Statement from Razom Advocacy Team on 100 Days of the Invasion

Published: June 3, 2022   

On February 24 at around 5:00 a.m. Kyiv time, Russia began to invade Ukraine on multiple fronts. Most intelligence estimates at the time claimed that Kyiv would fall in 96 hours. Experts openly speculated about the future of Ukraine as a country. 

June 3rd marks the 100th day of war. In that time, Ukraine has been able to hold on, winning the Battle of Kyiv, performing above expectations in other areas of combat and retaining its sovereignty. 

Despite these successes, it would be foolish to celebrate the milestone of 100 days of war. 

For the people of Ukraine, these past hundred days have been filled with suffering with no end in sight. Analysts are uncertain of where the war will go next. The news out of the Donbas region, where fighting remains intense, is incredibly grim. Russia continues to occupy much of Southern Ukraine. The Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea has taken the world hostage in hunger. The stories emerging from settlements liberated from Russian control by Ukrainian armed forces are horrific; the very names Bucha and Irpin have already become synonymous with mass death and destruction. Recent reports have stated that Russia is committing genocide against the people of Ukraine. It is not clear what the next hundred days will bring, but the only certainty is that the unjust suffering of the Ukrainian people will continue. 

In these past 100 days, the United States has stepped up its support for its fellow democratic nation. It has sent financial aid and provided Ukraine with weapons to defend itself, most recently HIMARS systems. Along with government assistance, individuals have come together to assist Ukrainians through the war. In the early days of war, Americans rented out AirBNBs from Ukrainian hosts in order to provide them with some quick cash. A fundraiser in Louisiana raised over $8000, allowing for residents of a nursing home in the Donbas to be evacuated to safety. At Razom, we have raised money from childrens’ lemonade stands and tattoo parlors, from unique menu items at restaurants to Ukrainian dance classes. We have used the proceeds to purchase medical supplies, assist in evacuations, support local partners, and otherwise provide help. 

The war is not yet over, however. Neither should our support for Ukraine be. 

In the next 100 days, we as ordinary Americans can and should continue to provide assistance. We can continue to hold fundraisers or support already existing ones to help financially. We can call our representatives on Capitol Hill when there is legislation on Ukraine, letting them know that the will of the American people is to continue standing with Ukraine. We can refuse to give into the narrative of appeasement that has appeared in some publications, and instead listen to the voices of Ukrainians. Most importantly, we cannot allow for fatigue at the news to set in. The Ukrainians currently suffering in their country do not have a choice to turn off the TV or focus on anything else. We can share information about what is going on and continue keeping the narrative with them. 

The people of Ukraine are refusing to give up the fight for their existence. The least we can do is refuse to give up on them. 

Sources

Written by Razom volunteer Allegra Hill

Newsletter #17: We are approaching 100 days of war

Published: June 1, 2022   

We are back!  This week will be 100 days since the invasion, that has felt like it’s been 100 years.  So let’s gear up for the next 100 days together.  Moving forward, our weekly newsletter will land in your inbox every Tuesday morning updating you on Razom’s work and impact and sharing ways you can support Ukraine.  Now is the time to double down on those efforts. 

Dear Razom community,

As we take stock of the last 100 days of war in Ukraine to prepare for the next 100, we are immensely grateful for your support on this journey.  It’s not about one person doing everything, it’s about everyone doing something.  So over the next couple of weeks, we want to share stories of those people, of you, because they remind us of our power to make change possible and keeps us working hard towards Ukraine’s victory.  If you’d like a chance to be featured, please respond back to this email sharing your contact information and 200 words on something you did to support Ukraine.  

In the meantime, here’s what Razom has been up to:

  • The Hospitals Team continues to accept and coordinate in-kind donations from generous individuals and organizations across the U.S.  One example (of many) is Iya Labunka, a Ukrainian-American who lives on the rural island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.  She went to the CEO of her tiny local hospital (Martha’s Vineyard Hospital), to ask if they could donate any medical supplies for the war effort in Ukraine, and boy did they deliver.  They were able to use their buying power to supply us with 1,200 pounds of trauma related medical supplies off of our needs list such as tourniquets, bandages, stop-bleed kits, needles, and IV starters.  
  • The TacMed Team procured 10 high-end portable ultrasound machines by Sonoscanner which have already been distributed to 10 different hospitals across western and eastern Ukraine.  Below is a video of how it’s being used at a hospital in Kyiv!  
  • We’ve shipped over 43,000 IFAKs to Ukraine and below you’ll find a few of them in the hands of our end users like police units, territorial defense units, emergency responders, and many more.
  • In partnership with Smart Medical Aid, Razom hosted an open master class on first aid titled “Let’s start our hearts together” in front of the Opera House in Lviv.  Hundreds of Lviv residents and guests took part in the class, including the Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytskyi and leader of the rock band Okean Elzy, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk.  As part of this initiative, 50 defibrillators will be installed in different cities across Ukraine (including main railway stations) to help save more lives.  

