5 Ways Foreigners can help People in Ukraine Right Now

With all the information coming out over the past several days about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it can feel overwhelming and powerless as a foreigner who wants to do something to help Ukraine, but doesn’t know where to start. Here are some ways people around the world can stand with Ukraine and help from afar.

1. Donate

There are several charitable organizations currently raising funds to help Ukraine. I’ve compiled a list of them here:

Voices of Children: A charitable foundation based in Ukraine, focused on serving the psychological needs of children affected by war since 2015. Voices of children is providing assistance to children and families in Ukraine, and helping with relocations. You can donate here.

Journalists with the Kyiv Independent: You can help support the journalists working hard to continue covering the news, and keeping Ukraine’s media going despite fearing for their own safety. You can donate to the GoFundMe set up by the Independent, Keep the Kyiv Independent going, as well as a second GoFund me entitled “Keep Ukraine’s media going” , aimed at raising funds for journalists across the country who were receiving less international attention in the media.

José Andrés, a beloved DC chef known for feeding people in need, is in Europe with his team at World Central Kitchen, helping to provide “thousands of meals in Poland, Romania and even inside Ukraine,” according to his Twitter. You can donate to support his efforts here.

Razom For Ukraine, a non-profit founded in 2014, is now focused on “purchasing medical supplies for critical situations like blood loss and other tactical medicine items. We have a large procurement team of volunteers that tracks down and purchases supplies and a logistics team that then gets them to Ukraine,” according to its website. Razom, which means "together" in Ukrainian, has shared a list of what they have provided so far, and are asking for more donations here.

2. Stay Informed.

With all the information going around about what’s happening, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if this is the first you’re hearing about the conflict, and are missing some background and need to know the basics of the situation first. If this is where you are, that is okay. Here are some resources for learning more about the background and context:

Read this article in the Kyiv Post entitled “10 popular misconceptions about Ukraine debunked”

Watch Netflix’s documentary Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.

Listen to this podcast on how Russia uses disinformation as an instrument of war by Ukraine World.

It’s important as International citizens that we pay attention to what people in Ukraine and close to the situation are saying about it. We can help those most vulnerable by choosing to get our news from trustworthy sources. I’ve listed some news sources to refer to below:

The Kyiv Independent: This has been an ongoing news source covering what is happening on the front lines.

The New Voice of Ukraine: covers news in English, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Ukraine World: while they are currently not posting breaking news to their website, they are very active on Social Media

3. Shop on Ukrainian Etsy to give your money directly to Ukrainian sellers.

Etsy is known for its unique, beautiful, homemade goods, and Ukrainian Etsy is no exception. If you’re looking to buy something on Etsy, and want to access sellers in Ukraine, go to Etsy.com, type “digital file” into the search box, select “all filters”, scroll down until you find the “shop location” category, choose “custom”, and type “Ukraine”.

This search will bring up digital images for download from Ukrainian shops. Digital items are sent directly to your email. This is a great way to support small Ukrainian businesses financially, and the seller does not have to worry about sending a physical item.

4. Call or write the White House and our elected officials to ask for immediate economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

Contact your senators

Contact your Representatives

Contact the White House (Tel: 202–456–1111)

5. Take Action by joining a Peace Protest

If you want to do more, and/or are not financially able to donate, you can consider joining demonstrators all over the world in protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. You can find a protest near you here.