Ukraine: Three ways you can help

As our screens are flooded with images of the war in Ukraine, it can be hard not to feel completely overwhelmed. We all want to do something to help, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are some suggestions for actions you can take and information you can use in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Support organisations working with refugees and on the front line in Ukraine

• You can donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) humanitarian appeal for Ukraine here
• Unicef is working across eastern Ukraine to supply safe water to conflict-affected areas, psychosocial care to children, and hygiene and emergency education supplies as close as possible to communities near the line of contact
• Many Black people fleeing Ukraine have been denied access to trains, buses, and even the possibility of crossing the border. You can support the ‘ Coalition To Support Black People In Ukraine’ by donating to their crowdfunder here
• Sunflower for Peace is a local Ukrainian charity gathering medical supplies for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. You can donate via their facebook fundraiser here or use their email address [email protected] to donate via PayPal
• If you want to get more involved with efforts to support refugees arriving in the UK, you can support organisations like Refugee Council or Refugee Action, or look up groups working with refugees in your local area
• You may also be interested to support journalists reporting from the front line by supporting the The Kyiv Independent, a Ukraine-based English-language newspaper
• Positive Action in Housing is an independent, anti-racist homelessness and human rights charity dedicated to supporting refugees and migrants to rebuild their lives – you can support them here

We plan to keep updating this list, so if you have other suggestions we could include please contact us at [email protected] to let us know.

Stand with people seeking sanctuary

It is crucial that the UK creates safe, legal and humane routes for people fleeing war and persecution in Ukraine and elsewhere. This includes immediately abandoning cruel measures in the Nationality and Borders Bill which is making its way through parliament. If passed into law, this bill will make it harder for Ukrainian refugees and other people seeking asylum to find safety here in the UK.

If you want to take action on this issue, you can join these campaigns by Together with Refugees, Refugee Action and Amnesty International, and sign this petition.

Call out hate

The best and worst of humanity are often on display during times of crisis and the situation in Ukraine is no exception. Everyday we’re hearing of extraordinary acts of courage and generosity in the face of oppression, but there are also those who are cynically seeking to exploit these events.

Our recent blog explores how the far right is responding and members of the HOPE not hate team discuss the hate and fake news surrounding the conflict in our recent Radio 43 podcast here. We’re also starting a new blog series where we dig deeper into the links between UK far right figures and Russia, starting with Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) who has a long history of pro-Putin statements, support from Russian media and Kremlin-linked misinformation campaigns – find out more out here.

It’s also been deeply disturbing to see a range of racist commentary as part of the coverage of the Ukraine crisis. You can read and share HOPE not hate researcher Safya Khan-Ruf’s take on this here.