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“The significant challenge this year was the increased range of Russian FPV drones,” explains Alina Teplickaya, CEO of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU). “The Russian army has increased production to tens of thousands of drones every month, and their destructive activity is clearly felt.”

According to Teplickaya, the drones are no longer targeting only the front lines but also civilian areas deep inside Ukraine. Vehicles traveling within approximately 70 kilometers of the front are at risk of being attacked, as Russian forces claim that trucks may be transporting military equipment. As a result, delivering the holiday packages by truck to communities in Kherson, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia became a genuine danger.

The solution was to distribute the packages using smaller vehicles, but this created another major challenge. “There is a severe shortage of drivers and vehicles throughout the country,” Teplickaya says. “Many of the drivers we worked with in previous years were drafted into the army, while those who remained were afraid to knowingly enter dangerous areas, even for high payments.”

The search for drivers began immediately after Tisha B’Av, and negotiations continued for two weeks before enough drivers could be secured, extending the distribution period considerably.

The danger became particularly clear when drivers heading to Nikopol and Marhanets in southern Dnipro Region, as well as Pavlohrad in the eastern part of the region, were forced to turn back after seeing Russian drones strike vehicles traveling ahead of them. Ultimately, Jewish residents of those cities traveled to Dnipro, where the Federation’s offices and aid warehouses are located, collected the packages themselves and returned home with supplies for their communities.

Despite the challenges, holiday packages were distributed throughout Ukraine, not only in the east. In total, more than 50,000 Jewish households received packages this year, in cooperation between the Federation and Chabad Shluchim serving communities across the country.

An additional distribution of more than 1,000 holiday kits was carried out over the past month at military bases and camps along the front lines for Jewish soldiers serving in the Ukrainian army. The kits were delivered by Yaakov Sinyakov, who works with Jewish soldiers throughout the year on behalf of the Federation.

The holiday boxes included a Hebrew-Ukrainian calendar, a booklet explaining the Yemei HaChagim, pure honey, grape juice, a specially produced liqueur, a Yarmulke, a refrigerator magnet with Shabbos and Yom Tov times, a desk calendar, and Shabbos and Yom Tov candles.

For the first time this year, children also received a toy Shofar so they could take part in the holiday preparations. In response to new Russian attacks targeting water infrastructure, a personal sports water bottle was also added to every package at the last minute.

The Federation is additionally assisting communities with food and other supplies for Yom Tov meals for the tens of thousands of Jews expected to attend local Shuls, alongside the ongoing humanitarian assistance it provides throughout the year.

Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Jewish communities of Ukraine, highlighted the significance of the children’s Shofaros.

“We are certain that the sound of the Jewish children’s Shofaros in Ukraine will rise before the Kisei HaKavod, break through the heavens and bring with it a good and sweet year, a year of peace and hope,” he said.

“When the war began, we never imagined it would last so long and exact such a heavy toll. We pray that in the coming year we will finally merit the Geulah HaAmitis VeHaShleimah and hear the sound of the Shofar of Moshiach.”

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