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Another shipment of essential sanitary and hygiene products, generously donated by our partners Essity, has been delivered to frontline regions in Ukraine. These supplies are reaching people who've been forced to leave occupied territories, providing them with the basic necessities they need.
The ongoing war continues to create immense humanitarian challenges. Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, with many fleeing occupied areas under extremely difficult circumstances. Access to basic hygiene products is a crucial necessity for maintaining health and dignity in these conditions.
We extend our deepest gratitude to Essity for their generous donation and unwavering commitment to supporting people in crisis — and to our partners in Ukraine for the updates.
Thanks to the support of our partners, we've been able to purchase the first batch of 500 tourniquets for Ukraine.
When someone gets hit and an artery is severed, they have minutes to live. Sometimes less. A tourniquet is a simple strap that stops life-threatening bleeding by cutting off blood flow to an injured limb.
Applied in seconds, it keeps someone alive long enough to reach proper medical care. On the frontlines, where ambulances can't always get through and hospitals are hours away, having a tourniquet means having a chance.
This first batch is an important step in our tourniquet fundraising campaign — and it won’t be the last. We’re continuing to raise funds to purchase and deliver more life-saving medical supplies.
We're happy to share that the gifts we packed together during our Christmas Gift Factory have safely arrived in Ukraine and been delivered to defenders!
This Christmas, our community transformed HUG into a real gift factory – wrapping presents, signing heartfelt cards, and preparing packages for both children and defenders in Ukraine. People brought gifts from home, wrote warm wishes, and worked side by side to spread hope and support. Together, we packed 106 gifts for Ukraine's defenders – and now they've been delivered across Ukraine.
Thank you to everyone who joined this important initiative. Together, we continue to spread light kindness!
We at Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG) recently had the pleasure of welcoming Bishop Susanne Rappmann from Göteborgs stift for a visit. It was a warm and meaningful exchange, where we discussed not only the immediate challenges Ukraine faces, but also the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people.
Together, we recorded an interview for P4 Göteborg, focusing on the current situation in Ukraine and what continued support looks like in practice. Conversations like these help bridge understanding and keep the spotlight on a crisis that is far from over.
We are deeply grateful to Bishop Susanne Rappmann for her expressed support and solidarity with Ukraine. Such gestures remind us that we do not stand alone in our fight for freedom and justice – and that solidarity matters now more than ever.
A specialized vehicle donated to Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG) by Region Halland is now serving in Konotop. Unlike a traditional ambulance, it’s equipped with seatings and is used to transport socially vulnerable residents and veterans to hospitals and medical appointments.
Last summer at Almedalen, the HUG team had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Konotop. Through panel discussions and direct conversations, he shared what life is like in a frontline city and what needs the community faces.
In the autumn, the city reached out with a request. And thanks to the trust and support of Region Halland, we were able to help.
This vehicle helps elderly people, people with disabilities, and veterans reach care safely and on time — and it has already become part of everyday healthcare work on the ground.
We are grateful to Region Halland for their trust and support, and to our partners in Ukraine for the updates — they show exactly why this support matters.
A photo from an apartment building in Kyiv shows frozen walls, dark stairwells, and a thermometer reading –6°C inside a home. This is not an abandoned city. It is daily life in the capital of a European country in 2026.
Due to constant missile and drone attacks by Russia, Kyiv’s power grids have been repeatedly damaged. Electricity is available only for limited hours - or not at all. Without electricity, heating and water systems fail as well.
In districts without stable heating, pipes and radiators burst. Walls and staircases freeze through. At times, it is impossible to get plumbers to release air from heating systems — emergency services are overstretched or lack power themselves.
In some apartments, residents are forced to pour water leaking from radiators directly out of their windows to prevent flooding. In others, temperatures drop to +5°C if there is no gas supply. Those with gas stoves are considered “lucky”: cooking and baking can raise indoor temperatures to around +12°C.
After another attack on energy infrastructure, all electric public transport on Kyiv’s right bank has been suspended - no trams, no trolleybuses. The city is paralysed not only by cold, but by the loss of basic mobility.
Living conditions in parts of Kyiv have become virtually uninhabitable. Yet for most people, there is nowhere else to go. Shops have begun allowing animals inside to warm up - a quiet but powerful symbol of this winter.
