payments, banking services, crossing the contact line, legal status, and labor rights. Additionally, we addressed housing, land, and family-related issues.

In the summer, we launched an educational program to tackle the social challenges caused by the Russian invasion. For the first time, we monitored educational institutions in the Luhansk region and supplied them with necessary equipment through international donors. At the same time, we initiated the “Global Education—We Know Human Rights” project.

We systematized requests for humanitarian aid, legal assistance, and educational counseling, identified key needs, and continued supporting communities in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

This year, the Foundation launched the annual Opinion Festival—an intellectual event that became a platform for discussing pressing issues. It provided an open space where anyone could participate in debates and receive feedback. The event brings together opinion leaders, government officials, public sector representatives, the international community, and other individuals dedicated to promoting change in the country.

During these years, the majority of requests we received were for humanitarian aid and legal assistance. We supported war victims by providing legal, psychological, and humanitarian aid, focusing on the needs of civilians, educational institutions, medical facilities, and cultural centers—primarily in government-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Our efforts included organizing educational and cultural events, monitoring and documenting human rights violations, advocating for systemic change, and providing crucial information.

The East SOS Charity Foundation’s legal aid centers in Kyiv, Mariupol, and Rubizhne provided free legal assistance to all war victims. We advised individuals and guided them in drafting procedural documents such as applications, complaints, and inquiries.

Additionally, in May 2019, we organized an international monitoring visit to civil-military administrations. In August, we conducted monitoring at six checkpoints to assess conditions and identify the challenges people face when crossing the contact line.

Meanwhile, in partnership with UNICEF, we implemented the project “Providing a Safe Environment and Access to Psychosocial Support for Children and Youth in the Luhansk Region: Know-Act-Change.” This initiative supported 22 schools and reached 2,415 young people from 17 settlements in the region.

During this time, we also received calls related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdown challenges and checkpoint crossing rules between occupied and government-controlled territories. We continued traveling to settlements along the contact line with international monitoring missions to effectively assess needs and human rights conditions.

In the summer, volunteers of the East SOS Charity Foundation played a key role in saving the Luhansk region from large-scale fires, which devastated hundreds of hectares of forest and settlements. The foundation established a 24/7 help center in Sievierodonetsk.

Due to a severe shortage of professional teachers in frontline schools, we launched a project from October to April 2020 to recruit volunteer educators for schools in the Luhansk region—specifically in Novotoshkivka, Triokhizbenka, and Shchastia.

Yuliia Krasilnykova, Executive Director of the East SOS Charity Foundation, joined the humanitarian subgroup of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group for the peaceful settlement of the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Our documenters conducted a study on justice for international crimes, the findings of which were presented in the analytical report “Implementation of the Best Practices of Justice in the Context of Armed Conflict”.

The psychosocial team, together with trainers and participants of the “From Conflict to Dialogue” training, developed the “I Can” manual—a resource that provides advice on overcoming stress, responding to conflict, and techniques for managing stressful situations.

Additionally, we created a cover manual addressing frequently asked questions for people from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT). It includes guidance on crossing the contact line, fines for violating crossing procedures, birth and death registration, passport issuance, pension payments, assistance for single parents, and navigating challenges during the pandemic.

The “Global Education—We Know Human Rights” project was launched for school representatives in the Luhansk region. Through this initiative, teachers, parents, and school administrators were introduced to a human rights-based approach to community development and the organization of the educational process.

Since the full-scale Russian invasion began, the East SOS Charity Foundation has been providing comprehensive assistance throughout government-controlled territories.

After February 24, volunteers joined our relocated office in Uzhhorod, where they initially responded to calls for help and coordinated evacuation requests. These were forwarded to Dnipro, where we set up an evacuation hub. Many of these volunteers later became our team members.

In September, we launched a reconstruction project to support our evacuation efforts. As we rescued more people from frontline areas, we recognized a shortage of safe housing. To address this, we began repairing geriatric centers and shelters.

That same year, we launched the first safe space as part of the all-Ukrainian network “Zatyshno Space” in Cherkasy. This initiative was made possible through our partnership with CARE, a humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and advocating for women’s rights.

Additionally, we joined the “Ukraine. 5 AM Coalition”, a national initiative focused on documenting war crimes. Our goal is to protect victims of Russian aggression and hold Russian leadership and war criminals accountable.

Our team also participated in a roundtable discussion at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, addressing the documentation of crimes committed against and involving children.

As a result of our efforts, East SOS was ranked 18th in the survey “TOP-100 Public Transparent Charitable Organizations of Ukraine.”

We have implemented numerous projects to support war-affected people, including those enduring the harsh winter without water, electricity, and gas.

Since May, our team has been welcoming Ukrainians daily near the checkpoint in the Sumy region, located on the Russian border. This remains the only humanitarian corridor for people traveling from temporarily occupied territories (TOT) to government-controlled areas.

In June, we rapidly deployed an emergency response after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant by Russian occupiers. Our team was on-site from day one, with our call center operating non-stop to assist those in need. Working alongside the State Emergency Service, volunteers, and NGOs, we delivered humanitarian aid and water, organized hot meal distribution, and deployed evacuation teams to rescue people from the flooded areas

Our psychosocial support teams visited remote villages in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, providing assistance and assessing urgent needs. Meanwhile, our monitoring groups compiled a report on the terrorist attack’s consequences, which is now used in international advocacy efforts.

Additionally, our documentation team presented the analytical report “Changes in the Demographic Composition of the Population in the Occupied Territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions”, which details 137 cases of persecution of TOT residents from 2014-2022, and the report “War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity Committed Against Civilians in Ukraine, 2022”, highlighting Russia’s violations of international law.

The Foundation was ranked 15th in the TOP-100+ Public Transparent Charitable Organizations survey with annual expenditures of UAH 642,988,400. 

Additionally, we took first place in the Regional Charity category of the Charitable Ukraine-2023 National Competition.

The East SOS team continues its frontline missions with international monitoring groups, assessing the humanitarian situation, educational and medical needs, and challenges of displaced persons forced to leave their homes due to the ongoing full-scale war.

On June 5, representatives of 16 civil society organizations, including East SOS, signed a memorandum with the Ministry of Reintegration. This agreement strengthens our role in the humanitarian response, acknowledges our expertise, and supports capacity building for effective assistance.

Due to the escalation of hostilities and continuous Russian attacks, the foundation deployed an emergency response to evacuate and support civilians at transit points in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and later Dnipropetrovsk regions.

We presented a report on the findings of our international monitoring mission to frontline areas in the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kharkiv regions. The report covered security conditions in affected areas, evacuation and accommodation challenges, adaptation strategies for individuals and institutions, obstacles to rebuilding destroyed housing, and the deployment of displaced communities and institutions.

For the Zatyshno Space initiative, the Foundation was awarded third place in the Charitable Organization of the Year category and second place in the Project of the Year nomination.

According to a KIIS study, based on media mentions, East SOS ranked 10th among the 20 most influential media foundations and NGOs.