VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The need for relief in Ukraine is growing every day and Operation Blessing already has a small team on the ground.
Organization leaders said they started stockpiling emergency supplies months ago in anticipation of an attack from Russia.
“I saw some photographs this morning of a missile stuck in the asphalt in the middle of the city,” said Operation Blessing Director of Humanitarian Relief Mason Pigue.
A small team representing the Virginia Beach-based nonprofit is in the thick of it.
“They are seeing destruction, they are seeing a lot of shelling, they are hearing a lot of shots off in the distance,” Pigue said.
Pigue said the eight members are mostly Ukrainians, and this tension is nothing new for them.
“We have been there since the original conflict started in 2014,” Pigue said.
He said they had to take a break from handing out food and water to hunker down.
“Since the increased attacks and they took over Kyiv, we haven’t been able to get out in the past 24 hours,” Pigue said.
Operation Blessing has already distributed 600 food kits and tons of water bottles, and teams on the ground will continue to distribute once it’s safe for them to do so.
“It really depends on how heavy the military presence is, how heavy the shelling is, how heavy the attacks are. So we will see,” Pigue said.
The nonprofit also purchased 20 generators this week. Some are already in use to keep drinking water clean.
“When the military attacks started, they initially, of course, cut the power and in Ukraine there are a lot of water wells in the backyards,” Pigue said. “And those wells are powered by electricity, electric pumps.”
There is a lot of uncertainty ahead, but Pigue said Operation Blessing will remain in Ukraine.
“We are ready, and we are willing and that is what we are called to do so that is what we are going to do,” Pigue said.
Operation Blessing leaders said community donations will help keep resources flowing to hard-hit communities in Ukraine.