Zeitraum: [December 2025 – January 2026]
In late December 2026, our journey took us once again to the frontline region of Ukraine. While the year was drawing to a peaceful close in many places, we encountered a daily reality there where people continue to live with uncertainty, shelling, and enormous hardship.
We would like to extend our special thanks to the city of Brühl, which, as a solidarity partner city of Marhanez, supported this trip and made it possible. This reliable cooperation is far more than a formal resolution—it is responsibility in action and a strong sign of solidarity across borders.
The Brühl Fire Department quickly gathered urgently needed in-kind donations: hydraulic units, stretchers for the injured, fire hoses, and protective and operational gear. With great personal dedication, the materials were collected, inspected, sorted, and energetically loaded into our Sprinter van by firefighters—ready for transport to the frontline region near the city of Marhanez.
Trip to Kyiv
On December 25, 2025, we set off for Ukraine. While Christmas was being celebrated in many parts of Europe, we arrived in Kyiv on the evening of December 26—a city in a state of emergency. Power outages in sub-zero temperatures, tense faces, near-daily drone attacks: War knows no holidays.
The very next day, we visited Bojarka, near Kyiv. Two years ago, we had delivered a mobile power station there. Today, it supplies a warming center set up in the basement of the community center. For many people, this place is far more than just a technical emergency shelter.
Especially during times of massive power outages and bitter cold, the donated power station provides crucial support. It ensures light, heat, and the ability to heat water or prepare meals—even when the public grid fails. This independent energy source is indispensable for the operation of the warming center.
When the power goes out and homes grow cold, people come here. They warm up, drink hot tea, receive a hot meal, or get clothing from the clothing bank. Internally displaced persons, in particular, depend on this support. Amidst uncertainty, something emerges here that has become rare: reliability. And sometimes even a moment of normality.
Encounters in Marhanez
Three days later, we reached Marhanez. Even the entrance to the city leaves a lasting impression. Along Herojav Avenue—the “Avenue of Heroes”—there are flags for every fallen soldier. Many flags are still missing.
The city lies just a few kilometers from the Russian lines. While the Dnipro River prevents an immediate advance, artillery and drone attacks are part of everyday life here. Damaged facades, shattered windows, visible impact craters on public buildings—even the city council building bears clear signs of shelling. And yet those in charge continue to work, organizing aid, securing supplies, and maintaining infrastructure.
The focus of our visit was the handover of urgently needed equipment to the local fire department—equipment that was collected by the Brühl Fire Department in a remarkably short time.
Brühl has been Marhanez’s official city of solidarity since November 2024. This connection is not a symbolic gesture on paper, but is brought to life. Behind the support are real people: firefighters, officials, and volunteers who have contributed ideas, organized, collected, inspected, and carefully packed the supplies.
Within a short time, hydraulic power units, stretchers for the injured, fire hoses, and protective and operational gear were provided, among other items. What may seem like a matter of course here is a matter of life and death in Marhanez during an emergency.
This partnership holds particular significance for the fire department. Firefighters understand the dangers of daily operations—and know what it means to work under extreme conditions. When support comes from another fire department, it is more than just material aid. It is a sign of professional solidarity, an expression of respect and collegial solidarity across national borders.
During on-site discussions, it became clear just how much this concrete, reliable support is appreciated. Not only because equipment is lacking—but because it shows that these cities stand up for one another. Solidarity becomes a practical reality here.
For the work of the fire department has changed fundamentally. In addition to fires and accidents, evacuations from destroyed homes, rescue operations under fire, and missions involving acute danger to life are now part of everyday life. Protective vests are mandatory even during rescue drives. Breaks are rare. Physical exhaustion is palpable; the psychological strain is almost impossible to put into words.
What moved us most was not just their gratitude for the equipment, but the repeated emphasis on how important the relationship behind it is. Knowing that people outside Ukraine are thinking of them gives the emergency responders strength. It is this feeling of not being forgotten that sustains through difficult times.
Support for Families of the Fallen
Another highlight of our journey was our interaction with the organization “Families of Fallen Heroes.” There, we met mothers who had lost their sons—women whose daily lives have since been marked by grief, logistical challenges, and overwhelming exhaustion.
The association assists with funerals, helps with paperwork, and remains by the families’ side in the long term. At the same time, it organizes practical support for wounded soldiers. During initial medical treatment, clothing is often cut open—leaving them without even basic items like underwear, socks, warm blankets, or simple tracksuits. Civilian clothing and hygiene items are also needed during short rotation periods away from the front lines. This is not about military equipment, but about dignity in moments of greatest vulnerability.
Behind every support project are real people, faces, and life stories. The Widows’ Project of the Free Church in Warendorf has been supporting women in Marhanez who lost their husbands in the war for some time now. During our stay, we were able to attend a meeting and get to know some of the widows and their children personally.
The only café in town still open was rented for the gathering—a warm space in the midst of a war-torn landscape. For a few hours, it became a safe haven for connection, where conversation flowed and a sense of community was palpable.
Three widows with a total of six children attended the gathering. Three other women had to cancel due to illness. Their immune systems are weakened; many suffer from an unbalanced diet, vitamin deficiencies, and the lasting physical effects of stress and worry.
What initially seemed like a simple meal together quickly became something deeper. Conversations began, cautious smiles appeared, and a palpable sense of relief set in. For a few hours, worries could be shared. For a few hours, there was a feeling of not being alone.
The strain was particularly evident in the children. Many of them have experienced hardly any carefree social interactions—first the pandemic, then the war.
A young boy repeatedly withdrew during the gathering, wearing headphones. His father had been killed in action. He spoke barely a word, seemed distant, as if shielding himself internally. His behavior is representative of many children in this region—children who had to learn to live with loss and fear long before they could understand what was happening around them.
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Even after such a long time, solidarity must not wane. The war continues—and with it, the daily lives of people living with loss, fear, and uncertainty. Now more than ever, we need reliable partnerships that stand by us, listen, and take action.
We extend our special thanks to everyone who continuously supports, contributes ideas, organizes, donates, and takes responsibility. Your reliability sustains this work—and it sends a clear message: solidarity does not end after the first few months. It grows where people stand up for one another in the long term.