What Russia is doing to Ukrainians goes beyond shelling. It is a deliberate attempt to break civilians through cold, by stripping people of electricity, heating, and water. This is energy terror - and a form of genocidal practice aimed at survival itself.
And still, Kyiv endures. People support each other. Electricity returns for hours. Warmth comes in fragments. But each such winter leaves deep scars - in bodies, minds, and memory.
The ultrasound machines generously donated by Sahlgrenska University Hospital have been successfully delivered to Ukraine and are already in use.
The equipment has been distributed to several healthcare facilities in the Kharkiv region — a military hospital, the Ljubov Mala Institute of Therapy, and a university hospital, which treats many wounded service members and recently opened a prosthetics center.
Before being put into operation, the devices are being carefully checked and prepared by local engineers to ensure everything works reliably and safely in each department.
HUG - Help Ukraine Gothenburg are deeply grateful to Sahlgrenska University Hospital for this meaningful contribution — and to our partners in Ukraine for the updates. This support is already strengthening frontline healthcare in a very tangible way, helping medical teams deliver timely diagnostics and care.
We at HUG (Help Ukraine Gothenburg) are excited to introduce EmpowerHUB — a program advancing sustainable integration through targeted support for Ukrainians under temporary protection in Sweden.
The response has exceeded our expectations. In just the first month, we reached 142 participants, and we're continuing to grow as we meet real community needs.
What is EmpowerHUB?
EmpowerHUB addresses the real challenges many Ukrainians face: temporary legal status, skill mismatches, limited access to clear information, and the stress of navigating life in a new country. Instead of searching for support across different organizations, participants can access everything they need in one place.
The program includes:
Mental health support — managing stress and building resilience through group workshops and individual counseling.
Legal consultations — guidance on Swedish law, migration status, work permits, and family matters.
Language learning — English courses for adults and youth, and Swedish speaking club with native speakers.
Social integration — community events, cultural activities, and networking opportunities.
Career guidance — professional development and pathways to education and employment.
Our mission is to help Ukrainians overcome psychological, legal, and educational barriers while strengthening resilience and enabling active participation in Swedish society.
📅 Information about upcoming activities and registration for consultations is published regularly on our channels. Follow us to stay updated on EmpowerHUB events and opportunities.
EmpowerHUB is implemented by HUG in partnership with Carl Johans pastorat of Svenska kyrkan and co-funded by the European Union through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced millions of people to flee their homes and rebuild their lives elsewhere. In Sweden, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been living under Temporary Protection since 2022. While they have found safety, the psychological burden of war, loss, and forced displacement still affects their daily lives and well-being.
This reality became increasingly visible through the daily work of Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG). An initiative that started as emergency humanitarian assistance gradually evolved into long-term community support and, eventually, into a mental health support programme – Better You&Me.
Living in Safety, Carrying the War Within
Over two years, participants described a range of traumatic war- and displacement-related experiences, including the loss of home and community, family separation, suppressed grief, constant fear for their children, and the ongoing pressure to integrate while still living with the emotional burden of war.
“I have nowhere to go back to. My homtown is destroyed”
“I lost everything. I feel equally ‘not at home’ in Ukraine and here in Sweden” .
“I think a lot of those who came to Sweden and have been living here for more than a year can say they don’t remember the past year. What was the spring like? What was the summer like in 2022 - was there even a summer? We saw the sun, but we didn’t feel it. No one was happy about it”.
Emerging Mental Health Risks
Over time, these experiences have contributed to emerging and deepening mental health risks. Prolonged exposure to war-related stress and uncertainty for many participants contributed to rising levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, exhaustion, and social withdrawal. Of particular concern was the growing presence of suicidal thoughts and burnout-related symptoms, alongside difficulties in daily functioning.
77% of participants reported high levels of anxiety
58% difficulties in daily functioning
56% symptoms of burnout
47% symptoms of depression
44 probability of PTSD
36% suicidal thoughts
Despite significant mental health challenges, mental health needs frequently remain unmet, as 72% of participants indicated a need for additional mental health support.
What Makes Recovery Possible
Recovery is not a linear process. It may depend on multiple conditions, but being simply seen, heard, and connected is often where it begins.
For people affected by war and displacement, recovery requires time and space – something the programme was able to offer, but also much more. Better You&Me is an initiative that brings together a research-informed approach with community-based practice. Its design is grounded in trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and recovery-oriented principles.
