Viktoria Kramarenko, Founder and Head of the Wings of Victory Charity

When there is no light during blackouts, it’s easier to think clearly.

Thus, I decided to analyze the events that unfolded in the last months of 2025, mixed with holidays, war, shelling, and work.

Work

In November and December, the team of the “Aybolit: On the Way to Recovery” project provided free social assistance to 357 veterans:

• 157 in November; and
• 198 in December.

As of December 31, 2025, a total of 7,083 beneficiaries have received free assistance from the project (over 2.5 years since the project’s inception in 2023), including:

• Medical transport, 3,201 individuals;
• Aquatherapy (rehabilitation in water), 959 individuals;
• Hippotherapy (rehabilitation through interaction with horses), 914 individuals;
• Medical support and psychological consultations, 617 individuals;
• Kinesiotherapy (treatment through movement and physical exercises in a gym), 907 individuals;
• Psychological retreats, 121 individuals;
• Courses for veterans “Start Your Business”, 243 individuals;
• Legal consultations, 68 individuals;
• Emergency response courses, 171 individuals.

During this time, our vehicles covered 146,780 km, equivalent to more than three equators, and are now on their “fourth lap.”

On the last day of 2025, the project’s special transport worked until dark. It was pleasant to see how passersby recognized us on the roads—greeting us, smiling, with their hands over their hearts.

Every subsequent year is different from the previous one. Challenges and organizational difficulties grow alongside the problems society faces during the war.

Our work is focused not only on the rear. We also assist combat units.

Partnerships and support from colleagues allow us to maintain an average monthly coverage of 230 beneficiaries. Behind this statistic are the people who protected us and today need our help, and our responsibility does not turn off with the electricity cuts.

Reflections

Reflections are about

the silence between shelling, about working without weekends,

about a responsibility that does not end with submitting a report,

about the meaning that holds us up when we have nothing left to hold onto, about pain and loss, about support.

Without light, heat, and uninterrupted communication after massive shelling, it is difficult to work effectively. Alternative power sources provide some relief, but work stretches out over days instead of hours.

In my observations, among the stressors affecting physical and mental health in a state of war, the most powerful factor of imbalance for many of us is uncertainty. It breeds anxiety and robs us of confidence in our own strength.

1,419 days of full-scale invasion is a marathon with no way to calculate our strength until the finish line.

And for those connected to the war since 2014, it has already been 11 years of struggle.

The resilience of Ukrainians is impressive, but behind this resilience lies immense pain from losses, separations, despair, and resistance. Often, these feelings are hard to express or cry out. This is the psycho-emotional burden that we are all learning to live with.

In the last 25 days, I have horrifiedly realized that among my closest circle, eight individuals have suffered serious injuries from falls at home, five have been hospitalized due to complications from chronic illnesses, and six are receiving treatment in day hospitals.

This means that every day, two people from my circle are experiencing a crisis on the brink of exhaustion. This is not statistics; it is the current reality of our lives.

On the other hand, during these same 25 days, many acquaintances and even distant people have called and written to me with questions:

“How are you?”
“Do you need help?”
“Come to us; we have warmth, connectivity, and you can work remotely.”

Such calls keep us going, give us strength, and speak of humanity and love that we Ukrainians have not lost—we have preserved it.

Thank you to each of you.

The war continues. Our children hide from shelling at night, and during the day they learn, build snowmen, rejoice in the snow, frost, and Christmas trees in the city squares.

Our cities are alive; businesses, institutions, hospitals, and transport are operational.

The enemy’s hatred cannot defeat a society whose resilience is based on love for life, for the country, and for people. Our strength lies in gratitude to our defenders, in the warmth and support of one another. These feelings fill our inner resources, and this precious resource provides resilience and the ability to survive in the most difficult conditions of war. This inner strength transforms losses into experience, challenges into a path to victory.

Thank you for the courage and protection to our defenders. Thank you for the resilience of everyone who holds the line in the rear.