Donbas
- a region of constant bombardment and suffering of the civilians
The word Donbas is an abbreviation of “Donetsk Coal Basin”. It is an industrial district in the Ukrainian part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions which lies on the Donets River. The region is rich in deposits of hard coal (coking coal and anthracite), mercury and rock salt.
The main city of Donbas is Donetsk, considered to be its unofficial capital.
Before 2022, the Ukrainian Donbas had been the most densely populated region of Ukraine (excluding the capital city of Kiev).
Apart from coal mines, iron and steel industry has developed here, based on iron and nickel ores imported from the Crooked Horn and Nikopol. The main centres of iron and steel industry are: Donetsk, Yenakiieve and Kramatorsk. Mariupol on the Sea of Azov is home to Ukraine's second largest smelter. The city is known for electrical machinery industry, production of equipment for iron and steel industry and mining (in Kramatorsk and Gorlovka), rolling stock, machine tools and construction machinery.
Donbas is also historical land on the Donets and Don, inhabited by the Don Cossacks. During the Stalin era, a large number of them were exterminated by the Great Famine. In this sense Donbas covers essentially the same area as the Donetsk Coal Basin.
THE WAR
The war in Donbas since 2014
In April 2014, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a hybrid warfare operation in the south-eastern area of Ukraine by conducting direct military operations there. Two republics, which are not recognized internationally, were forcibly created on the territory of Donbas: Lugansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic. The ongoing armed conflict has resulted in the flight of approximately one third of the population and the economic collapse of the region.
The conflict is associated with Russia's demands for guarantees of non-expansion of NATO and an enhanced military presence on its eastern flank, as well as Russia's recognition of the independence of the separatist republics on the Ukrainian territory.
In autumn 2021, Russia gathered together more than 120,000 troops along the border with Ukraine.
On 24 February 2022, after Putin had given the order to attack, Russian troops attacked Ukraine, fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed on Ukraine's southern coast. Command posts, weapons depots and airports came under rocket fire and at the same time ground troops attacked Ukraine from Russian and Belarusian territory. The invasion is constantly accompanied by disinformation activities, and the use of brutal methods against the civilian population, leading to genocide.
It is estimated that approximately 4.4 million people have been affected by the war in Donbas, and 40,000 residential buildings have been destroyed; these numbers are increasing every day.
PRESENT SITUATION
The situation is dramatic and it is deteriorating. The Russians, starting from the eastern border, are consistently destroying town after town, village after village, moving westwards and committing war crimes.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN EASTERN UKRAINE
- Ukrainian prosecutors have already registered over 12,000 war crimes involving more than 600 occupants since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
- For four months many children have been living with their parents or guardians in shelters and basements, where light and gas are scarce and assistance is increasingly difficult due to the constant shelling by the Russians during the ongoing eastern offensive of the troops of the Russian Federation.
- Residents are living under constant threat to their lives. In many regions they have to hide from attacks all the time. There is a shortage of food and medicine. People often have to sleep on the ground where they place their mattress or a camp bed.
- The UN organisation also points out that many women from eastern Ukraine experience violence. According to a 2019 UNFPA study, about 75 percent of Ukrainian women reported having experienced some form of violence, with 30% reporting direct physical or sexual violence
HOW DO WE HELP?
We work in high-risk cities where humanitarian organisations are often no longer able to enter. We distribute aid in Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. In many places in the east, our military chaplains are often the only carriers to deliver essential aid to civilians in the combat zone.
We look after social facilities, hospitals, orphanages, displaced persons from occupied places. We get people out of the war zone and help all those in need. While carrying out our work, we strive to limit the activities of civilian intermediaries so that humanitarian aid can be delivered in 100%.
WHAT DO WE NEED?
Our biggest challenge is the cost of fuel. People in towns disconnected from humanitarian aid are suffering from hunger. Our support may determine the fate of many people. We cover thousands of kilometres. We pick up supplies from Lviv, then drive 1,200 kilometres to the east and then travel hundreds of kilometres from town to town and from village to village.
We need money:
- - to pay for fuel
- - to pay for repair of our humanitarian buses
- - to purchase additional 2 buses
Donations HERE
- Food products ( especially groats and tinned meat)
Food parcels can be sent to:
KRAKÓW: HUMANITARIAN AID ul Bielańska 16/2 30-246 Kraków
STARACHOWICE: HUMANITARIAN AID ul. Parkowa 3a/1 27-200 Starachowice