Razom also awards grants to smaller organizations in Ukraine that work with internally displaced persons or those Ukrainians needing help in recently liberated areas or hot spots of the war.  Razom’s Grants team sources and vets these organizations and volunteer groups in order to help provide hard-to-reach populations with food, water, hygiene products, and basic necessities.  Here’s a spotlight on a few of the 38 we’ve issued grants for thus far:

  • Charitable fund Zarady Tebe (“For You”) was awarded $25,000 to fund their projects aimed at improvement of the living conditions of the most vulnerable segments of the population (lonely elderly, people with special needs, and children at risk), with attention paid to the inter-confessional and inter-ethnic dialogue.  Their grant was focused on delivering food packages to the elderly in Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts.
  • Charitable fund Z Poklykom V Sertsi (“Call of the Heart”) was awarded $30,000 to deliver humanitarian aid to small towns close to the frontline of the war or newly liberated small towns.  Oftentimes they are the first aid assistance that these people receive.  

Meanwhile the Razom Advocacy team has been hard at work stateside and accomplished the following in the past three months: 

  • Over three dozen meetings with senators, members of Congress, Congressional offices, policy advisors and experts, and established think tanks.
  • Over half a million dollars-worth collected in donated digital and print ad space to urge the public to “support and supply Ukraine” and close work with renowned journalists such as Anne Applebaum to set up interviews in Ukraine and a number of Razom’s own texts published. 
  • Over a dozen ethnic, religious, and human rights organizations represented at our White House press conference where Razom announced the creation of an American Coalition of Ukraine in addition to regular coordination calls held with over a dozen national and regional Ukrainian-American advocacy groups. 
  • A Congressional briefing held and sponsored by the Ukraine Caucus (and three more on the docket). 
  • Dozens of one-pagers, memos, reports, and presentations prepared for Congressional offices and other advocacy partners. 
  • SEC petition sponsored and activist efforts organized to hold leaders and companies accountable for enabling the Russian war machine. 
  • Consistent work with constituencies across the US over the past three months through social media, traditional media, and phone banking to strengthen messaging for continuous support of Ukraine from the grassroots to the grasstops levels.

The team’s next engagement is with you!  Set a reminder for Razom’s upcoming Twitter Space this Friday at 1:00 pm EST.  We’ll talk about what’s been done to support Ukraine through this brutal invasion and full scale war, and what everyone can do next. 

There continue to be a diverse array of options to support Ukraine and we hope you consider attending some of the cultural events and/or fundraisers happening in your area.  It’s so important to see that nearly 100 days into this war, there are many ways to engage our communities to learn about and support Ukraine.  

In New York:

  • Today, June 1 from 6-8pm the Ukrainian Institute of America in NYC will host an opening reception for its Impressions of War illustrations exhibition featuring a silent auction of forty-four posters created in reaction to Russia’s brutal invasion.  
  • On Thursday, June 2 from 6-8pm THE GALLERY is hosting an opening reception for Ola Rondiak: Women’s History, a hundred years of Ukraine curated by Kyoko Sato. The exhibition includes her recent drawings and collage works subjected to Ukraine women, history and tradition.  Part of the art sales will be donated to Razom.
  • On Friday, June 3 at 7pm, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting a MetLifeArt Benefit Concert for Ukraine to raise money for museum workers and arts institutions in Ukraine.  The concert will celebrate Ukraine’s diverse musical cultures with performances by world-renowned artists with Ukrainian roots.  
  • On Friday, June 3 from 6-9pm Gallery Arte Azulejo is hosting an opening reception for Yana Bystrova: Approaching a Chaotic Reality, influenced by her country’s struggle to become a free nation.  Part of the art sales will be donated to Razom.
  • On Sunday, June 5 from 12-5pm the Shota Rustaveli Georgian Cultural Center is hosting a fundraising concert for Ukraine at the Ukrainian National Home in the East Village. 
  • Starting Friday, June 10 at 6pm the online virtual screening of feature documentary “A RISING FURY” about the war in Ukraine is set for a World Premiere with the Tribeca Film Festival.  The team has been filming over the past 8 years from the peaceful protest in Kyiv in 2013 to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
  • On Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 at the Ukrainian Museum, Director and Producer Andrea Odezynska debuts her new feature-length environmental documentary, Return Sasyk to the Sea, which spotlights the destructive legacy Ukraine inherited as a former member of the Soviet Union.  6/10 tickets here and 6/11 here (all proceeds go to Razom). 
    • Marci Shore, a scholar of intellectual history and a Guggenheim Fellow, will moderate the Q&A after the screening on Friday 6/10.
  • On Sunday, June 12 at 2pm The Timbres are hosting a concert fundraiser for Ukraine at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC. 
  • Stop by Chobani in Soho this month as sales of a new Chobani Café menu item inspired by the Ukrainian flag (Chobani’s Blueberry & Pineapple Creation) will be donated to Razom!

Online / Virtually: 

  • Today, June 1 at 10am EST Soft Serve, an art and design platform that sells work by emerging artists and craftspeople, is launching an Art For Ukraine fundraiser with all proceeds going to Kyiv Pride. 
  • From Saturday, June 4 at 8pm until Sunday June 5 at 8am, the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland will showcase a ‘BACHATHON FOR UKRAINE’ to raise awareness about Ukraine through music.  The focal point will be an exceptional endurance requiring performance taking over 4 hours and 30 minutes, performed by one artist, the acclaimed Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan.  The marathon concert will also feature several musical surprises, videos and interviews with the artists and partner organizations.

In Connecticut:  On Thursday,June 2 at 5:30pm, Sacred Heart University’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts presents a live performance fundraising event called Slava Ukraini.  

In Wisconsin: On Sunday, June 12 at 3pm the Olympia Brown UU Church in Racine will host a concert with music, dance, and stories to benefit Ukraine.  

