After annexing the Crimean peninsula and launching an eight-year war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia launched a full-scale, unprovoked invasion of the eastern European country on February 24.

Before the recent escalation, some 2.9 million people were already affected by the conflict and humanitarian partners needed $190 million to help 1.8 million of the country’s most vulnerable people, according to the United Nations (UN) .

Hundreds of people have already been killed or injured and at least 368,000 Ukrainians have fled the country since the outbreak of all-out war, according to a Sunday Tweeter by the United Nations Refugee Agency. Both of these numbers will increase in the coming days.

Heartbreaking scenes of what is happening have been seen by millions on television and online, and people and organizations of all kinds and sizes have been moved to show their support for the people of Ukraine.

The UN has allocated $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to immediately scale up life-saving humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians in Ukraine following the recent upsurge in hostilities.

Here’s how you can donate to help support Ukraine and its people.

The Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine, established in February 2019, is one of the national pooled funds of the United Nations. Contributions are collected in a single, unrestricted, locally managed fund under the direction of the UN. As crises evolve, funds are made directly and immediately available to a wide range of partner organizations on the front lines of the response. This way, funding gets to the people who need it most when they need it.

The Canadian Red Cross launched the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal to respond to those affected by the conflict in the country. Donations will enable the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to meet humanitarian needs as well as preparedness and response efforts. Support will focus on immediate and ongoing relief efforts, longer-term recovery, resilience and other humanitarian activities as needed, both in Ukraine and in surrounding countries for displaced people.

The Canadian government will match every donation made by individual Canadians to the Canadian Red Cross until March 18, up to a maximum of $10 million. This funding is in addition to the $50 million for humanitarian and development assistance to Ukraine recently announced by Canada.

GlobalGiving has launched its Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund to support humanitarian relief in affected communities in Ukraine and surrounding areas where refugees have fled. Donations will provide: shelter, food and clean water; health and psychosocial support; access to education and economic assistance; and more.

The Canada-Ukraine Foundation was created to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver Canadian-generated aid projects for Ukraine. He joined the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in establishing a Humanitarian Aid Committee to formalize a coordinated approach to providing rapid and effective assistance to those in need in Ukraine in the face of any further Russian aggression. The committee will work with the Ukrainian Canadian community to reduce duplication of effort, increase efficiency and ensure that relief efforts have the most effective impact for Ukrainian citizens affected by the crisis.

The Ontario government donated $300,000 to the cause, while Chapman’s Ice Cream in Markdale, Ont., pledged $50,000. Donations can be made here.

Help Us Help is a federally registered Canadian charity that focuses on humanitarian aid and educational projects in Ukraine and Canada. It raises funds to help with the resettlement of children, scholars and families of veterans in Ukraine, as well as humanitarian and medical aid.

GlobalMedic is a registered Canadian charity that has worked with partner organizations in Ukraine for several years. Due to the current situation, it has suspended its humanitarian operations there and is focusing its efforts on supporting those leaving Ukraine to neighboring countries and raising funds to facilitate this operation. Donations to its response to the conflict in Ukraine can be made here.

UNICEF has worked in Ukraine since 1997 and donations to its Ukraine Emergency Fund will support the organization’s ongoing programs and the growing needs in the country by providing communities with clean water, emergency medical assistance, health services, child protection and education.

World Vision is on the ground in Ukraine responding to the needs of vulnerable children and families who have been forcibly displaced by the escalating crisis and providing safety, protection, psychosocial support and more in neighboring countries. Donations can be made to its Ukraine Crisis Response.

Donations to Save the Children’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal will be used to provide emergency humanitarian aid as people flee conflict.

Donations to CARE Canada’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund will help CARE and its local partners on the ground provide emergency supplies such as food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support and money to cover daily needs. It prioritizes the needs of women and girls, families and the elderly.

