Tis the season for building some backpacks for Ukrainian military personnel on the front lines of this Russian invasion.

October 19 kicks off Phase 3 of fundraising to help in supporting those who are in support. At RU4Children we have classified our mission into “Phases” in order to conform to our mission and steward finances accordingly.

Since February 2022 I’ve taken several trips to Ukraine in order to visit friends and acquaintances in Kharkiv and Kyiv. Many of my friends are former orphans that I’ve known for almost 20 years. These trips have also allowed me to see what’s happening on the ground, to evaluate any problems that we can come up with solutions for. We’ve been able to walk away with a very fair idea of what the need is where the need is, and what we can do.

Within the last two weeks, 76 more orphan children were taken from the occupied territories in Ukraine and transferred to Russia, and placed into social rehabilitation centers for minors.

It’s estimated that more than 7000 Ukrainian children have been taken in this fashion by the Russians since February 2022.