This week there have been attacks on major and minor cities across Ukraine — from Lutsk, to Bila Tserkva, to Kharkiv. Missions to the East have also become increasingly stressful. Yet the number of trips and people receiving assistance from our Ukrainian volunteers each week has held steady, with 37 missions into frontline zones and more than 30,000 people receiving help.

On Thursday we spent the night in contact with our Kyiv volunteers who, though used to many horrors, were struggling to stay calm as 550 drones hit Kyiv. The next morning, Kyiv was covered in smoke, as if from wildfires. Against this background, the news about the US decision to discontinue shipments of air defense ammunition to Ukraine was especially painful. We hope that this decision will be partially reversed, but we do not understand why American support for Ukraine has to waver so much.

Sadly, the Dnipropetrovsk Region is becoming part of the front line. Multiple villages on the region’s border are being destroyed and locals are evacuating from these areas. Dobra sprava evacuated 32 children last week. This advancing front line feels like a fresh wound both to the volunteers and the local residents, who hoped that the Dnipropetrovsk Region would remain relatively safe. Attacks directly on Dnipro are also becoming more frequent and severe.

In May and June this year, Russia has launched nearly 4,000 kamikaze drones monthly against Ukrainian cities, targeting civilians. Though these assaults now barely register in international headlines, they profoundly impact our friends in Ukraine and their loved ones. Despite being sleep-deprived and embittered by these nightly assaults, our volunteers refuse to slow down: they continue their critical missions. We take pride in knowing that Ukraine TrustChain's support enables these heroes to channel their righteous anger into meaningful action. We thank you for your support.

Evacuated people often ask teams to thank Americans for helping them. A team members says: “We want to affirm that we are proud of our friendship with your team and the caring people of America.”

Last week, Ukraine had cause to celebrate: the historic operation of Ukraine’s secret service blew up a quarter of Russia’s strategic bombers. Russia retaliated by bombed residential areas, hit a maternity ward in Odesa, killed children in Kharkiv, and terrorized Kyivans for two nights with swarms of kamikaze drones, but the Ukrainian spirit stayed strong and our underslept volunteers continued their daily glorious work.

“Greetings to you, friends…Over the past week, we completed 12 trips and evacuated 54 people…The enemy continues to advance toward Druzhkivka, bypassing Kostiantynivka from the West. Every night, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Mykolaivka suffer attacks from FABs, Shaheds, or ballistic missiles. Negotiations continue, but the enemy is clearly aiming to destroy and then seize the Donetsk Region without regard for civilian casualties. We continue our mission.”

It’s become almost a tradition that each time Western media hypes up the likelihood of a ceasefire, Russia launches large-scale airstrikes against civilians in Ukrainian cities.

A key route our Dnipro volunteers use to deliver aid to Donbas has come under attack. This is a symptom reflecting a larger trend of continued fighting with slow encroachment of Russian forces on Ukrainian territory. Despite these developments, the teams were busy delivering bread, water, and agricultural supplies.

Despite Russia’s public declarations of a ceasefire during the May holidays, our teams on the ground report that the so-called “quiet” in the Donbas has existed in name only.

All is (not) quiet on the Eastern front. Ukrainian cities suffered airstrikes on each of the last seven days. The approaching bacchanalia of Victory Day celebrations in Russia resulted in an increased number of attacks along the entire frontline. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian teams completed more than 100 missions, 40 of them in high-risk areas.

Last week, attacks on Ukrainian cities continued alongside relentless combat on the contact line. More Russian drones are reaching cities as intercept rates decline.

Last Sunday Ukraine celebrated Easter. This holiday holds special significance for Ukrainians, especially during the war. Easter is not only a focal point for Ukrainian culture, folk traditions, and language, but is also infused with symbolism, giving people hope for resurrection and triumph of good over evil.

At the crossroads of inspiration and desperation, last week three members of the UTC US volunteer team traveled to the Ukraine Action Summit in Washington DC, organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine.

Last week extended the long list of cases when our volunteers were visibly shaken by Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine’s civilian population

As if in mockery of any rose-colored hopes for imminent peace, Russia brutally bombed civilian areas in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kyiv last week.

Our US volunteers have built up a certain cynicism about the widespread hopes for an imminent ceasefire. We observe the situation through our nightly dialogues with Ukrainian volunteers who are taking shelter during air raids. We see that the agreement to stop attacks on the energy infrastructure has not reduced the number of explosions in Ukraine, but has only led to an increase in the number of  attacks on civilian areas.

“I read the messages from our American friends with great joy. Their words fill me with deep gratitude and instill confidence that we are not alone, that there are wonderful, sincere, and kind people, who understand the complexity of our situation and support us as much as they can. We will never forget this.

“It is very important for us to know that the citizens of the United States stand with us, that we are united in our aspirations, and that far across the ocean, we have friends who will not abandon us in difficult times. For all of this, we are sincerely and infinitely grateful.”

-Ihor, Dobra sprava

We thank you for the kind, heartfelt notes of support you have sent to our Ukrainian volunteers and for the moral clarity you have shown in these messages. We are translating your words and passing them along. This is an incredibly important process, which forges a direct connection between Ukrainians and their allies who see the truth. Away from the high-stakes negotiations and TV cameras, Ukrainians face the constant threat of Russia’s terror.

Since last week, we have received many messages of support from our fellow Americans. We continue to translate every one of these messages and share them with the volunteers in Ukraine. Reading what you have written brings some of the volunteers to tears. These words mean as much to them as your financial support.