Yaroslav Melnik is the head of ‘Spivdiia Hub’, an NGO providing humanitarian aid and services within Ukraine. In this second instalment of ‘Portraits from the War in Ukraine’, Yaroslav tells us about the incredible work and history of Spivdiia Hubs in the Kyiv region and beyond.

Yaroslav describes how international donations are distributed and delivered to local communities in different ways, through close co-operation with local volunteers: “For example, in Mykolaiv, they have [an] interesting community of people who provide this help with a bicycle.”

He also shares a personal story from his time working in the hub, about a special paper list he found in one donation box.

“Unfortunately, we do not have […] contact with the people who sent it, because I’d want to call everyone, and say just, thank you, for their help to us.”

Watch his portrait above, and explore the full series of portraits here.