Over two years, Better You&Me supported 671 displaced Ukrainians in Sweden through 1,578 individual sessions and 432 group sessions focused on mental well-being.
87% of participants rated the programme’s impact on their mental well-being as high
94.4% reported that the assistance was aligned with their needs
96.7% would recommend the programme to others
These figures, however, represent more than performance indicators. Each hour of assistance reflects a personal experience, shaped by loss, fear, and grief, but also by hope and efforts to reconnect with oneself, others, all, and life.
Recommendations
The report presents recommendations for strengthening mental health, well-being and integration support for displaced Ukrainians in Sweden.
Based on the research and evaluation findings, we recommend that the Government of Sweden and SKR reinforce community-based mental health initiatives, including piloting partnerships with trusted NGOs providing culturally and language-appropriate support. The findings also underscore the need for closer collaboration between public authorities, healthcare, education, municipal services, and civil society.
In addition, authorities should ensure clear and transparent information on future residence options. According to the Better You&Me findings, uncertainty around residence status has become a major stressor, placing employment, education, and family stability at risk.
Thanks to the generous support of our partners in the Rotary Clubs of Gothenburg, three vehicles have made the journey from Sweden to Ukraine. Hug have transformed them into fully equipped life-saving vehicles that are now actively serving on the frontlines.
How We Transform Cars:
Each CASEVAC is equipped with everything medics need to save lives in combat conditions:
Autonomous heating systems for winter operations
220V power systems to run medical equipment
Adaptive LED lighting for field conditions
Secure stretcher mounting systems
Patient monitors and aspirators
Oxygen concentrators
Organized storage for medical supplies and medications
These aren't vehicles waiting in storage — they're out there right now, saving lives. All three CASEVACs are currently operating in active combat zones across Ukraine. One is serving in the Donbass region, where some of the most intense fighting is taking place and where rapid evacuation is absolutely critical — it's what determines who survives.
Why This Matters
When a soldier is wounded in combat, the "golden hour" determines survival. In that critical first hour, getting a wounded soldier from the battlefield to proper medical care is everything. But frontline areas often have destroyed roads, ongoing shelling, and terrain that ordinary ambulances simply cannot handle.
These specialized CASEVAC vehicles solve that problem. They can:
Reach casualties in areas regular ambulances cannot access
Provide immediate medical stabilization while still in the combat zone
Transport patients safely over rough terrain and damaged roads
Continue providing critical care during evacuation, even under fire
Every minute saved means a better chance of survival. Every piece of equipment means medics can do more to stabilize a patient before they reach a hospital. Every vehicle we deliver means more soldiers get the rapid help they desperately need.
We're deeply grateful to our partners in the Rotary Gothenburg for making this possible. This donation helps Ukrainian medics reach wounded soldiers faster and give them a real chance to survive.
Want to Help Us Deliver the Next Life-Saving Vehicle?
Friends, we invite you and your families to a great celebration of Ukrainian Christmas with HUG - a day full of warmth, traditions, creativity and carols.
Here, in Sweden, we will create a real feeling of home - with a Ukrainian soul and Swedish hospitality.
🎄 What awaits you:
✨ Master class on making Christmas kutia We will cook traditional kutia in a real makitra and learn about the symbolism.
✨ Creative workshops • For adults - creating and painting a Christmas star and decorations • For children - fun creative zones
✨ St. Nicholas Factory Together, we increase the good in the world! Join in wrapping gifts: • from a child to a child • from a child to a Ukrainian defender
✨ Gift giving for children by Saint Nicholas (with prior registration)
✨ Children's performance "Searching for Christmas" A bright Ukrainian fairy tale for children from 3 to 10 years old (registration for the performance is carried out separately)
✨ Carol from Ukrainians and Swedes
✨ Swedish-Ukrainian table Treatment, communication, and acquaintance with Swedish and Ukrainian Christmas customs
📍 Bankogatan 61 🗓 December 19, 15:00–20:00 🔗 Register for the Christmas celebration.
If possible, we invite you to wear embroidered shirts or elements of national costume.
Come with the whole family! Together we will create an unforgettable holiday! 💙💛
After thousands of kilometers on the road, our volunteer-driven convoy has safely arrived, delivering urgently needed medical vehicles.
