A WVU student is currently in western Ukraine, organizing the delivery of supplies to help IDPs, refugees, and defenders of Ukraine. We keep his name incognito to reduce the potential danger to him and his team and just call him a Mountaineer. Financial donations have supported the distribution of food, clothing, and walkie-talkies. 

(Photo: A Mountaineer Prototype of Body Armor Gear. All Rights Reserved ©2022)

Update (April 3, 2022)

Nazar continues to distribute vests, medical kits, and other equipment to military units. You can see more pictures of deliveries below. The vests are in high demand - he has set up a wait list with orders from various units. Material is a bit harder to come by, but he and Oksana continue to find sources.

We are close to $15,000 in donations - currently at $14,931 from 107 supporters.

Update (March 11, 2022)

Thanks to the WVU Russian and East European Club and Pi Lambda Phi fraternity's "Polar Plunge" fundraiser (see picture), we hit $10,000 in donations. Our pledges have far surpassed that mark now, thanks to your efforts at spreading the word. We are now at $12,196. Thanks to all 97 individuals, families, and groups who have contributed!

Update (March 9, 2022): 

The Mountaineer team continues to seek out the most immediate needs and to find ways to help satisfy those needs. Many other organizations stepped up to support displaced people, so they shifted to communication devices. The short-term demand for walkie-talkies is now being fulfilled.

While they were delivering walkie-talkies to a military unit in their region, they asked the soldiers what else they needed. The soldiers said: utility vests that cover body armor. The team of the Fighting Mountaineer has developed a prototype in two days and connected to the manufacturing facilities to provide the specialized gear.

The work continues ... 

Welcome US

Please be careful when selecting charities to help Ukrainian refugees. Some can be elaborate scams or organizations that collect funds to help Russian immigrants instead. While Russian immigrants may also need help, they are not coming from Ukrainian bombed cities.

If you want to help/sponsor a Ukrainian refugee family, we trust and recommend connecting through Welcome US: https://ukraine.welcome.us

Helping Ukrainian Refugee Families in Poland

Multiple agencies are stepping in to help this effort. Our team helped 8 refugees to find a temporary home in Poland. We are working directly with a Polish family that is now hosting 25 refugees in their home. We continue to help this small community directly. 

(Photo: Playing chess with the host family away from war. All Rights Reserved ©2022)

If you are interested in helping this effort, please contact: 

• Dr. Sergiy Yakovenko [sergiy.yakovenko@gmail.com]