“If we stop supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces, there may soon be no one to provide humanitarian aid to,” warns Ukrainian volunteer Yuliia Bondarchuk
Yuliia Bondarchuk during the rally on the Independence Day of Ukraine in Pietarsaari in 2022. The event was an opportunity to express gratitude to Finns for their support of Ukraine. PHOTO: HANNA SKAKUN
Svitlana Yeharmina
Published 03.09.2024 1:07
When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Yuliia Bondarchuk was asleep at her home in Pietarsaari. She woke up to a phone call from her parents, who live in Malyn – a town on the border of the Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions – and on route of Russian forces advancing towards Kyiv.
At the time, Yuliia had been living in Finland for eight years. She ran a blog with over 30,000 followers, sharing insights of local life, work and motherhood. The blog was in Russian, so most of her audience were Russian mothers.
Yuliia decided to use her blog. She would show her audience the truth about the events unfolding in Ukraine and hoped it would inspire them to speak out against the war.
She posted images of the devastation caused by Russian shelling, but the reaction of her audience stunned her.
Yuliia was accused of lying. She received hundreds of hateful and threatening messages daily. When she switched to the Ukrainian language and started writing about helping Ukrainians, her account was blocked due to mass complaints.
“I didn’t feel anything at the time,” she says now. “Just total disbelief that so many people could wish you death.”
The immediate danger to her family passed, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to halt the aggressors just a few kilometers from Yulia’s childhood home. After that, she decided to focus on practical help for her fellow citizens.
Stoves and evacuation carts
Without any prior volunteer experience, Yuliia, her husband Maksym and other Ukrainians from Pietarsaari organized rallies, helped evacuees and gathered material aid. They registered an association for official fundraising and started collecting money.
Then came the stoves.
In Ukraine, there was a demand for a cheap and portable source of heat. That was met by producing simple metal stoves at the company where Maksym works and in local enthusiasts’ garages.
In two years, more than 150,000 euros have been collected and over 1,500 stoves sent to Ukraine. The project will continue, depending on demand.
Currently the Bondarhucks, along with local volunteers, are working on collapsible evacuation carts.
The idea is simple. The cart would enable evacuation of wounded soldiers from the battlefield with less of personnel, making it harder to detect and therefore safer. The first prototype of the cart is already on the front lines.
Yuliia Bondarchuk remains committed to supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She believes, that without military assistance, humanitarian aid loses its purpose.
“We can’t buy weapons, and Finnish society usually prioritizes humanitarian aid. But if we stop supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there might soon be no-one to provide humanitarian aid to.”
Challenges and solutions
Yuliia Bondarchuk has started a new blog, this time in Ukrainian. Starting from scratch was challenging, but currently she has managed to build an audience of around 5,000 followers. Some of her old readers have stayed with her.
“Switching to my native language feels like reclaiming myself. I feel more protected and confident.”
Although Yuliia was able to regain access to her old blog, she rarely writes there anymore. She says she has learned lot about the painful experience. She knows now better, how to endure attacks from haters and bots, set priorities, rely on her own strength, and find support among like-minded people.
Self-belief has been crucial, as the amount of donations to support Ukraine have started to decline.
“In the second year of the war, fundraising became harder,” Yuliia says. “People donated less and fundraising took longer.”
She estimates that the level of donations in 2023 was 70 % lower than in 2022. She believes the main reason is war fatigue and a growing numbness to negative news from Ukraine.
However, the Bondarchuks have managed to build a network of contacts: they know where to buy cheaper metal, whom to contact for cutting services, and who can deliver aid at a discount or for free.
Yuliia also uses her blog to fundraising, although it doesn’t bring in large sums and requires significant effort.
Yet she is committed to continue her work.
“Seeing the sacrifices our soldiers make for Ukraine’s freedom, we can’t afford to stop.”