When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a Ukrainian State Border Guard Service site in Kyiv region was damaged by shelling.

Ukrainian women and children bravely reach the Polish border by foot, in Medyka, on the Ukraine-Poland border.

Liza, 17, poses for a portrait in the high school-turned shelter in Przemysl, Poland.

A school gym serves as temporary housing for refugees on the Polish border.

About 11,000 meals are cooked every day in this restaurant kitchen that closed during the war and re-opened as part of a volunteer network to serve people in Ukraine. The network has around 500 people and 100 drivers. “We have become a war kitchen,” says Slava, one of the network’s coordinators, which now has about 25 restaurants and three bakeries.

“We deliver to hospitals, kindergartens, and retirement homes. Sometimes we set up our cars and open it for everyone. About 80 elderly women receive a food pack for the next couple of days,” says Leilia, a network organizer.

Varvara brushes her mother, Svitlana's, hair while her younger siblings pass the time at the Ukrainian House. CARE is partnering with Polish Humanitarian Action to provide cash assistance to Ukrainian refugees and basic services at the Ukrainian House in Przemysl, Poland.

Children, who’ve bravely endured the horrific experiences of the last several months, express their feelings in drawings.

“This is like a real gift for us,” says Hanna, holding the hygiene CARE Package she received. “When we were escaping Kherson, it was terrifying. We passed a lot of checkpoints. They didn’t want to let me leave, and said to go back (to Kherson). So I made up a story like I’m going to my dying mother. Only after that they let us through,” she recalls.

Tatiana, 36, gave birth to her youngest daughter in Ukraine while air alarms and explosions happened outside. Her family found refuge in northwest Ukraine in her mother’s small house. But four children share one bed and they are still searching for mattresses to sleep on. There is no working bathroom. They must use a plastic sink for bathing, and there is not enough running water.

"We do not know what tomorrow will bring. We had plans for the future. Now we do not even have plans for tomorrow,” Tatiana says.

CARE and our partners support families like Tatiana’s with psychological support, children’s activities, and resources for assistance.

Refugees find temporary shelter at the Ukrainian House in Poland, where CARE is helping provide cash assistance and basic services.

Masha, 3, and her mother Natalya, 28, fled their home during the war. Today, their family shares this small room in a shelter, built and renovated with the support of CARE's partner in Ukraine. CARE has helped provide furniture such as mattresses, kitchen appliances, tables, and chairs for the shelter.

Regional teams helping to register refugees work by portable lamps during power outages due to attacks on energy infrastructure. No electricity, mobile communications, or internet access makes the registration process extremely difficult.

Evacuation of people from Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine where fighting is nonstop. An average of about one hundred people leave the dangerous areas of Donestk region every day, and at least 350 people leave the Kherson region daily — among them are elderly people who have lived here all their lives, and people with disabilities who simply cannot be picked up sooner. The youngest rescued person was 13 days old, the oldest was 98 years old.