In Virginia:  On June 24from 6-19pm the Beach Gallery in Virginia Beach is hostinga Hope for Ukraine Art Show & Silent Auction with all proceeds going to either Razom or the World Central Kitchen.  

In Ohio:

In Pennsylvania:  On Sunday, June 26 from 6:30-8pm the Pittsburgh Ukrainian community is hosting a concert at Carnegie Carnegie Music Hall to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Ukraine (including Razom’s work).

Thank you so much for reading this newsletter, for keeping up to date with Razom, and for your support of Ukraine.  Following the horrific and tragic events that took place last week in Uvalde, Texas, it’s important for us to share that Razom stands in solidarity with our community in the U.S. 

We share the pain of the families and community at Robb Elementary and all those who are affected.  These acts of violence are devastating, heartbreaking and require change.  In times like these, we’ve learned to pull each other closer and only then get to work.

Stay razom (together). 

Razom Grants Deepdive

Published: May 29, 2022   

Given humanitarian needs change by the hour and come from multiple geographical points at the same time, Razom awards grants to grassroots initiatives in Ukraine who are responding quickly to the needs of civilians and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

As of today 40 Ukrainian non-profit organizations have received grants from Razom supporting their much-needed work in the regions. The total amount of over $1.6M has been awarded to the grantees, with a large portion of it going to our Razom partner of many years – Building Ukraine Together (Будуємо Україну Разом), whose hard work is currently fully dedicated to helping IDPs and Ukrainians in the most war-affected areas.

Here are some of other amazing Razom grantees and their impact:

Ukrainian Charity Alliance (Український Благодійний Альянс) was awarded $16,000 to create and deliver over 780 kits of food essentials that have a long shelf life for civilians with low mobility in the Kharkiv region. They also provided humanitarian aid for shelters housing those that lost their homes in the bombing and occupation of regions surrounding Kharkiv. World-renowned poet, writer, native-Kharkivite, and Razom partner, Serhiy Zhadan attended some of those shelters to help deliver aid.

The charity organization Call of the Heart (З покликом в серці) received a grant to do their critical work in Chernihiv. They wrote: “For 2 months these people were without food, there were enemies surrounding their homes, the neighboring homes were burned down. People lived in terror and anticipation because their villages were occupied. Now they are free from invaders but they faced a humanitarian catastrophe. A few days later, our volunteers brought humanitarian aid to five villages in the Chernihiv region. Almost 1,000 people received food packages with canned food, groceries, cookies, condensed milk, halva, nuts, baby formula, etc., and personal hygiene products.”

The Korsaks’ Museum of Ukrainian Modern Art in Lutsk was awarded $16,000 to help operate a shelter for evacuees and refugees in Ukraine. In April alone, they provided 12,983 days of shelter for IDPs, including 120 permanent residents (all 30 days) and 1,163 temporary residents (4 days on average). They converted a section of “Adrenalin City” (the local Lutsk mall) and adjacent hostel into a shelter filled with beautiful modern art from the museum founder’s personal collection. The group runs frequent art, craft, yoga, breathing, dancing, and performance art workshops for kids and adults, providing ample opportunity for IDPs to rehabilitate and recover.

Volonterska UA was awarded $30,000 to deliver food and medicines to the elderly and people with disabilities in Kharkiv. With this grant, volunteers were able to deliver medicine to 770 Kharkivites who desperately needed it, delivered more than 4,400 food packages directly into the hands of those in need, and even purchased and delivered pet food around Kharkiv. Their call center receives 1,000 calls daily and has built up a team that can process 300-350 requests per day.

We are grateful to these amazing volunteers for their hard work! And thank you to all the Razom’s supporters and donors for making this all possible!

Follow Razom on social media to see more updates from Razom Grants team. For any inquiries and with questions about the grant program, write to grants@razomforukraine.org.

Razom Lounge at the Ukrainian Festival 2022

Published: May 24, 2022   

A third weekend of May is the time when East 7th Street turns blue and yellow and New Yorkers are heading to the annual St. George Ukrainian Festival. The festival celebrates culture and beauty of Ukraine featuring a variety of traditional food, clothing, arts and crafts, music and so much more.

After three years of quarantine, our famous yellow couch and Face Box were back at the Razom Lounge. Face Box by celebrated cartoonist Sashko Danylenko was a unique opportunity to get a portrait created with the help of unique biological intelligence technology all while helping Ukraine through your donations. While the yellow couch this year hosted congresswoman C. Maloney with Consul General of Ukraine O. Golubov and everyone who dropped by to experience Razom’s atmosphere.

This year Razom Lounge featured the Individual First Aid Kits (IFAK) and guests were able to add a personal note to the heroes at the frontlines that went into a postcard inside IFAKs. As Ukraine is a winner of the 2022 Eurovision song contest, at Razom Lounge one could meet and converse with our volunteers, who were working at the Eurovision’s press center amplifying the voice of Ukraine to the world.

While at the Lounge one could pick up a custom made in a bomb shelter art piece, a sticker, postcard, poster, pin or a t-shirt. And have a blitz game of chess with the young prodigy. Engage in dialogues with the special guests and the Razom team, and so much more.