This convoy is the result of our fundraising campaign to deliver 10 ambulances to Ukraine. Thanks to the support of our partners and the Swedish community, we've now sent 7 life-saving vehicles.
“I joined HUG as a volunteer 3.5 years ago. It all started in Kungsbacka, where I met people who had arrived from different parts of Ukraine seeking safety in Sweden. There's a huge aggressor nearby, and Ukraine has taken an enormous hit. The rest of Europe could be threatened as well. It's a very complicated situation – people haven't seen anything like this since World War II” - Per Rosengren, volunteer
The need for medical transport in Ukraine remains critical. As of November 2025, 2,530 medical facilities within 815 healthcare institutions have been damaged or destroyed. Russian aggression has completely destroyed 327 facilities belonging to 125 healthcare institutions.
"I think this is obviously a matter that concerns us all, given what's happening. By helping out, we're helping ourselves, and we can make everyday life easier for those who are struggling. Down there right now, it feels like the least we can do”. - Anders Rundström, volunteer
Ambulances have become critically important to Ukraine's emergency system. In areas where hospitals have been destroyed or are overwhelmed, ambulances serve as a vital link between injured civilians and medical care. Each donated ambulance means countless lives can be saved.
"This is my first time driving an ambulance all the way to Ukraine. It makes the help more tangible – if you can help, you should help. It feels natural to me. We asked colleagues in the office if anyone wanted to help, and so many actually volunteered. We had to draw lots to select the seven who would drive down. That shows how much people care" – Jan Holmius, Mannheimer Swartling
We're deeply grateful to all the incredible volunteers who drove every vehicle all the way to Lviv. Special thanks to Region Halland, who donated 3 ambulances and strengthened our fundraising efforts. And heartfelt thanks to the Swedish community who continues to support our mission to help Ukraine.
We're still raising funds to deliver the final 3 ambulances and complete our goal.
Donate today and help us put more life-saving vehicles on the road:
The Holodomor of 1932–1933 was a genocide of the Ukrainian nation, carried out by the totalitarian Soviet regime to suppress the Ukrainian people and eliminate resistance to Ukraine's independence. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, Ukrainian statehood was destroyed after the division of territories between Poland, Lithuania, and the Russian Empire. In the next two centuries, Ukrainians were subjected to harsh colonization, Russification, and persecution for their national identity. The independent Ukrainian People's Republic, established in 1918, lasted only a few years, after which the Ukrainian lands were occupied by the Bolsheviks, who established a communist totalitarian regime.
In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed, which included the Ukrainian SSR. Despite declarations of equality of the republics, the Kremlin effectively controlled Ukraine, viewing Ukrainian national identity as a threat to the existence of the Soviet state.
Collectivization and the beginning of repressions
In 1928, the Soviet authorities announced a policy of collectivization - the unification of private peasant farms into collective farms. Ukrainian peasants, known for their strong sense of individualism and national identity, actively resisted. About 4,000 uprisings and protests were recorded, which the Kremlin decided to suppress by force. The authorities used coercion, terror and propaganda against "kulaks", "bourgeois nationalists" and "counter-revolutionaries", and those who refused to obey were physically destroyed.
It was forbidden to leave Ukrainian villages for the cities, as well as for other republics of the USSR. People were literally locked in the territory of starving Ukraine and the Kuban - 22.4 million people were trapped.
Repressive methods
Blackboards: villages and collective farms that did not fulfill the grain procurement plan were listed on the "blackboards". This meant a complete blockade: confiscation of all products, a ban on trade, and the surrounding of peasants by the military, NKVD bodies, and police.
Laws on Five Ears of Wheat: for harvesting grain and products that remained in the field, peasants were punished with death or 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Seizure of grain and food: not only grain was seized from villages, but also other food and property that could be exchanged for food.
Propaganda and concealment of the famine: the Soviet authorities denied the existence of the famine, refused aid, censored information, and forced people to falsify the causes of death - "typhus", "exhaustion", or "old age".
Human losses and consequences
In the spring and summer of 1933, mortality reached catastrophic levels:
28,000 people daily,
1,168 people hourly,
20 people every minute.
Millions of Ukrainians died. The authorities forbade documenting the cause of death as “hunger,” and certificates indicated “typhus,” “exhaustion,” or “old age.” Today, historians are restoring the true numbers and lists of victims. The total losses reached millions of Ukrainians.
