Emergency Fund: No animal deserves to die in wars! Together with ROLDA for Ukraine animals

The plight of animals in Ukraine

The situation in Ukraine continues to be critical and this will have a long-term impact on people and their animals. The international humanitarian aid for those who decided to stay and fight or those fleeing the country has been incredible. ROLDA, being an animal charity, will keep providing support to people with animals and homeless or abandoned animals, affected by this conflict. You are their last hope.

Animals are living in horrible conditions. Shelters are in danger of being completely destroyed if a bomb accidentally falls in the wrong place. Many have already been destroyed or burned.

The procedure “for passing and accounting for humanitarian aid under martial law” was changed on 05 Sept 2023 by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, so now only large convoys from the Red Cross, etc can pass through Customs and it is almost impossible for smaller humanitarian aid to reach the southeast of Ukraine.

From the beginning, the ROLDA team located just 8 km from the border with Ukraine and Moldova has been busy finding the best way to help people and animals affected by the war which is happening very close to us. We want to help the best we can, especially the animals who are left behind on the streets of Ukraine and need to be rescued, or animals from shelters in bombarded cities that lack vital resources and where the animal rescue activity can’t continue as before the war.

‌At ROLDA we distribute monthly small grants to shelters and rescuers all over Ukraine and we supervise how the money is spent, making sure that every donation is used to buy food, and essential supplies, and to cover veterinary care for the poor animals who have faced bomb blasts, airstrikes and enemy fire.

Regardless of bullets and bombs, we promise to fight as hard for the animals as the Ukrainians are fighting for their homeland!

Activity report for 2024

Total number of animals helped:

Month	Type of animals	Number	Download
Month	January	Type of animals	cats, dogs, horses, others	Number	4192	Download	See full report here
Month	February	Type of animals	cats, dogs, others	Number	4107	Download	See full report here
Month	March	Type of animals	dogs, cats, cows, goats, calves	Number	3200	Download	See full report here
Month	April	Type of animals	dogs, cats, horses	Number	3500	Download	See full report here
Month	May	Type of animals	dogs, cats as well as cows, iguana, chickens, turtles, birds, snails	Number	approx 2000	Download	See full report here
Month	June	Type of animals	dogs, cats and other animals	Number	2900	Download	See full report here
Month	July	Type of animals	dogs, cats and other animals	Number	2900	Download	See full report here
Month	August	Type of animals	dogs, cats and other animals	Number	2180	Download	See full report here
Month	September	Type of animals	dogs, cats and other animals	Number	3500	Download	See full report here
Month	October	Type of animals	dogs, cats and other animals	Number	3500	Download	See full report here

Locations: Dnepr, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Odessa, Zaporizhezhe, Vilniansk

Number of grants distributed across Ukraine: 15
Individual rescuers: 8
NGOs: 3
Repeated grants to 2 organizations
Number of on-field resue operations where ROLDA team attend: 2

Activity report for 2023 Activity report for 2022

Our work in pictures

(last update: May 2024)

Your donation is being put to work to save Ukrainian animals

Financial aid sent across Ukraine (ongoing)

These are just some of the places where ROLDA has helped so far: Belaya Tserkov, Dnepr, Genichesk, Irpen, Kakhovka, Kherson, Kharkiv, Korosten, Kropyvnytskyi, Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Oleksandriia, Poltava, Rivne village, Vilniansk, Zaporizhia. In order to continue to receive support, rescuers must acknowledge the donation and send us a short update/report on how the grant was spent. This allows us to ensure that our supporters donations are being used for their intended purpose and it allows us to update our supporters. We believe in transparency! The Ukrainian shelters have full responsibility for how they spend the money received and ROLDA is not affiliated with/doesn’t endorse any shelter from Ukraine.

Evacuating as many dogs as possible from Ukrainian shelters and rescuers (2022-2023)

In 2022 and 2023, ROLDA managed to rescue approximately 100 dogs from private shelters located in Kyiv, Korosten, Cernauti, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. Over 60% of these have already been safely rehomed. Shelters are in danger of closing because of a lack of resources, and the animals and staff are in danger of becoming captive in occupied territories, yet many European countries have enforced border control for live animals claiming there is a danger of rabies. This is having a big effect on our adoption program. We hope at some point we will be able to rescue many more Ukrainian dogs, getting them to safety at ROLDA where they will spend a period in quarantine before getting the necessary papers to transport them to our partners in Europe, the US, etc. Galati is strategically located near Odessa. We are just 8km from the border (Reni checkpoint) and can take animals in immediately as soon as we are allowed.

