Until November 29, 2022, Rivne hosted the mobile street exhibition of original artworks by Ukrainian illustrators, “EU Side by Side with Ukraine”. Before that, the exhibition was in Lviv, and opened the information campaign “Together, we are Europe” in August in Kyiv.

The purpose of the exhibition was to show the scale and directions of the European Union’s assistance to Ukraine. This support has grown enormously since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion and is truly unprecedented.

In particular, as of November, it is more than EUR 21 billion of the macro-financial, budgetary, grant, humanitarian and emergency assistance. The EU and the Member States allocated EUR 8 billion on a bilateral basis for weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 13 million people in Ukraine have received assistance from the EU and partners to meet their immediate needs and more than 7.5 million have found shelter in the EU countries where they can safely live, work and study.

The information campaign was held by “Communicating the European Union for Ukrainians” (CEU4U), an EU-funded project implemented by Ecorys.

In particular, Suspilne TV introduced the special news heading Allies in the Regional Telethon Resistance. ICTV and STB Channels were also involved in cooperation as part of the National Telethon UA Together. The video products created by the project covered 6.5 million viewers, while radio programs – more than 5.8 million. More than 700 thousand people watched a virtual concert featuring leading Ukrainian artists on Independence Day. More than 7 thousand took the EU Side by Side with Ukraine quiz, 1500 infographics on EU assistance were distributed, and a number of public events and activities were held.

The Russian invasion has forced millions to migrate to other regions of Ukraine and abroad. Displaced people often face problems with housing and money. This has significantly increased their risk of getting into a situation of human trafficking.

To help internally displaced people protect themselves from this, the EU and IOM conducted an awareness-raising campaign to combat human trafficking. The aim was to encourage people to follow safety rules and, if necessary, not to hesitate to contact the National Hotline for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Counselling Migrants – 527.

Five safety markers – simple rules that help protect against human traffickers – were developed and shared.

Here are the recommendations developed for the information campaign.

Give your documents only to officials, and ensure you have paper and electronic copies of the most important ones. Plan in advance or know your travel route, and do not get into a car with strangers or suspicious people. Accept help only from reliable volunteers or official organizations you know. Don’t give anyone your mobile phone or other means of communication, and be careful and cautious when dealing with strangers. Keep in touch with relatives, friends, or colleagues, and keep them informed about any changes and plans regarding your place of residence or work. It is good to agree on a code word or phrase with them to send them a signal of danger.

The campaign messages reached a vast audience.

In particular, the videos were watched on YouTube by more than 11 million viewers, reaching 14.2 million through social media, more than 13 million – online, and 8.6 million – through television. In addition, hundreds of billboards and thousands of posters were placed, increasing the number of calls to the 527 Hotline and the number of consultations provided – this is important given that one call may involve several different consultations.

Kyiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions in April, then Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Common for the regions liberated from the occupation or near the frontline is completely destroyed or damaged residential buildings, utilities, enterprises, and infrastructure. The term war waste means mountains of bricks and concrete fragments instead of houses or schools, fallen power poles, burnt metal frames of warehouse facilities and more.

The U-LEAD with Europe Programme studied what and how to deal with these multi-ton consequences of war, especially for weakened communities. Experts prepared and presented recommendations and algorithms in comprehensive and detailed infographics which describe common war waste management problems, response and recovery phases, and suggestions for the organization of waste storage sites, etc.

However, the expert emphasizes that the process is complex and requires joint efforts and resources of the owners of destroyed facilities and local self-government bodies.

The second priority, according to Oleh Chernysh, is the transportation of waste to waste management facilities or temporary storage sites, which should be specially adapted land plots. They can be fenced and equipped with a drainage system and lighting.

In November, the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine (EUAM) donated 13 sets of computers and 28 cameras to document war crimes in the newly liberated towns of Lyman (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region) and Kherson region. This will increase the capacity of Ukrainian investigators to collect evidence.

This time, EUAM assists the Criminalistics Support Division of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine. The equipment will go to law enforcement officers working in frontline regions as their equipment was lost or destroyed during the war. The total value of this assistance package is EUR 30 thousand.

In addition, in September, EUAM helped to organize a training course conducted by the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service for criminologists from the National Police and the State Bureau of Investigation. The training covered victim identification, handling chemical and biological traces, fingerprints, weapons and ammunition, and crime scene management.

This activity of the EU Advisory Mission was launched in April by the decision of the EU Council. Member States have tasked EUAM to support Ukrainian counterparts in investigating international crimes through advice, training and equipment. For example, during joint visits to the liberated towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel in the Kyiv region, EUAM experts provided advice and support in evidence collection, DNA profiling, victim identification, crime scene management, trace evidence collection and identification, etc.