The most vulnerable were children, the elderly, and peasant families. Many people died on the streets and in their huts from exhaustion and diseases exacerbated by hunger. Secret lists of village councils indicate that the real number of victims is twice as high as the official figures.
Genocide of the Ukrainian nation
The Holodomor was a targeted genocide: the Ukrainian peasantry was destroyed as a source of spiritual and material strength of the nation. Stalin and his entourage realized that the Ukrainian peasants were the bearers of traditions, culture and language, and their destruction would weaken the Ukrainian national identity. All this happened at a time when the USSR had large stocks of grain in state reserves, and large-scale food exports abroad were also ongoing. Such a policy of the totalitarian regime indicates a deliberate intention to destroy part of the Ukrainian nation in a specific and controlled period of time.
Memory and recognition
In 2006, Ukraine officially recognized the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The 2010 resolution of the Kyiv Oblast Court of Appeal confirmed the genocidal nature of the crime and the intentions of Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Postyshev, Chubar, Khataevich, and Kosior. The memory of the Holodomor lives on in museums, thematic exhibitions, lessons, and publications.
Every year on the last Saturday of November, Ukraine holds a memorial service - people light a candle in their window in honor of the millions of victims. The trauma of the Holodomor still lives in the collective memory of Ukrainians, passed down through generations as pain and warning.
Additional resources for Swedish audiences
“The Holodomor: Main Facts” has been expanded to include a Swedish-language version! You can download, print, and use the publication for educational activities within the relevant language environment.
The translation into Swedish was done by the Nordic Ukraine Forum, a Swedish-Ukrainian organisation that aims to build bridges between Sweden and Ukraine. The organisation is engaged in advocacy and, in particular, is actively working to ensure that Sweden recognises the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
At HUG - Help Ukraine Gothenburg, we have books in Swedish about the Holodomor that you can borrow to read in our mini-library. They help Swedes understand the history and scale of the tragedy, as well as raise awareness about the crimes of the totalitarian regime.
On November 28, 2025, Oscar Fredrik's Church in Gothenburg hosted a charity concert organized by Help Ukraine Gothenburg (HUG). The afternoon brought together Ukrainian artists and the local community for an event where good music met a good cause.
The church’s exceptional acoustics and warm atmosphere created the perfect setting for a program that combined classical pieces, Ukrainian music, and vocal performances. The lineup included Insomnia taxxi, Yuriy Kuzmenko, Veronika Zagoskina, Nataly Snizhko, Tymofii Slakva, Mykola Mykytik, Larysa Vashchenko, Anna, Grigorii Petrus, and Yevhen Krupin.
The performances showcased different styles and approaches, giving the audience a rich experience while supporting the fundraising effort. All ticket proceeds from the concert went directly to HUG's ongoing fundraising campaign to deliver 10 ambulances to Ukraine.
A warm thank you to Carl Johans församling and Svenska kyrkan for hosting this event and making it possible. Thank you to all the Ukrainian artists who took part in the concert. Your participation, talent, and dedication made the afternoon memorable and meaningful.
And a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us that evening. Together, we make a difference 💙💛
On November 22, we opened our doors for the very first time and welcomed over 60 people into our space.
We gathered everyone to discover how NGOs function in Sweden, present HUG's work, and discuss the ways to become volunteers. But more than that, it was about meeting face-to-face, asking the questions that matter, and finding those moments of connection that remind us why community spaces like this exist.
The program started with a talk about how NGOs operate in Sweden – covering the basics for anyone interested in starting an organization or joining one as a volunteer. Later, we presented HUG's history, how we've grown, who makes up our team, and what we're planning next. Our volunteers shared their personal experiences, giving guests a real look behind the scenes of what it's like to work with an NGO.
It was also a chance to celebrate how far we've come together. We shared stories from the past four years – the challenges we've faced, the people we've helped, the small and the big victories that keep us going. Several attendees who had been thinking about volunteering decided to take the next step, and we're excited to welcome them into our community.
During our celebration, we thanked our volunteers – not just with words and small gifts, but with genuine gratitude for the heart and hours they pour into making HUG what it is.
The event ended with a moment of remembrance. Together, we lit candles and observed a minute of silence for Holodomor Remembrance Day, honoring the victims of the 1932–1933 famine. In that stillness, we held space for memory and for each other.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us at Open Day. Your support inspires us to keep growing together 💙💛
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