{"id":2905,"date":"2023-09-08T14:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T12:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/me2023.linkcph.com\/case\/ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T12:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:32:50","slug":"ukraine-en","status":"publish","type":"case","link":"https:\/\/missioneast.org\/en\/case\/ukraine-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protection, trauma support and rebuilding close to the front line<\/b><\/h2><\/h2><\/div>

Many Ukrainian children now spend long hours in underground bomb shelters, where air-raid sirens, stress and anxiety have replaced a safe childhood. The full-scale invasion has now lasted more than four years and has left deep marks on the civilian population \u2013 not least on the children.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you donate to Ukraine through Mission East, your support goes to Mykolaiv Region, about 50 km from the war zone. Here we build bomb shelters so that schoolchildren can return to the classroom. We provide trauma counselling to children living with the trauma of war, and we help returning war veterans back into everyday life and support them in contributing to the recovery of their own communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Support Ukraine<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Helping in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Own office in Mykolaiv Region<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Pupils will get a bomb shelter at Polihon school<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Children received trauma support in 2025<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Received safety advice via SaferUkraine (2025)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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What we do in Ukraine<\/b><\/h2><\/h2><\/div>

Our work in Ukraine is wide-ranging, and every day we work to help the people whose everyday lives have been destroyed by the war. We meet the civilian population with empathy and care where the need and the trauma are greatest.<\/span><\/p>\n

We focus on the most vulnerable groups. We provide trauma counselling to children traumatised by the war, and we build bomb shelters so they can go to school safely again. We are also establishing a bomb shelter at a district hospital, refurbishing a kindergarten and installing solar panels so that water towers, health clinics and municipal offices keep running through the winter.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time we offer the country’s war veterans trauma therapy and meaningful work. The veterans repair the homes of vulnerable neighbours so families can get through the winter, and they help rebuild their own communities. We are also establishing a veteran centre. All of this is done in close cooperation with our local Ukrainian partners.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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What your support has made possible<\/b><\/h2><\/h2><\/div>

Behind every figure is a child who can sleep a little more easily, a veteran who has found a new purpose, or a family that got through the winter with a roof over their heads. This is what we have achieved together with our local partners.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children return to school<\/b><\/h3>\n

The pupils at Polihon school have not been to school since the war began, because the school had no bomb shelter. We are now building one, and we expect it to be finished before the end of 2026. Up to 250 children will then be able to return to the classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children get help to process the war<\/b><\/h3>\n

In 2025, 104 children received psychological first aid in safe groups, and 100 children went to well-being camps, where they got a break from sirens and fear. 39 teachers and parents learned how best to support children in distress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Veterans find a new purpose<\/b><\/h3>\n

In 2025, 20 war veterans received work, physiotherapy and trauma therapy, and 46 veterans and family members received psychosocial support. The veterans repaired homes for 222 vulnerable people and helped build the school’s bomb shelter. 13 out of 14 veterans in the pilot group say the programme has helped them back into an active civilian life.<\/span><\/p>\n

More veterans can get help<\/b><\/h3>\n

Our local partner has trained 75 Veteran Assistants and other officials in the municipalities of Mykolaiv Region. Each Veteran Assistant helps around 100 veterans a year to find their footing in everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruins become new building materials<\/b><\/h3>\n

Together with NeoEco we are establishing a plant that produces green cement. The cement is made from slag, a residual product from the steel industry, and the rubble is mixed into the cement to make concrete. In 2025, 1,764 people working on reconstruction were introduced to the project, which is still in its early stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ukrainians in the occupied areas get safety advice<\/b><\/h3>\n

In 2025, 17,178 people visited the SaferUkraine campaign site. There they can read, among other things, how to prepare for evacuation, get through the winter without power, give first aid and move safely in mined areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Support Ukraine<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Support for Ukraine \u2013 give humanitarian aid with Mission East<\/b>  <\/span><\/h2><\/h2><\/div>

