East SOS Helps Residents of Frontline Hromadas in Zaporizhzhia Oblast Prepare for Evacuation
Since the beginning of 2026, East SOS has been visiting the frontline hromadas (communities) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast to inform residents about evacuation options and the support they can expect.
In August 2025, the team started outreach in the frontline hromadas of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Nowadays, the same approach is being integrated in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where the security situation has become more complicated, and evacuation orders have been issued for several hromadas.
Meanwhile, for many people, the decision to leave remains a difficult one due to lack of clear information about the evacuation process itself and further support.
Last week, the team began conducting outreach visits to two hromadas in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to hold information sessions.
In Novomykolaivka Hromada, a working meeting was held with seven starostas (village elders) and a representative from the Department of Social Protection of the village council.
Our team had a conversation with the head of the council, department heads, and the community officer in Mykhailo-Lukasheve Hromada.
Cooperating with the heads of hromadas is the first step in raising awareness.
This approach ensures that the security situation, logistics, population composition and current needs are taken into account, making the meetings and door-to-door visits appropriate and safe for the local residents.
The next step involves forming mobile teams consisting of psychologists, lawyers, social workers, evacuation coordinators, and logistics managers to provide comprehensive and accurate answers to all questions related to evacuation, support, and the following steps.
“The plan is to hold information meetings and door-to-door visits for people with reduced mobility in more than 20 settlements within the oblast. We believe that access to trustworthy and verified information will help people make well-informed decisions and leave dangerous areas in an organized manner,” said Dmytro Kobzar, team lead for the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of East SOS.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, East SOS has been working systematically in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Zatyshno Space by East SOS operates in Zaporizhzhia, offering psychosocial and legal support.
Regional team specialists regularly travel to hromadas, providing legal and social assistance, organizing summer camps for students to address educational losses, responding to emergency situations after enemy shelling, and meeting evacuees at transit centers in Zaporizhzhia and in the village of Voloske.
East SOS urges residents to consider evacuation in advance. Our team provides support to families with children, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities at every stage of the evacuation—during departure from danger, finding shelter, restoring lost documents, applying for social benefits, and, if needed, organizing medical assistance.
If you need help, contact the East SOS call center and request a visit from specialists—psychologists, social workers, and lawyers: 0800 332 614 (Mon-Sat, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
We also offer consultations via messaging services:
+38 099 710 48 72 (Viber);
+38 096 108 60 48 (Telegram).
The information campaign is part of the project Support for War-Affected Vulnerable Groups and Residents of Remote Areas of Ukraine, implemented by East SOS with financial support from the European Union.
East SOS resettled 10 evacuated elderly people in Zhytomyr Oblast.
