“I was ready to sell everything I had for half price or even give it away just to convert it into money,” says Olesia Liashova (29), a Ukrainian artist who fled to the Netherlands after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As Liashova, who specialises in painting on silk and walls, puts the finishing touches on a mural on the wall of Ukraine Food, a Ukrainian restaurant in Groningen, she recalls fundraising €4,000 for a night vision device for her husband back in Ukraine.
“Turns out it’s not about quantity but quality. The day after I started the fundraiser, I realised I had half the needed amount. It came as a shock, I was looking at my phone and crying,” Liashova told The Northern Times.
With delivery delays in international military aid for Ukraine, it has sometimes come down to volunteers, like Liashova, to ensure that Ukrainian soldiers are well-equipped. Despite being mentally exhausted by the ongoing war, volunteers abroad, including in small cities like Groningen, keep organising private and collective initiatives to help Ukraine.
Liashova, originally from Sumy, came to the Netherlands in 2022 with two kids and her mother. Her husband, who worked as a sound engineer before the war, volunteered to be a military driver when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and eventually, signed an official military contract.
In the beginning, half of the money Liashova was making with her art she spent on equipment for her husband at the front. “It wasn’t anything grand. Gloves, thermals, small things like that. But those were the small things that [soldiers] would have to pay for themselves,” she says.
When her husband’s requirements reached a “critical point” in February 2024, Liashova started the major fundraiser for the night vision device. She explains that it is difficult to raise large sums of money like that without having a big audience on social media. “Even my husband thought it was crazy. He said that it was too much money and it was unrealistic to raise it in a week,” she said.
However, within a week, Liashova managed to raise the necessary amount with the help of Ukraine Food, who donated 2 thousand euros, half the needed amount, to her. “I wouldn’t be able to do it in such a short time if it wasn’t for them. I was shocked, I will remember that moment for the rest of my life,” says Liashova.
Ukraine Food, which started as a food stand at markets and eventually developed into a successful restaurant in Groningen, has also been supporting Ukraine since the early days of the invasion.
The restaurant donates around €2,000 to €3,000 a month to various entities and initiatives. They’ve supported hospitals, animal shelters, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and private fundraisers like Liashova’s.
“We believe if we have the opportunity to earn money, we have to share it,” says Kateryna Viunchuk (38), one of the co-owners of Ukraine Food. “And first and foremost, we have to share it with Ukraine and with our soldiers who deserve support and have the right to live.”
In addition to sending financial aid to Ukraine, the staff of Ukraine Food is entirely comprised of Ukrainian refugees, who received an employment opportunity in the Netherlands thanks to the restaurant.
Viunchuk explains that hiring refugees helps them better adapt to their new life in the Netherlands. “Some people were left without homes, without documents, nothing. They fled and went to nowhere. I think we should help those people feel more comfortable here,” she says.
Ukraine Food also serves as a hub for introducing Dutch people to Ukrainian culture through cuisine. “In the beginning, we had to explain a lot about who we are, what our culture is, and how we live. They thought we ate insects and spiders,” Viunchuk laughs. “Now we have regular Dutch guests who come for dinner 2-3 times a week,” she says.
Liashova also agrees that support for Ukraine is not only shown through money. Besides painting a mural in the shape of a Ukrainian map at Ukraine Food pro bono, she volunteers for the Sociale Brigade, a Groningen-based community helping Ukraine, by creating flyers, banners, and exhibitions.
The Sociale Brigade has been collecting humanitarian aid for Ukraine since February 27, 2022. To this day, anyone can stop by their storage space every Saturday to leave essentials that will then, with the help of volunteers in Ukraine, reach those in need.
Natalia Marchuk (38), a choreographer from Kyiv, fled Ukraine in March 2022 and volunteers at the Sociale Brigade by participating in events and packing humanitarian aid at the storage. “I see pictures from Ukraine with those blankets that we personally packed for those people. The grandmas in the pictures with those blankets and toothpaste. I remember how we packed it, it’s amazing!” says Marchuk.
However, the Sociale Brigade does not receive as much humanitarian aid as it used to at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. “We need more food, medicine, and healthcare material. But we mainly get a lot of clothes,” says Willemijn Kemp (46), the chairperson of the organisation.
Still, both Kemp and Marchuk refuse to stop their volunteer work until the war is won. “If I can do something, anything, a tiny drop, for the peace to come, I am going to continue doing it,” says Marchuk.
