Donations from North Carolina reaching hospitals along front lines in Ukraine

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The group called Ukrainians in the Carolinas said the generosity of North Carolinians has reached people in cities across Ukraine.

Since the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Triangle’s Ukrainian community has been inundated with donations. Sunday, they shipped out their third container load of medical supplies, clothing and basic needs.

“We just pray that this makes it there safely and quickly and helps people there,” organizer Olena Kozlova-Pates said. “Our last supplies went anywhere from Kyiv to Lviv to Mykolaiv to Odessa.” Pates shared photos and videos sent to her from the front lines showing previous shipments of medical supplies making it into the hands of hospitals in need.

Other Ukrainian-Americans have taken it upon themselves to deliver donated supplies to loved ones overseas, like Slava Petukhova, who recently returned after taking military supplies to western Ukraine.

“It’s all materialistic stuff. You cannot give back the streets that were destroyed,” Petukhova said. “For me, when all this started, I was watching every morning. You wake up and you’re thinking, what if my street got destroyed.”

Petukhova said what she heard and saw was “heartbreaking.” She joined dozens of other volunteers packing boxes Sunday afternoon in the Triangle. For her, and many other Ukrainians with family and friends still half a world away, the supplies mean more than just boxes. They’re a way to fight from afar for a country they love. Petukhova said she sees the same spirit of resilience in Ukrainians both in North Carolina and back at home.

“It’s like this church, everybody running around trying to figure out what to do, how they can be helpful,” Petukhova said.

Sunday’s shipment is also being coordinated with the help of North Carolina-based Beast Philanthropy.