HRHF together with its sub-grantees, Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv, Human Rights House Crimea, and Human Rights House Yerevan implemented Emergency Support for Ukraine through:

1. Emergency fund: relocation, shelter, medical, legal, psychosocial, anti-burnout & anti-trauma support, protective equipment, and support for the hubs created in and outside Ukraine to host and support displaced media and CSOs representatives.
2. Medium to long-term capacity building: capacity development trainings and grants, including an English language course, and team strategy and wellbeing retreats.
3. Advocacy actions: advocacy and communications activities to highlight the situation for the civil society affected by the war in Ukraine and support for the international advocacy agenda of human rights organisations.

Thank you to the donor of this project:

Impact stories

Supporting Ukrainian civil society during Russia’s continued aggression – interview with Hennadii Vypynashko

Hennadii Vypynashko is a Ukrainian human rights defender who coordinated the Protection Program of the Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv for over 2.5 years, supporting civil society representatives affected by Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine. In this interview, he shares stories about supported human rights defenders and journalists, his motivation, and key takeaways from his experience. Read ore here.

Building Resilience of Civil Society in Ukraine: Wellbeing as a Cornerstone of Sustainability

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, the resilience of those affected is tested daily. The psychological toll on the Ukrainian population is profound, with widespread reports of trauma, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. Ukrainian civil society organisations have mobilised to provide critical support to those in need while often needing support themselves. HRHF asked the partners from the Network of Human Rights Houses about the connection between mental health and human rights and what kind of role mental health support plays in the resilience of Ukrainian civil society. Read more here.

Shelling and disguises: a human rights defender’s life under Russian occupation

Oksana Tropina is a human rights defender from Kherson. She remained in the city during the Russian occupation from February to November 2022. In this interview, she discusses life and human rights under occupation as well as evacuation. Read more here.

A Human Rights Tour of the OSCE Region

On 18 March 2024, in Vienna, Human Rights House Foundation and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee co-hosted a civil society Human Dimension event where OSCE State delegations could hear directly from human rights defenders from seven countries, including representatives from several Human Rights Houses in the region. Read more here.

When I communicate with [political prisoners] and their relatives, I tell them that [legal action] will not significantly affect their immediate situation, but it must be done.

On 24 February 2022, human rights lawyer Serghiy Zayets and his family became internally displaced persons (IDPs) for the second time as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion. They fled Irpin for Western Ukraine, where they still live today. Originally from Crimea, Zayets and his family fled the peninsula in 2014 following the Russian occupation. In this interview with HRHF, Zayets gives insight into his fight for the human rights of Ukrainian political prisoners in Russian custody and the volatile nature of living and working in a war zone. Read more here.

More stories from Emergency Support for Ukraine

Read more about the work and projects supported within ESU here.