Sending supplies (food and medicines for animals, food and hygiene products for people) across war the zone in Ukraine

So far, ROLDA managed to send humanitarian supplies to Korosten, Zaporizhezhe, Mykolaiv as well as to Chernihiv (hay for farm animals). This video shows local rescuers distributing food for animals in Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Offering veterinary support and food for the pets of refugees arriving in Romania, Reni-Giurgiulesti and Isaccea

Thanks to our volunteers, we manage to translate leaflets in Ukrainian and distribute them at the border, in Giurgulesti-Reni and Isaccea checkpoints which explain that ROLDA provides hygiene supplies, food for refugees’ pets as well as free medical assistance.

Leaflets distributed by our volunteers in Tulcea

Supplies offered to the Ukrainian refugees in Tulcea

Other ways we helped

The war continues, animals and their humans continue to need us

Helped by international supporters, ROLDA hopes to be able to continue providing financial and logistic support to 40 rescuers who look after approximately 25000 dogs, cats and farm animals. Together, we can reach more.

ROLDA’s work for #UkraineAnimals in 2023

Helping pet owners who have remained in Ukraine

Together with organizations like “Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv” we aim to help the numerous seniors with pets from Izyum, Kupyansk and Vovchansk. This project continues the Friends Forever social program started to support seniors with pets from Romania. We aim to send monthly grants to cover the food and medical emergencies for pets owned by seniors from vulnerable communities. Peaceful Heaven of Kharkiv is a charity for people, their main work is “providing people with hot meals in social kitchens, giving food and humanitarian kits, a program is providing social houses for IDPs, and evacuating of people from “hot spots” of Kharkiv oblast” as Oleksii Abrosimov, project manager said.
Nina is the representative of “Happy Paw” a Ukrainian organization which works actively with other local groups to help animals affected during bombing in Mykolaiv or animals threaten by flooding in Kherson, after the dam was blown. One example is the Pegasus shelter in Odesa which took in numerous animals and where Nina delivered lots of kennels built thanks to ROLDA grants.

Reconstructing shelters destroyed by bombs

What started as an ambitious project earlier this year, has become reality because of our donors’ generosity.
More than 100 dogs looked after by Yuri and Natalia in Dnepr will live decently after their shelter was reconstructed.

ROLDA’s big goal

ROLDA is taking steps towards creating a new rescue center at the Romania-Ukraine border.

ROLDA is taking steps towards creating a new rescue center at the Romania-Ukraine border. This center will be a beacon of hope for animals in need, providing the best possible care for generations of animals in Ukraine and Romania. It will be a safe and nurturing environment where they can receive the care and attention they need and deserve. With the continued support of our donors, we are confident that this dream will become a reality, and together, we can make a real difference in the lives of animals suffering in Ukraine and Romania.

The war continues in southeast Ukraine

We need you!

Shelter in Mykolaiv bombed, cat unit burned out

Shelter in Mykolaiv bombed, cat unit burned out

Shelter for dogs burned in Korosten

Together, we will fight for the life of every abandoned pet!

Ukrainian animals need us TODAY but also after the war ends.

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Impact of your donation

Over 40 different rescuers and shelters helped
Money for food and vet aid supplied for approx 25000 animals
60 tons of supplies delivered (food for animals and humans, hay for farm animals)
Approx 1000 animals sterilized
124 dogs evacuated from war and transported to our shelter
5 shelters repaired after being destroyed by bombs
Funding of the emergency evacuation of animals in Kherson’s flooded zone

Testimonials from Ukrainians

“Dana, I just want to thank you for everything you have done for us. We bought a plot. We are already settling animals little by little. Thanks to your help, with the money transferred to us last time, we now have a plot for animals. Thank you for everything you do for animals in Ukraine.”

Irina Fedorchenko from Zaporizhia

August 2023

“My dear, God bless you for your help! Now I get just a few donations coming and the costs are high because of the sick and the disabled on top of all other about 200 of them in total to look after every day! Today I bought food for all from your donations: if it weren’t for you and ROLDA the dogs would have been hungry. Dana, Thank you very much!”

Claire from Poltava

June 2022

“Thank you so much for your financial support for our animals! I was very touched honestly I cried, because this amount was enough to buy the hay I ordered. Now I can pay for it in full and I think it will be enough for delivery!”

Ludmila from Borodyanka

June 2022

“The community in Korosten is grateful to ROLDA. Thanks to you we managed to sterilize 110 cats. ROLDA is an amazing charity.”

Lida from Korosten

June 2022

Together with ROLDA for #UkraineAnimals

Rescuing dogs from war

Ukraine war & animals in danger

Disclaimer:
ROLDA is a registered charity that helps animals in need. Funds raised through this appeal will be used to support the specific purpose of this appeal. In the event that funds raised exceed the specific needs of this appeal, any additional funds will be used to support the ongoing costs for welfare of animals under the care of ROLDA.

About photos:
ROLDA received the above photos from Ukrainian friends on Facebook, we have no responsibility for the copywriting claims because photos are used to reflect the situation and animals in Ukraine and have no commercial purpose.

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