It’s been three years since Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine, but the Russian president has still not been able to capture the country or crush defiant efforts to help those made homeless by the war. Homelessness charity Depaul Ukraine, which was launched in 2007, had been working to support people living on the streets.
When Russia invaded the country in 2022, Depaul immediately expanded its reach, offering help to people who had lost their homes or been displaced by the war. Approximately 3.6 million people in Ukraine have been internally displaced by the conflict, according to United Nations data. Depaul themselves say 22% of those people who are sleeping rough in the war-torn country have been directly displaced by the violence.
The charity’s CEO Anka Skoryk, who is speaking to Big Issue in a video call from her car in Ukraine, knows only too well – her home in Kharkiv was destroyed in the early days of the conflict.
“It really was a shock for me. I had a very small apartment and I saved for many years to have my own house. We built it together with another family,” she tells Big Issue. “But, you know, war has changed the values. It was such a pity, yes, but more important for me was that I was alive. My friends were alive, my neighbours, Depaul staff. “We continued our work to support other people. It was more important that I wasn’t focused on this loss.”
Big Issue has covered how Depaul Ukraine’s work has evolved over the last three years as the conflict has raged on. As Trump and Putin bargain over Ukraine, we hear what life is like for the displaced. Read more in this week’s issue.
What else is in this week’s Big Issue
Meet the remarkable, life-saving, blood-donating dogs
Flat-coated, four-year-old retriever Bear has saved 20 lives in the last two years. But he’s not a search-and-rescue dog, police dog or even a service dog. There were no headline-grabbing dramatic rescues, nor does Bear have an uncanny ability to sniff out illness. However, by donating blood, Bear has saved the lives of 20 dogs.