With the help of 30+ volunteers and everyone who stopped by we were able to raise around $10,000 for the Emergency Response. We thank all the friendly faces and all volunteers who worked many hours under the New York City’s sun – fueled by Veselka‘s raspberry lemonades and Plast NYC cold borshch – for the beautiful weekend full of love and laughter, all for a great cause of standing with Ukraine. We hope to see you at our upcoming events and the Razom Lounge next year. 

Razom Lounge is an annual traditional event organized under our Razom Culture initiative, which promotes Ukrainian culture and spirit in the US and around the world.

The War in Ukraine Is Not Complicated: A Response to the NYT Editorial Board

Published: May 22, 2022   

Russia’s unjustified and brutal war against Ukraine has centered the importance of good journalism. And the New York Times newsroom has provided excellent coverage for the duration of the war. On May 19, the newsroom released more footage of an execution in Bucha, providing much-needed evidence of Russian war crimes.

This makes the recent piece released by the New York Times Editorial Board questioning the United States’ readiness to support a Ukrainian victory all the more pronounced. It seems that, again, the New York Times Editorial Board has undermined its own newsroom’s critical reporting with an irresponsible, out-of-touch, and poorly reasoned editorial demonstrating anything but expertise on Ukraine and on Russia’s colonial violence in the region.

The editorial rightly states that “it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions.” Unfortunately, the authors then undercut this call for self-determination by outlining what those decisions should be: concessions of territory to Russia in order to end the war. This is an idea based on the false premise that Russia will honor any sort of ceasefire or security guarantees, and halt atrocities on the territories it controls. Thus, the Editorial Board accepts the horrific, criminal, and genocidal treatment of Ukrainians that will take place on Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, all in the name of a “negotiated peace.” With Russia’s flagrant violations of the Minsk Agreements as precedent, this “peace” would in fact condemn Ukraine to a permanent state of war. The Board claims to support the message that, no matter how long it takes, Ukraine will be free. But if all of Ukraine is not free, Ukraine is not free.

In the face of an equivocating dictator with no regard for diplomatic efforts—and an army that continues to slaughter, terrorize, and rape civilians of all ages—Ukrainians have made the “difficult decision” to fight and defend their homeland and the values we in the West hold as our birthright. It remains unclear on what grounds the Editorial Board envisions a negotiated settlement with a despot, war criminal, fascist, and “butcher” (in the words of the editorial itself)—who regularly calls Ukraine statehood a fiction. The repeated insinuations that Ukraine will have to make “hard decisions” and make the “painful territorial” concessions that these would demand are head-scratching, not least because the Board, in the very same piece, (aptly) identifies Putin as an “aggrieved, volatile despot who has shown little inclination toward a negotiated settlement.”

And so, if we heed the paternalistic calls of the Board to “shake off the euphoria” and stop “chasing” a win, what does that look like for the millions of Ukrainians who are and will be living under a brutal Russian occupation with genocidal intent? 

The editorial itself is rife with poor reasoning and contradictions. But the insidious insinuations are of particular concern and damage. Continued support of Ukraine allegedly carries “extraordinary costs and serious dangers,” and yet the dangers enumerated—a threatful Russia grasping at straws—persist and endanger more without Western resolve to help Ukraine defend itself. Any attempt of appeasement, by that or any other name, bears “extraordinary costs and serious dangers” when the receiving end is a fascist regime by every possible metric. We have, unfortunately, amassed a large “dataset” specific to what that may look like, what happens when the West bargains with Putin’s aggression. In each instance, we embalm a war. In each instance, we get a more serious, more brazen instance of violence and war that follows.

The Board presents itself as a group of journalists whose views are informed by expertise. But Ukrainians are all too familiar with people who claim expertise on Ukraine based on years in Moscow bureaus and degrees in Russian studies. Too many experts on Russia, many of whom have rebranded themselves as Ukraine experts, see Ukraine as a subsection of their fields, claiming to know Ukraine because they know Russia. This is the root of the problem. You cannot see Ukraine from Moscow.

In characterizing a Ukrainian victory as unrealistic and the amassing Ukrainian successes as “stunning,” the Board shows its own misguided character. For those who keep their eye on Moscow and have only seen Ukraine on the periphery, Ukrainian resolve, victory in an entire theater of war, and continuing successes at pushing back an invasion on a scale not seen since the Second World War have, no doubt, been surprising and unbelievable. But—to Ukrainians, to those Western analysts that forewent colonial and imperial frameworks for understanding Eastern Europe and those formerly under Soviet domination, to those of us that see Ukraine as a truly independent and dignified people and not a mere vector of Russian power projections—Ukrainian successes do not come as a surprise. And we know that, with the necessary support from the United States, Europe, and the international community, Ukraine will win this war.

Ukraine has made the “hard decision” to oppose the extermination of its people in Russian-occupied territories and to fight for all its freedom and all its people. US support, whether extended or not, will not prevent Ukraine from negotiating a peace if it ever became an option. But it will determine whether Ukraine has what it needs to keep fighting for what Ukrainians deserve and what we believe in. It’s now up to us to make sure we support them in this.

Newsletter #16: How Your Donations Are Making An Impact And Much More

Published: May 20, 2022   

It’s important to remember that in Ukraine, rockets don’t choose where to fall, so the wounds of civilians and soldiers are the same.  As we enter day 83 of the war that should have never happened, we are eager to share how your generous donations to Razom help save lives in Ukraine.   

