Israeli non-governmental humanitarian aid organization IsraAID is sending a shipment of urgently needed medical supplies to three hospitals in Kherson this Thursday, entering the city for the first time since Russian troops withdrew last Friday.
Russian forces overtook the capital of Kherson Oblast in March. Throughout the city’s occupation, humanitarian groups could not access Kherson. The Israeli organization is among the first to provide much-needed aid supplies, as large swaths of the city remain without power and water.
The shipment includes vital medications worth over $2 million, donated by Heart to Heart International, and will be distributed to three branches of Kherson City Clinical Hospital. The donation was received, processed, and shipped through IsraAID’s Tulcea Humanitarian Logistics Hub, located just across the border in Romania.
From the first weeks of the fighting, the hub has been a crucial player in delivering aid to Ukrainian cities, securing one of the only humanitarian corridors into the country’s southeast. With the support of a vast network of local NGOs, municipalities, and governmental partners, the hub has procured and shipped over 1,900 tons of essential relief items. These include 5.6 million food rations, bedding, clothing, medications, medical supplies, generators, and hygiene items.
With renewed access to Kherson, IsraAID is now looking to expand its work of restoring access to safe drinking water in southern Ukraine.
Since June, the group has been working to address the water crisis in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The city’s main water source, which originates in the Kherson region, was cut off after the infrastructure suffered widespread damage in the fighting. The presence of Russian troops in Kherson had prevented water engineers from reaching the source of the damage.
In September, IsraAID launched a mental health program alongside the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and with the support of the Office of the First Lady of Ukraine. In partnership with the Ukrainian NGO Barrier Free, the Israeli NGO is training psychologists who will work in Ukrainian hospitals, providing mental health support and psychological first aid to doctors and patients amid the ongoing fighting.
The organization began working within the borders of Ukraine in July, expanding on its emergency response missions in Moldova and Romania. IsraAID has since established offices in Kyiv and Odesa. In addition to its work in mental health and psychological support, the Israeli group partnered with the Ukrainian-Israeli NGO Frida to provide medicine and medical supplies to mobile clinics that are operating in Kyiv and the surrounding areas.
IsraAID launched its response to the ongoing Ukraine crisis on February 26th, two days after the Russian invasion, dispatching an Emergency Response team to Moldova to provide urgent support to the thousands of Ukrainian refugees crossing into the country along with other Israeli teams such as those from the United Hatzalah emergency medical response organization.
In Moldova, the organization has been working on protection, education, and medical support for refugees at the border and in formal and informal shelters around the country.
“IsraAID is proud to send our first shipment of humanitarian aid to Kherson,” said the organization’s head of emergency operations, Michal Bar.
“After so long without access to the city, we were able to send these much-needed medications thanks to the strong partnerships we’ve built with local organizations, municipalities, and government officials. It’s amazing to see so many people come together and undertake these huge logistical efforts to support the Ukrainian people’s awe-inspiring resilience. We feel honored to be a part of it.”
