Newsletters July 2026

During a mission on the ground from 15 to 28 June (Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kharkiv), here are a few excerpts from Mike’s journal.

General:

• For or against the government: in general, those who have lost a son, husband or relative in the war are critical of the government; as are those whose relative was forcibly drafted into the army, and those whose home was destroyed by shelling. Among those who are dissatisfied, some denounce a regime that is becoming a dictatorship similar to Putin’s. Those who have suffered no such losses or damage are generally supportive of the government and believe that Zelensky is doing his job. Overall, based on the contacts I had, the population seems divided into two groups with opposing views.
• People are ex-haust-ed by the state of war and disillusioned about the future. Smiles are becoming rare, and bursts of laughter even rarer.
• The forced and often brutal recruitment of young men from the age of 23 is widely regarded as seriously tainted by corruption: for a few thousand dollars, one can be exempted or even discharged. This phenomenon is widely condemned by citizens.
• International humanitarian aid is concentrated almost exclusively on the oblasts close to the front line. Ukrainian NGOs working farther west in the country decry this as unjust, as they now receive virtually no resources from “wealthy” countries.

Kharkiv region:

• Before the “full-scale invasion” (the term used here for the second war launched by Russia in February 2022), the city had 1.5 million inhabitants; it was a genuine hub of eastern Ukraine, with major industrial and commercial activity. Every day, the city hummed with road, pedestrian and rail traffic. Today, there is barely a tenth of that movement. Many factories and shops have closed. An estimated 600,000 Kharkiv residents have left the city. At the same time, around 700,000 displaced people (internally displaced persons), mainly from regions occupied by Russian and allied forces, have sought shelter here. Yet most of these displaced people have no economic activity, possess almost nothing and depend heavily on emergency aid.
• In Kharkiv, among other things, I learned how to distinguish the type of munition falling from the sky: if it sounds like a slow lawnmower, it is an approaching drone and you have time to take cover. But if the sound is only a fleeting “hhhssshhh”, then it is a missile and you do not even have time to utter a sound.

Text in image: “Unexploded Russian drone recovered from the ground” — “Residential buildings hit a few days before my arrival in Kharkiv”.

Text in image: “A five-year-old child was killed during a bombing near a nursery school. Neighbours erected this small memorial where the explosion occurred.”

Persistence and even worsening of human trafficking:

Our partner in Zhytomyr, the association Avenir, is tirelessly continuing its trafficking-prevention work despite the state of war, with Vivere’s support. Here are excerpts from our friends’ mid-year assessment.

In wartime, preventive measures against human trafficking are particularly important, because armed conflicts considerably increase the population’s vulnerability.

The main reasons are as follows:

1. Mass population displacement. Refugees and internally displaced persons are often forced to leave their homes in haste, without sufficient information, money or support. Traffickers take advantage of this situation.
2. Economic hardship: the loss of employment, housing and income forces people to accept dubious job offers or assistance, which may lead to labour or sexual exploitation.
3. Family separation: unaccompanied children or children separated from their parents, women, older people and persons with disabilities face a greater risk of exploitation.
4. Activation of criminal networks. In wartime, oversight by public authorities may weaken, creating favourable conditions for organised criminal groups.
5. Growing online risks. Recruitment increasingly takes place through social media, instant messaging and job sites, under the guise of safe jobs, housing or humanitarian aid.
6. Lack of awareness: people in crisis may not know how to verify the reliability of employers, carriers or organisations offering assistance.

Preventive measures should therefore include:

• informing the population about risks and safe migration methods;
• training people to recognise the signs of human trafficking;
• circulating the contact details of reliable support services;
• supporting communities and the most vulnerable groups;
• coordination between public bodies, civil-society organisations and international partners.

The scale of the human-trafficking problem in the context of the war in Ukraine has considerably increased the risks associated with this phenomenon, both within the country and abroad. The loss of homes, jobs, loved ones and stability has plunged many people into difficult living conditions. This makes them more vulnerable to deception and exploitation. In such circumstances, criminals who profit from the misfortune of others become even more active. Who is most exposed? The following people are most often at risk:

• single mothers trying to provide for their children;
• women who have lost their husbands and are left without support;
• women fleeing domestic violence;
• displaced people who have lost their homes and their usual way of life;
• young girls and teenage girls.

How does it happen?

In wartime, human trafficking is often concealed in the form of:

• “lucrative work” abroad without official registration;
• promises of free housing or assistance;
• contacts and offers via social media;
• help offered by suspicious organisations.

People under stress and looking for a way out of a difficult situation are more likely to trust such proposals.

What can be done?

The assistance provided by certain organisations, such as ours, plays a major role. In particular, it can:

• provide advice on travelling abroad safely;
• provide psychological support;
• circulate verified information about work and risks.

During the period under review, as part of the implementation of the “Step to Safety” project, which aims to combat and prevent human trafficking, 19 prevention activities were successfully organised and carried out, bringing together a total of 350 participants from the Zhytomyr region.  

Text in image: “Young woman receiving advice at our partner’s premises” — “Poster designed by Avenir to summarise trafficking prevention.” Ukrainian poster text: “The recruiter’s task is to hand the future victim over to the buyer or intermediary.”

Assistance for Ukrainian refugees in Montenegro:

From February to April 2026, 74 people (31 adults and 43 children) from Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mariupol, Kyiv and Kherson received food aid. We also support Russian refugees there who oppose the Kremlin’s war. Here are a few testimonies:

• At present, our whole family is in Bar. Dad is 67 and has a disability following heart surgery. Mum is 65 and Grandma is 87. They are all retired. Then there are my two boys, aged five and eleven, and me. We left Kharkiv after our house was bombed. A shell fragment shattered the window. No electricity, no heating: we had to leave. It was 3 March 2022. We really need food aid to get by.
• There are two of us: my mother and me! We fled the war when a bomb hit the building next to ours in Kramatorsk and a fire broke out! We left our home to stay with friends in another neighbourhood, but after only one day the situation there also became dangerous! We had to leave the city immediately! Thank you very much for your help; it means a great deal to us at the moment.
• I have lived in Bar with my two children for three years; we left Russia because of the war. The problem is that I have to raise my children on my own, and one of them is autistic. It is difficult to find work, and I am currently experiencing financial hardship. I beg you to help me—I cannot manage on my own.
• We are from Kramatorsk (Donbas). We fled the war and arrived in Bar in March 2022. Our family consists of me, my husband and my mother. We are all retired; we do not work. We receive no help from anyone because we have no children, sisters or brothers. Our pension is our only source of income, and we need a great deal of medication.

Text in image: “ABOLITION”.