HelpAge Canada’s Ukraine Crisis Fund provides humanitarian assistance in the form of food, medicine and hygiene products to older people in Ukraine who are often unable to flee conflict and left alone without family or an extended community. They are often isolated, without loved ones and cut off from all support, including access to medicine and food. They are particularly at risk when violence breaks out, as they may not be able to take shelter from danger.

United Help Ukraine is a charity that receives and distributes donations, food and medical supplies to Ukrainian internally displaced persons and other people in Ukraine affected by the Russian invasion.

Abundance International is a non-profit company that provides support to orphanages in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, which has thousands of orphans. Abundance International provided support with supplies, medicine and construction projects. Donations can be made here.

Voices of Children helps war-affected children in eastern Ukraine by providing psychological and psychosocial support.

International Medical Corps has been operating in eastern Ukraine since 2014, providing primary health care and mental health services to communities affected by the ongoing conflict. It is accepting donations here to deploy mobile medical teams to provide: primary and emergency health services; mental health and psychosocial support; and COVID-19 awareness and prevention services.

People In Need’s SOS Ukraine Fund will provide food parcels, emergency shelter, safe access to clean water, hygiene items and charcoal for heating to support the affected population in Ukraine and refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.

Airlink has activated its regional response plan for Europe and is accepting donations here as it connects with humanitarian, logistics and air partners in the region to assess key needs and response capacities. Due to Ukraine’s closed airspace, options will include destinations in neighboring countries.

Project HOPE ships medicines and medical supplies to those most affected by the crisis in Ukraine and accepts donations here.

Médecins du Monde has been providing humanitarian aid and health services to vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine for nearly eight years and has carried out some 125,000 consultations. It intends to continue to serve the population as soon as the current situation stabilizes and its teams can once again intervene in the territory.

There are 200,000 Jews in Ukraine facing a humanitarian crisis and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency are already on the ground providing essential and lifesaving support. The United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto launched the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to invest in humanitarian relief, actions to protect lives and increase safety within the Ukrainian Jewish community and to evacuate people from conflict areas.

Mennonite Central Committee Canada is accepting donations for its emergency response in Ukraine, which it says will focus on longer-term scaling up of existing programs that support vulnerable people and expanding those services to populations displaced within the country. It will likely include: psychosocial support and trauma healing; temporary emergency housing; emergency distributions of locally purchased supplies, such as blankets; and distribution of food parcels.

Donations to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency’s Ukraine Crisis Fund will be used to provide immediate humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food and clean water, as well as longer-term support.

Canadian Jesuits International supports the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service which accompanies forcibly displaced people in Ukraine and those seeking refuge in neighboring countries. Donations to its humanitarian response in Ukraine can be made here.

The European Missions Inc. Ukraine Emergency Appeal supports a Polish denomination of churches that are opening their buildings and the homes of their members to welcome refugees who have fled Ukraine. European Missions Inc. is part of the global Radstock Ministries network.

Funds for logistical and medical support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces can be paid directly to the bank account of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Instructions on how to do this can be found here.

The Friends of Ukraine Defense Forces Fund provides humanitarian aid and non-lethal assistance to Ukrainian soldiers, volunteers and the families of those who have lost their lives since the country’s conflicts began in 2014.

A donation to the Ukrainian military can be made through the Come Back Alive Charitable Foundation here.

Instructions for donating to the Ukrainian army, as part of the Army SOS citizens’ initiatives, are available here. Army SOS coordinates soldier relief efforts by managing purchases of ammunition, shields, intercom and reconnaissance facilities, uniforms and food, and delivering them directly.

Phoenix Wings provides the Ukrainian military with assistance with: equipment; uniforms; non-lethal personal protection (including vests and helmets); treatment of wounded soldiers; acquire personal first aid kits; and the repair of buildings used by the army. Information for making a donation can be found here.

Vostok SOS is a charitable organization whose mission is to provide comprehensive assistance to conflict-affected and displaced people while promoting democratic transformation and human rights values ​​in Ukraine. Donations can be made here.