Dear UFF Friends and Supporters,

It has been a good month for Ukraine's defenders. A multi-pronged campaign east of Kharkiv demolished Russian positions and exposed the disarray of Russian forces. Putin's refusal to take his generals' advice and withdraw from Kherson north of the Dnipro River further proves both the weakness of Russia's command structure and his amateurish approach to war. Keep reading for our perspective on the conflict and the launch of our new high-priority campaign, Warm Up Ukraine. Please continue supporting our humanitarian mission by clicking below or donating at www.theUFF.org!

Separately, the depth of Russia's anti-Ukrainian bigotry has manifested itself openly since the war began through multiple war crimes across the theater of operations. This is coupled with outrageous statements by a myriad of Russian political and cultural leaders. Now, nuclear threats serve to alienate Russia from global diplomacy for the foreseeable future so long as Putin or any semblance of the power structure which supports him remains at Russia's helm. Even if Putin disappeared tomorrow, there appears no reasonable opposition to step in and fix Russia's backwards governance. So, for the foreseeable future, Ukraine remains western civilization's buffer against a hostile and unpredictable eastern frontier.  

October has brought freezing rain, and there's nothing more miserable than sitting under artillery fire... except sitting under artillery fire in freezing rain. Soon the same winter months which did-in Napoleon and Hitler will descend on both armies in the East. Ukraine's volunteers are scrambling to get winter clothing to friends and families: 

New Campaign: Warm Up Ukraine

Today we're officially launching our Warm Up Ukraine campaign to help defenders and volunteer organizations receive hats, gloves, jackets, socks, boots, thermal underwear, Gore-Tex, multi-layer sleep systems, furnaces, generators, and other critical aid. Our warehouse is recently stuffed with winter sleeping bags ready to be moved to Ukrainians in need.  We plan to alleviate life, at least slightly, on the front line in the cold while giving defenders and first responders an edge over what will no doubt be Russia's ill-supplied replacement troops now being mobilized.

Kyiv’s average low temperatures in October and November are 40° F and 32° F respectively. From there, average lows drop sharply and do not increase above 30° F until April. If not properly dressed and equipped, mild hypothermia sets-in after around 30 minutes of exposure, severe hypothermia in under an hour, and minimum survivable temperature in under 2 hours.

The time to act is now, because these items are currently available for sourcing and procurement both inside and around Ukraine. Similar to other UFF campaigns (vehicles), we anticipate that demand for these items will far outpace supply in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, other organizations have a tendency to monopolize these items early and either up-charge or donate them to Ukraine only to sit in warehouses or remain indefinitely mired in bureaucratic red-tape. 

Drones for Defenders: The Ukrainian Freedom Fund continues to acquire drones for Ukrainian defenders, including over 100 delivered just this week. These drones will be used for humanitarian purposes such as damage assessment and risk analysis platforms. Ihor Kopytin, member of parliament and member of Ukraine’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense Industry and Technical Modernization, was on-hand Monday for our delivery of this much needed aid. "Together with the Ukrainian Freedom Fund, 100 drones have been donated to the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Drones will provide additional capabilities to units in removing invaders from our soil." Also present was General Victor Zaitsev, Ukrainian intelligence, Mr. Fedir Venislavskyi, Representative of the President of Ukraine to Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Major Ihor Herasymenko. Major Herasymenko was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine with the Golden Star Order for exceptional personal courage and heroism demonstrated while defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity following Russia's initial invasion in 2014. We’re very proud to play this humanitarian role in Ukraine’s heroic struggle to protect its people and sovereign territory. You should be proud too, because without you we'd have no role at all.
Ukraine's offensive operations have been successful in taking back significant territory despite Ukraine's quickly expanding officer corps' insufficient training for coordinated operations.  The result is casualties on par with World War I's western front: we are working with organizations that have suffered 70% casualty rates during one month on the Donbas front. Nearly all are killed or wounded by artillery, which could be mitigated by better battle staff coordination and training. Also critical is teaching Ukrainian defenders and citizens to dig proper defensive positions - constantly and always.  This is why UFF developed its Train and Assist Ukraine campaign. Helmets and body armor serve little purpose to citizens and defenders in harm's way if those wearing them don't know the basics of battlefield survival. We're hiring specialists to conduct medical and protective training. They're also helping to evacuate Ukrainian civilians near the front. 

UFF Volunteer Highlight: Victoria "Vika" Murovana is a Kyiv-based UFF volunteer. She has volunteered at Lviv Humanitarian Headquarters since Russia's full-scale invasion started, worked on aid deliveries at the front, and assisted numerous internally displaced families and orphanages. Victoria is the Chief Executive Producer of children's content at the National Public Broadcasting Company Suspilne. She is a PR and Publicity Officer with 10+ years of experience in communications and brand strategy development. She also worked with theatrical distributors of Hollywood Studios, Disney, Paramount, Universal, and DreamWorks in Ukraine. Vika holds a Master of Arts and Philology and was an active participant in the Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014.

UFF Delivers Aid to Kharkiv and Izium

Last week, the UFF team travelled to Kharkiv and Izium with much needed aid. Izium was liberated just a few weeks ago. So far, mass graves have been found with numbers far exceeding the gravesites found in Bucha and Irpin. Follow along by playing the below video and watch as we hand-deliver humanitarian relief, including drones and mine-clearing equipment. Just hours before our arrival, the International Legion of Ukraine lost nine volunteer defenders who were clearing a house in Izium. An explosive device was tripped and the entire building collapsed on them.
Follow along as we hand-delivere humanitarian relief, including drones and mine-clearing equipment, to Kharkiv and Izium.

Thank You!

The Winter will likely to slow progress on both sides. This stagnation may give Russia the time needed to regroup and reinforce. It isn’t sufficient to stay just warm enough for survival. From frozen trench warfare to sweeping winter offensives, those with better equipment enjoy an exponential advantage during these challenging times. We will see these advantages, whether on one side or the other, manifest in measurable progress in the coming months. One way to help the UFF team get ahead is to initiate a fundraising campaign on our behalf. Simply visit our website, navigate to a specific campaign's page, and click the "Help us Fundraise for This Campaign!" button at the bottom of the page. It will allow you to sign up for a custom fundraising page that you can edit and share with friends and family. If you want to help fundraise for our general fund and contribute to the most pressing needs of the day, you can simply click the below button to get started. Thank you - sincerely - for your continued support to Ukraine and the UFF team. These images, stories, and videos would not exist without your generous contributions. For more information, please reach out to us any time at info@ukrfreedomfund.org or visit www.theUFF.org.

Thanks for your support!

Andy and the UFF team
www.theUFF.org