The war in Ukraine has raged since February 2022 and has had devastating human costs for the civilian population. The rising number of wounded and dead in the Ukraine war is testament to the danger families live with every single day. The situation is serious, and a targeted humanitarian response is essential for the survival of the civilian population and their hope of a better future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mission East works to protect the most vulnerable in the war-affected villages of Mykolaiv Region, which is Denmark’s priority area in Ukraine. We make sure that your donation to Ukraine turns into concrete change: bomb shelters and other essential infrastructure, repaired homes and help to process trauma. By combining emergency assistance with the rebuilding of homes and social infrastructure, we lay the foundation for long-term solutions in the communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can make a real difference. <\/span>Donate now as an individual<\/span><\/a> and send your support to Ukraine as a one-off or monthly gift.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Russian drones and missiles are closing Ukrainian schools<\/b><\/h2><\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The airspace over Ukraine is marked by a constant threat from missiles and drones. This hits the education system hard, because schools are not allowed to reopen without an approved bomb shelter. <\/span><\/p>\n

Almost 40 per cent of Ukrainian children currently receive only online teaching or a mix of in-person and distance learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Shevchenkove municipality in Mykolaiv Region, where Mission East works, nine out of twelve schools were damaged or destroyed in 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most have been repaired, but several still lack a bomb shelter and therefore may not reopen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Ukrainsk<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

More than four years without schooling in Polihon<\/h3>\n

The consequences hit hardest close to the front line, including in the village of Polihon. The children here have had online teaching since the war began, interrupted only by small groups of children who take turns receiving in-person teaching in a bomb shelter beneath the village hall. Like most people in the local area, they have experienced bombardment, armed violence, the risk of unexploded ordnance, cold winters, lost homes, families that have been separated, and the loss of loved ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

The authorities have repaired the school, and Mission East is helping to build the bomb shelter. We expect it to be finished before the end of 2026. When it is ready, up to 250 pupils can return to their classrooms, friends and teachers. For the mayor of Shevchenkove, bomb shelters for the schools are a top priority. In-person schooling is crucial for the children’s mental health, and the lack of schools is the main obstacle to more families being willing to move back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Safety is a precondition for learning<\/h3>\n
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“A bomb shelter is not a luxury, it is a neccessity.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Teacher at Polihon school<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A child cannot take in knowledge when danger is just around the corner. When children cannot attend school in person, a vicious circle begins in which the war quickly becomes all-consuming. Many children miss the community and their classmates. School should be a place where children not only learn but also feel safe. In Ukraine that requires a bomb shelter.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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War veterans are building for the children<\/b><\/h2><\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Oleksandr survived the front in Ukraine. After returning home he threw himself into building an underground bomb shelter so that the school in his home area can welcome its pupils again. <\/span><\/p>\n

Five years ago he had not imagined that the country’s youngest generation would live without in-person schooling. Today that is the reality for the children in Polihon and in many other places across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together with five other war veterans and a local building contractor, he is working to build the bomb shelter so that up to 250 pupils can return safely to school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read Oleksandr’s own account of the journey from the trenches to the building site in our magazine <\/span>De glemte (The Forgotten)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Oleksandr<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Veterans as a driving force for reconstruction<\/h3>\n

Many Ukrainian veterans return home with severe trauma and physical disabilities and are in urgent need of help to find their way back to civilian life. Mission East invites them into a cash-for-work programme. They work in groups of 3\u201314 people, which double as support groups. The groups are connected to a psychologist who is a veteran himself and can be contacted around the clock. The veterans also receive physiotherapy as needed at a specialised clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The programme also includes social activities for the whole family, where both spouses and children can support one another. This gives the veterans new routines, purpose and community, strengthens families and helps prevent gender-based violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The veterans use their skills directly to help vulnerable neighbours before winter sets in. Among other things, they help with:<\/span><\/p>\n