Dear Razom community,

To date, there have been over 300 events hosted worldwide benefiting Razom.  At one point, GoFundMe had 91 fundraisers for Razom live on its platform.  Today, we’ve had over 120,000 donors support our work, with the average donation being under $300 and the largest single donation being $1M.  That means that tens of thousands of you took individual action to help Ukraine.  We know we have yet to acknowledge and sincerely thank every one of you, but we promise to get there soon!  In the meantime, Razom continues to focus on converting all of those generous donations into something that saves lives as fast as possible.  The following are some highlights of that work:

Here is a screenshot of a testimonial sent to one of our TacMed Team leaders, Tonya, from a doctor at a Chernivtsi Emergency Hospital where a lot of wounded (including children) are sent ->

To date, Razom has delivered 100 hospital grade wound vac machines across hospitals in Ukraine, and 220 more are on their way from Sweden right now!  We’ve also procured 1,000 manual emergency wound vacs, plus dressings, that will be making their way to Ukraine in the next few weeks. 

Below is a photo of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (ДСНС) utilizing one of the civilian drones Razom procured and delivered to Kharkiv in their process of demining the city.  Kharkiv is one of the most mined places in Ukraine (and the world) right now, slowing down reconstruction efforts and risking the lives of tens of thousands of people.  Using drones to locate mines increases safety in the process and decreases the long hours it takes to do this work.  Razom is working to deliver more of this tech enabled humanitarian aid in the right hands in Ukraine.

Given humanitarian needs change by the hour and come from multiple geographical points at the same time, Razom awards grants to grassroots initiatives in Ukraine who are responding quickly to the needs of civilians and internally displaced persons.  The program has grown significantly in the past weeks:

  • Volonterska UA was awarded $30,000 to deliver food and medicines to the elderly and people with disabilities in Kharkiv.  Their call center receives 1,000 calls daily and has built up a team that can process 300-350 requests per day.  
  • Ukrainian Charity Alliance was awarded $16,000 to create and deliver over 780 kits of food essentials that have a long shelf life for civilians with low mobility in the Kharkiv region.  They also provided humanitarian aid for shelters housing those that lost their homes in the bombing and occupation of regions surrounding Kharkiv.  World-renowned poet, writer, native-Kharkivian, and Razom partner, Serhiy Zhadan visited some of those shelters to help deliver aid. 
  • The Korsaks’ Museum of Ukrainian Modern Art in Lutsk was awarded $16,000 to help operate a shelter for evacuees and refugees in Ukraine.  In April alone, they provided shelter for 12,983 IDPs, including 120 permanent residents (all 30 days) and 1,163 temporary residents (4 days on average).  They converted a section of Adrenalin City (the local Lutsk mall) and adjacent hostel into a shelter filled with beautiful modern art from the museum founder’s personal collection.  The group runs frequent art, craft, yoga, breathing, dancing, and performance art workshops for kids and adults, providing ample opportunity for IDPs to rehabilitate and recover.

The latest tally from our Hospitals Team is that an estimated $7.5M worth of in-kind donations of medicine and medical supplies have been made thanks to organizations like Americares, MedShare, Partners for World Health, Direct Relief, and companies like Figs and Cabinet Health.  Razom has successfully delivered $3.7M worth of those donations to Ukraine. 

  • For example this week, 2,000 IFAKs donated by Direct Relief arrived in Razom’s warehouse in Ukraine and are ready for distribution.
  • The team also sorted through 8 pallets of individual in-kind donations at our New Jersey warehouse and reconfigured 3 pallets of the most urgent supplies to ship to Ukraine asap.

Razom’s Head of Major & Transformational Gifts, Olena Nyzhnykevych, took to the keynote stage at KubeCon in Spain this week to talk about what Razom is, how we’ve grown, what we’re working on as we scale up, and educate the open source and cloud native community about what Ukraine is going through right now.  There were 7,000 people in attendance in person and over 10,000 online.  

After three years, the St. George Ukrainian Festival is back in NYC which means that the famous Razom yellow couch and Face Box are back too!  Come join the Razom Lounge this Saturday and Sunday to learn all about our work in delivering aid and advocacy, pack some IFAKs, participate in an art workshop, and be together.  Before we open up the Lounge though, we’ll be marching on the Brooklyn Bridge.  Join us for the “Live Chain for Ukraine” on Saturday 5/21 at 12pm on theManhattan or Brooklyn side of the bridge and meet in the middle.  Spread the word, we will need a lot of people to make this a powerful event!

If you can’t be in New York City this weekend, there are so many other events around the country (including virtually!) to look forward to: 

In New York:

In Illinois: Today, May 20 at 6:30pm, theCobra Lounge in Chicago will host a benefit show titled “Punks For Ukraine” with all proceeds from ticket sales going to Razom. 

In Connecticut:  On May 21, a local group of runners in Cheshire, CT are hosting a 5K run/walk in their town to fundraise for Razom.  Learn more info on how to join them or contribute to their GoFundMe page go here. 

In Michigan:  On Tuesday, May 24 starting at 6:30pm, the Armory Brewing Company in Grand Haven will be donating a portion of their sales that evening to Razom! 

In California:  On Sat, May 28, the Riviera Village on Redondo Beach will have over 14 businesses donating 20% of their proceeds to Razom.

In Virginia:  On June 24from 6-19pm the Beach Gallery in Virginia Beach is hostinga Hope for Ukraine Art Show & Silent Auction with all proceeds going to either Razom or the World Central Kitchen.  

