Humanitarian Missions Under Threat of Enemy Attacks: East SOS Joins Duty of Care Workshop in Kyiv
On September 3-4, Roman Buhaiov, the East SOS Safety Specialist, took part in a working group on Duty of Care. The event brought together representatives of Ukrainian and international civil society organizations, including the Secretariat of the Ukrainian CSO Alliance and the Humanitarian NGO Platform: East SOS, Blue Bird, Base UA, Spravzhni, Relief Coordination Centre, the International NGO Safety Organization, human rights organization Truth Hounds, the United Nations World Food Programme, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and ActionAid.
The working group discussed the legal, ethical, and operational aspects of using electronic warfare (EW) technologies in humanitarian response. Participants also discussed opportunities for donor support and funding for such equipment for humanitarian missions. During the meeting, Roman Buhaiov stressed that protecting humanitarian missions in frontline areas requires continuous work and timely, practical solutions. Civilian evacuation efforts are ramping up, while the enemy is increasingly targeting humanitarian teams heading out to help people. Evacuation crews – including representatives of charitable and civil society organizations, as well as the National Police’s “White Angels” special unit and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine – are frequently targeted by russian FPV drones. Sadly, these attacks result in injuries and deaths among both rescuers and evacuees.
In late August 2026 alone, the enemy attacked volunteer and humanitarian organization evacuation missions at least four times in Kherson, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast, and Novotroitske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
“During the meeting and discussions with workshop participants, I spoke about our work on the potential practical use of EW systems to protect humanitarian missions, drawing in particular on INSO materials and existing practices involving these technologies. This approach still requires further consideration and a clear definition of the rules for their use, including, for example, compliance with the principle of humanitarian neutrality. EW systems cannot guarantee absolute protection, but they could become one element of a comprehensive approach based on the Duty of Care principle. This is particularly critical now, as the russian military is developing new technologies for using unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones capable of using artificial intelligence to track targets. Under these conditions, traditional markings on humanitarian vehicles can no longer guarantee the safety of their crews,” said Roman Buhaiov.
The workshop findings will be presented to the donor community to advocate for potential changes in how measures covered by the Duty of Care framework are funded.
Duty of Care is a systematic approach to protecting humanitarian workers and volunteers, without which delivering aid in frontline areas becomes impossible. East SOS consistently advocates for this protection standard to be made a mandatory component of humanitarian projects in its dialogue with donors and partners. For us, this means a comprehensive set of measures ranging from equipping evacuation crews with specialized vehicles and personal protective equipment to providing advanced driving courses, first-aid and mine-safety training, as well as health insurance and psychological support for team members.
Since 2022, our Foundation has been helping rescue civilians. We evacuate families with children, elderly, people with disabilities, and pet owners together with their pets. Every day, our crews set out on high-risk missions to rescue people from the frontline areas being destroyed by the enemy. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the East SOS team has helped more than 102,000 people leave high-risk territories, including more than 17,000 people with reduced mobility.
Earlier, East SOS joined efforts to draft a collective position statement on protecting humanitarian workers in frontline areas.
