Thousands of Rescue Stories: How East SOS Supports Evacuees with the Backing of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund
Deciding to leave danger and abandon one’s home is not easy for people living in frontline areas, but it can save lives. Evacuating before it’s too late gives people more opportunities to leave safely and receive comprehensive support. At the same time, after reaching safety, people often face new challenges and need help finding a place to live, replacing lost documents, accessing social benefits, and receiving medical and psychosocial support. Such assistance is particularly important for families with children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
From May 2025 to June 2026, the East SOS team provided comprehensive support to evacuees as part of the project “Integrated Comprehensive Support and Protection for Vulnerable Evacuees” implemented with financial support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF).
During this period, thousands of people were able to leave danger in time and save their lives, receive psychological, legal, and social support, access logistical assistance, and obtain essential physical rehabilitation aids.
Among those evacuated was Valerii from the town of Mykolaivka in Donetsk Oblast. This man held on until the very last moment and did not want to leave his home. But russian guided aerial bombs began reducing everything around him to rubble. Valerii moved to a basement, where he lived for five months. When an East SOS crew helped him reach the transit center in Lozova, he had just one wish: to wash the dust off himself and finally embrace his loved ones.
During the project:
- East SOS evacuation crews helped 6,197 people leave frontline areas of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts;
- call center operators handled 8,580 requests for evacuation and legal and psychological support;
- 2,406 people received logistical support, assistance at transit centers, and help arranging onward travel;
- specialists provided 3,405 psychological and social support consultations;
- case managers provided individual support to 641 people, helping them access necessary social and medical services and obtain documents and certificates;
- lawyers provided 4,128 consultations on replacing lost documents, obtaining passports, and applying for compensation for damaged or destroyed housing.
The Foundation also purchased and provided evacuees with wheelchairs, walkers, and other essential rehabilitation aids worth more than UAH 250,000.
“Our key task is to ensure that people do not have to face their problems alone after escaping danger and that they have access to comprehensive solutions when dealing with challenging life situation,” said Oleksandra Nahorna, Project Manager at East SOS.
As part of the project, our team also held 12 safety sessions for residents of Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts on preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse. Together, we discussed how to recognize dishonest or unlawful behavior by humanitarian workers; how to protect yourself and your loved ones when receiving free assistance; and where to seek immediate help and report violations.
Support for evacuees was provided as part of the project “Integrated Comprehensive Support and Protection for Vulnerable Evacuees” implemented with financial support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund (UHF).
We recently shared the story of Serhii, who was evacuated from Kupiansk and, with the help of our team, restored his documents and reconnected with his loved ones.