Virtually:  From now until May 31st, Ukrainian artist Mariya Zeltsman and Metaversero (World’s first XR NFT Marketplace) are selling NFTs to benefit Razom. 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and continuing to #StandWithUkraine.

Stay Razom.

Newsletter #15: You’ll love these updates from 5 different Razom teams

Published: May 13, 2022   

Razom has significantly scaled and refined its operations in the past few weeks and we are so excited to share how the impact of that work and your donations grows.  We’ve also been hard at work advocating for Ukraine in the US and ask for your support below.  Each one of us can do something for Ukraine today, this weekend, and next week, so let’s get to it!

Dear Razom community,

Razom is always here, moving the needle to get us closer to Ukraine’s victory.  The war is still ongoing and there is still a lot of work to be done now that we’re 70 days in.  We need your support and we humbly share with you all that we’re able to accomplish thanks to your generosity .  Let’s keep it up!  

  • Three ambulances recently made it to Donbas to help care for the wounded on the front lines of the war there.  These ambulances made their way from Wales in England to Donbas in partnership with the United Ukraine Foundation in the UK.  Razom also helped outfit them with tourniquets, IFAKs, other important life-saving medicines, and 30 sets of uniforms to the firefighters of Kryvyi Rih. 
  • Here’s the final tally of the work the TacMed Team at Razom accomplished in just one week (5/2/22 – 5/7/22): 
    • Volunteers built and shipped 8,000+ IFAKs, potentially saving 8,000 or more limbs, or even lives.  The approximate value of them is $600,000.
    • Volunteers built and shipped 40 fully loaded tactical medical backpacks
    • These included 20,000 packs of QuikClot Combat Gauze, which are top of the line and extremely hard to procure these days, but of course Razom TacMed team secured them! 
    • It took 108 volunteers to get this much work done in one week.  We when we say urgent, we’re not kidding!  When we say #razom (“together”), we’re serious! 
    • We also shipped out several pallets of medical supplies, and items such as sleeping bags, stretchers, splints, tourniquets, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, and burn treatment kits.
    • We started an initiative to include kids’ drawings, postcards, and letters packed into the IFAKs to encourage Ukrainian heroes.  If you or your children would like to contribute in this way, please send to:

  ENCOURAGE Ukraine
  57 Beach Street, Suite 306
  Staten Island, NY 10304

  • Meanwhile the Razom volunteers working at the warehouse across the ocean in Ukraine managed to distribute for shipment 40 orders of aid in only one day.  To date, Razom has processed over 600 aid requests from hospitals, field hospitals, and territorial defense units across Ukraine.  
  • So far this month, the MedGlobal team in collaboration with Razom and UMANA have trained over 150 doctors across 6 hospitals in Ukraine totaling 40 hours of trainings.  All of the hospitals visited are receiving wounded civilians and military patients, some as many as 40 such patients per day.  Training topics covered polytrauma, triage, FAST exam, blast injury, among others.
    • One of those butterfly ultrasounds that the MedGlobal team donated saved a life this month.  It uncovered pneumothorax in a patient, something that’s not visible on an x-ray. 

What’s one way you can advocate for Ukraine today?

Join us in support of a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more disclosure about russian operations by US public companies. Razom signed the petition along with the Ukrainian-American Bar Association, Natalie Jaresko (former Finance Minister of Ukraine), and assistance from Andrii (Andrey) Galiuk from StopBusinessWithRussia initiative. 

It’s simple – russian taxes are funding the war in Ukraine, and we need more transparency. The world is watching, Ukrainians are watching.

You can find ways to help us further this work and become a part of the movement here:  https://www.razomforukraine.org/boycott-business-with-russia/

The Razom Advocacy Team is monitoring closely the advancement of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act in the amount of $39 billion.

This is where we need your help!

The Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act will be up for a vote in the Senate soon and we want to make sure Senators know how their constituents – YOU – feel about passing the bill.  Click here to find out why this bill is important and needs your support, and click here to find out how to call your Senators and what to say to them.  Let’s help Ukraine win the war, together.

People around the world continue to be inspired by the perseverance and creativity of brave Ukraine and are coming together to do what they can to help.  Below is a roundup of events that fundraise for specific causes for Ukraine or expose you to amazing Ukrainian art and culture.     

In New York:

Online:  On May 17 DevOpsDays Ukraine (part of the global DevOpsDays family) is hosting a virtual conference benefiting Razom to to discuss DevOps during crisis, incident, and business continuity management and share Ukrainian DevOps expertise.

In Texas:This weekend Art of Peace, a group of Houstonians collaborating to help Ukrainian people, is hosting an art exhibition featuring 30 local artists with part of the proceeds benefiting Razom.   

In Washington D.C.:  On May 17 the US-Ukraine Foundation is hosting a fundraising event featuring Eurovision star, Roxolana, titled “Taking Back Z.”

In Pennsylvania:  On Tuesday, May 17 from 7:30-9:30pm at the Kresge Theater, the Carnegie Mellon School of Music presents a special concert to benefit the Ukrainian people featuring 17 members of the faculty, musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and students of the School of Music. 

In Connecticut:  On May 21, a local group of runners in Cheshire, CT are hosting a 5K run/walk in their town to fundraise for Razom.  Learn more info on how to join them or contribute to their GoFundMe page go here. 

In California:  On Sat, May 28, the Riviera Village on Redondo Beach will have over 14 businesses donating 20% of their proceeds to Razom.

