The invisible army of Ukrainian volunteers: 'Without them, the country's defense and society would have suffered enormous losses'
FeatureSince the Russian invasion, over 71% of the population has been involved in voluntary work, one of the pillars of the resistance. Everyone contributes in their own way to the war effort in all areas related to the conflict.
For every season, a different color. It's a matter of survival. In summer, camouflage nets are made in shades of green; in autumn, brown; and in winter, white and gray. In Rakivka, a Ukrainian village of 400 inhabitants next to Bucha, near Kyiv, the 20 or so members of the volunteer network The Library Spiders make made-to-measure nets. If necessary, they also make "mud" or black-colored nets to match the burnt-out ground after the bombings.
"We get requests from all over, especially from Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kursk," explained Oksana Shulga, 41, the organizer of the network operating from the village library. "Soldiers learn about us on TikTok, Facebook, or by word of mouth."
At the soldiers' request, volunteers also send pull-out jackets for the wounded, stretchers, blankets and poison to combat the rats swarming in the trenches. "Our contribution may seem tiny, but it saves lives," said Shulga. "And if we didn't do something at the back to support the army, the front would come all the way here," added her neighbor as she weaved a new camouflage net.
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