Since March 2022, the EUAM experts have also provided advice on facilitating border crossing for refugees and goods at the border crossing points between Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The Mission plays a vital role in implementing the European Commission’s Action Plan for EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes by facilitating the export of agricultural products from Ukraine. EUAM is also supporting Ukraine’s security and intelligence services with practical steps to build resilience and helping them to establish cooperation with EU partner organizations. In total, EUAM has provided support worth €1.6 million.

One of the biggest challenges in working with displaced women is motivating them to receive not only financial aid, but also social and psychological support. Due to certain social stereotypes, people of the middle and older generation have a rather skeptical attitude toward psychological help.

Thus, the head of Impulse.UA Charitable Foundation Mykola Kolodyazhnyi summarizes the experience gained during the implementation of the project “Providing Comprehensive Social, Psychological and Legal Support to IDP Women with Children in Rural Communities of Zaporizhzhia region”.

The project was funded by the European Union under the Civil Society for Democratization program and was completed in November.

More than 180 displaced women and about the same number of their children took part in the project activities. Together with family members, the project indirectly reached at least 500 people. The project covered four united territorial communities: Pavlivska, Mykhailivska, Mykhailo-Lukashivska and Petro-Mykhailivska and held events in twelve villages of these communities.

The project also surveyed the problems and needs of displaced women. Many still feel depressed, confused, and anxious about their loved ones who remained in the occupied territory. There is a need for entertaining, educational and integration activities for children. Humanitarian support, things of prime necessity, finding a job and a decent salary remain important issues to resolve.

The project has a positive story to share – they helped a displaced girl with cerebral palsy solve a difficult personal situation.

On November 18, 2022, a small convoy of motor tractors could be seen on the streets of Pyriatyn, Poltava region – local farmers were testing the equipment purchased with EU funds.

The tractors were provided by the EU project “Building Value Chains in Dairy and Berry Clusters of Pyriatyn Community for Economic Empowerment of Youth and Rural Residents and Eco-oriented Growth”. The project started shortly before the full-scale war, and the team had to change plans as in many other cases.

Therefore, the project now supports local agricultural producers through calls of proposals, thus meeting the community’s food needs.

Five Scout motor tractors and attachments were purchased and provided to the winning farmers as one of the current activities. This machinery will be used this year to prepare grains and oilseeds for the next sowing season, and in the spring, the project participants will cultivate their land and will be able to provide services on a contractual basis.

Also, a total of 67 households will receive greenhouses and drip irrigation kits by the end of the year. About 10% have already installed these facilities, prepared the land and planted winter fennel, green onions, and radish. The remaining households plan to start using greenhouses next year. With this project component, the community expects to produce up to 20 tons of vegetables annually.

In addition, local farmers received equipment from the EU project to store 2,800 tons of feed grain in horizontal elevators or polymer sleeves. By the end of the year, they plan to load up to 1,600 tons into seven or eight such sleeves. From the next year, the grain will be gradually used for the community’s needs as feed for cows, pig farms and poultry houses, as well as for the production of cereals.

And one more project’s focus is mini-farms. In November, two mini-farms completed repairs and now install milk pipelines and tanks, drinking machines, pumps, and other equipment. One farm with ten cows will be ready-to-operate by the end of the year, with planned milk production of up to 8 tons per month.

Despite the war and its consequences for the well-being and security of Ukrainians, they remain optimistic and committed to European values. This is one of the conclusions of the EU-funded survey “Migration and Social and Political Changes in Ukrainian Society due to the War” completed by Gradus Research and the Center for Economic Recovery.

The research team conducted 12 surveys during May – October and presented the results of the last one on November 23, 2022.

The surveys covered migration processes, how Ukrainians perceived a full-scale war, the situation with their income and employment, how they assessed the performance of the government and social policy in Ukraine, trust in institutions, and values.

Migration was one of the most critical issues for the project. Director of Gradus Research Yevheniia Blyzniuk notes that the latest survey showed an increase in the share of those who are hesitant whether to return from abroad.

Security, availability of work and housing are crucial for respondents to decide whether to return to their homes.

Another conclusion of the study is that 78% of Ukrainians have experienced a decrease in income due to the Russian invasion. At the same time, the share of those who have a job but do not work is decreasing from 23% in May to 14% in June.

Despite economic and security challenges, Ukrainians stay optimistic. Their belief that Ukraine can build a strong economy, rebuild everything destroyed after the war and become a member of the European Union in the foreseeable future is high (59-64%).

Citizens of Ukraine also remain committed to values. Human life is the highest value for 92%, freedoms and rights – for 89%, and mutual assistance – for 87%. Respect for human rights and human dignity remain among the most supported principles.