In Virginia:  On June 24from 6-19pm the Beach Gallery in Virginia Beach is hostinga Hope for Ukraine Art Show & Silent Auction with all proceeds going to either Razom or the World Central Kitchen.  

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and continuing to #StandWithUkraine.

Stay Razom.

Security Update

Published: May 12, 2022   

It is a sad fact but fraudsters and scammers are prevalent on the Internet these days. They are feeding on extreme emotions and lure their victims to either donate or click on malicious links in the emails. Unfortunately Ukraine has been such subject most recently.

Since Russia-Ukrainian war, we received many reports of attackers setting up websites that resemble Razom brand and attempting to collect money on our behalf. We have been mostly successful at taking them down with the help of our lawyers.

In the past couple of days we have received a number of emails from website visitors informing us of a message popping up in their web browsers notifying them that “This Connection Is Not Private”.

We want to clear up the confusion and let you know that what is depicted was rather a technical issue which we successfully fixed with the help of our IT professionals. This technical issue in no way meant that any part of Razom’s website was compromised.

Please remember to double check that you are on the correct Razom page, and here is the list of official Razom resources:

Website: https://razomforukraine.org (not .com, not .net or .ua)

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RazomForUkraine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razom.for.ukraine/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/razomforukraine

If you see any suspicious websites or social media accounts that impersonate Razom for Ukraine, and are different from our official pages above – please notify us at info@razomforukraine.org. Thank you!

Leaders of Different Ethnic Organizations in the U.S. Unite in Support of Ukraine

Published: May 11, 2022   

(Originally published by Voice of America) // (Опубліковано в «Голосі Америки»)

Representatives of different U.S.-based ethnic organizations call on Congress to support additional financial aid to Ukraine, in the form of the 33 billion dollar emergency supplemental request announced by President Joe Biden on April 28, 2022. A corresponding call to action was made by activists during a press conference in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

The organizers of the event were local Ukrainian-American community organizations Razom for Ukraine and United Help Ukraine. Other US ethnic, religious, and human rights associations participated in the press conference. In particular, leaders of Polish, Baltic, Syrian, Afghan, and religious organizations were present.

“We, Poles and Polish-Americans, know very well the horrors of war–we’ve lived through this ourselves. And we also understand that the Ukrainians’ fight today is not only about their fight for their own country and their own freedom and sovereignty–which is very important–but also the fight for the freedom of all of Europe,” said Klara Wiśniewska, the spokeswoman for the Polish American Congress, in an interview with the Voice of America correspondent. She added “I am very happy to report that our organization has collected a quarter of a million dollars for displaced Ukrainians.”

Klara Wiśniewska, the spokeswoman for the Polish American Congress
Hurunnessa Fariad, Director of Outreach at Multi-faith Neighbors Network
Yaro Hetman, Senior Director of Innovation at Compassion International

According to the activists, most of the ethnic groups represented were forced to flee dictatorship and war in their own countries one time or another, so today they would like to unite in support of Ukraine. 

“The Syrian community, Muslim community, and all beleivers are with you. This is a “just war” – you are defending your country and your dignity. I’ve been to Lviv twice since the war began. Together with a team of doctors from my organization MedGlobal, we trained doctors and nurses in Ukraine. When Ukrainian doctors, officers, and representatives of the Ministry of Health learned that I had delivered medical aid in Syria, above all else they asked for us to prepare them for the probable use of chemical weapons,” commented Dr. Zaher Sahloul, representative of the American Coalition of Syria and President of MedGlobal (an international non-profit organization that provides medical services to the world’s most vulnerable groups).

Dr. Zaher Sahloul, representative of the American Coalition of Syria and President of MedGlobal
Director of Ops at Human First Coalition and AfghanEvac

During the press conference, organizers of the event announced the creation of an “American Coalition in Support of Ukraine,” which would unite different community groups in the U.S. Additionally, they announced the opening of Razom for Ukraine’s representative office in Washington, D.C.
“We have daily meetings with representatives, with politicians, so now we have official representation here in Washington – this is our first piece of news. The second – the creation of an American coalition in support of Ukraine. We want to unite all these people, communities, organizations, and institutions which already support Ukraine – so that we can cooperate together and have coordinated messaging, so that we can utilize all our channels to further the support of Ukraine,” announced Maryna Prykhodko, a Razom for Ukraine board member.

Представники різних етнічних груп, які проживають у Сполучених Штатах закликають Конгрес підтримати додаткову фінансову допомогу Україні, у розмірі 33 мільярдів доларів анонсовано президентом Джо Байденом 28-го квітня 2022. Відповідну заяву, активісти зробили в четвер 5-го травня під час акції навпроти Білого Дому, у Вашингтоні.

Організаторами події виступили місцеві американсько-українські громадські організації Razom for Ukraine та United Help Ukraine. До заяви також долучились етнічні, релігійні та правозахисні спільноти в США. Зокрема лідери польських, балтійських, сирійських, афганських та релігійних об’єднань.

“Ми, поляки та американські поляки, дуже добре знаємо жахи війни, ми самі це пережили. І ми також розуміємо, що нинішня боротьба українців – це не лише боротьба за свою країну за свою свободу та суверенітет, що дуже важливо, але це також боротьба за свободу усієї Європи, – розповідає кореспондентці Голосу Америки Клара Вишневська, представниця Польсько-американського конгресу у США і також додає, – Я рада повідомити, що наша організація зібрала чверть мільйона доларів для українських переселенців”.

За словами активістів, більшість етнічних груп у США були змушені тікати від диктатури, та війни у власних державах, тому сьогодні вони хочуть об’єднатись на підтримку України.

“Сирійська громада, мусульманська громада та усі віруючі люди – з вами. Це “справедлива війна”, – ви захищаєте свою країну і свою гідність. Я був у Львові двічі від початку війни. Разом із командою лікарів моєї організації MedGlobal ми навчали лікарів та медсестер в Україні. Коли українські лікарі, офіцери та представники Міністерства охорони здоров’я дізнались, що я надавав медичну допомогу в Сирії, вони зокрема просили підготувати їх до ймовірного застосування хімічної зброї”, – коментує Голосу Америки доктор Захер Салул, представник американської коаліції Сирії та президент медичної організації MedGlobal (міжнародна некомерційної організації, яка надає медичні послуги найбільш уразливим групам населення світу)

Під час акції організатори події оголосили про створення “Американської коаліції на підтримку України”, яка об’єднає різні національні групи в США. А також повідомили про відкриття представництва “Razom for Ukraine” у столиці США, Вашингтоні.”Ми маємо щоденні зустрічі із представниками, із політиками тож тепер ми маємо офіційне представництво тут, у Вашингтоні, – це наша перша новина і друга це – створення американської коаліції на підтримку України. Ми хочемо б’єднати усіх цих людей, громади, організації, інституції, які вже й так підтримують Україну. Для того, щоб ми спільно співпрацювали і мали однакові меседжі, щоб ми використовували усі наші канали для подальшої підтримки України”, – повідомила Голосу Америки Марина Приходько, членкиня ради директорів ГО Razom For Ukraine.

Maryna Baydyuk, Assistant Research Professor at Huang Lab; Assistant Research Professor at Georgetown University
Alex Kuzma, Executive Director at Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation

Дивіться сюжет Голос америки тут/Watch the news piece from Voice of America here: https://youtu.be/M9X9a-LPxLY?t=518

Дивіться прес конференцію тут/Watch the full press conference here: https://fb.watch/cRcxSAbX7t/

Спільну заяву читайте тут/Read the joint statement here: https://razomforukraine.org/joint-statement-on-inter-community-support-for-ukraine

Дивіться сюжет американського каналу Фокц про прес конференцію тут/Watch the Fox news piece on the press conference here: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6305792045112/

Emergency Supplemental for Ukraine

Published: May 10, 2022   

What is an Emergency Supplemental and Why Does Ukraine Need One?

War is expensive. Winning a war is even more expensive. We want Ukraine to prevail in this war, and Ukraine needs our help to do this.

The U.S. Congress and Administration have passed several large, historic, and bipartisan financial aid packages for Ukraine in the last two months. Among them: $3.5 billion in drawdown authority, $1.7 billion to ensure continuity of Ukraine’s democratic operations, and $650 million in military assistance to Ukraine. 

However, this is not enough for Ukraine to sustain itself in total war. Ukraine needs security and economic assistance to defeat russian aggression and provide basic commodities to people impacted by the war and russia’s incessant attacks on civilian areas.

As President Joe Biden announced in his May 9 statement, shortly after signing the groundbreaking Lend Lease Act for Ukraine, “I have nearly exhausted the resources given to me by a bipartisan majority in Congress to support Ukraine’s fighters. This aid has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield.”

The U.S. Congress is responsible for approving the spending of the U.S. Government, and the U.S. Administration may ask for additional money beyond approved budgets and spending schedules when the need for funds is too urgent to be postponed until the next regular annual appropriations act.

In light of this, U.S. President Joe Biden has requested the U.S. Congress to promptly pass the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act in the amount of $39 billion. This Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act is an emergency supplemental budget; many similar bills have been proposed and passed before, providing necessary funding for U.S. initiatives, both domestic and international. 

In order to keep Ukraine in the fight for democracy and freedom, Ukraine needs about $10 billion a year in assistance from its strategic partners, according to conservative estimates. However, a $39 billion supplemental budget for Ukraine would be a gamechanger, and, according to President Biden’s May 9 statement, the amount includes “military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,” adding that “the plan was substantial in size, because the need is substantial:  we must stand by Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression.”

But there’s also good news on the horizon. On May 10, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act passed the House. The next step is to have the Senate pass the bill. 

What can you do to help the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act pass? 

First, find your Senators. It is important that Senators hear from their constituents – the people that they represent, so please enter the zip code where you’re registered to vote. 

Second, call your Senator. Yes, calling is important. Someone from the Senator’s office may pick up and write down your message, or you may have to leave a voice message. This is normal and part of the process. Click here for more detailed instructions and a sample text. 

Third, in your message to your Senator, state your name and your zip code. Thank your Senator for their continued support of Ukraine and convey that their support of Ukraine is of utmost importance to you. Feel free to list a few reasons why you support Ukraine, i.e. you’re a Ukrainian-American, you believe in Ukraine’s fight for freedom and against tyranny, or you know someone currently in Ukraine who is affected by the war. 

Fourth, urge your Senator to do everything they can to pass the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act as soon as possible. 

That’s it! Thank you for being an advocate for Ukraine and using your democratic right to voice your concerns and priorities to the U.S. Government to help save lives and defend democracy.