Today, each of us, Ukrainians, is holding our own front, undergoing our own training. The military is holding the Ukrainian land on the line of contact, and we are holding the rear.
How can we, Ukrainians, support the military, compensate them and their families who sacrifice so much for us?
- Thank them. The easiest way to support our military is to thank them for their service. Something as simple as thanking a service member or veteran for their service or recognizing the enormous challenges of being a military family can have a real positive impact on your local military community. This will help many service members not to feel isolated, and this will have a direct impact on their overall morale and operational readiness. By bridging the gap between civilians and the military, you can show your troops that the work they do on behalf of the country is valued above all else.
- Maintain personal boundaries. But remember that your emotions and feelings should not affect the person who is currently serving or has been demobilized. Be restrained, do not unload your fears, long stories about your life in a state of excitement or panic during the war on the head of the military. Find a psychologist, psychotherapist or someone from your close circle to help you with this.
- Help with donations. Raising funds or buying a car, drone or first aid kit is a real way to let the military know that their friends, family and the Ukrainian people are thinking of them.
- Maintain confidentiality. Specific public publications keep our information front going, keep the spirit of Ukrainian unity alive and the volunteer movement going. But the dissemination of information about targeted assistance to military units should be coordinated with them. Ask them if it is possible to publish information about the aid and within what limits.
- Support the families of the military. War is a difficult test for both the military and their spouses. In addition to experiencing the separation from their loved ones, military families must take on household responsibilities on their own, including those previously handled by the currently mobilized serviceman. For military families with children, this can be even more difficult, as military wives suddenly become single spouses for months or years.
Reach out to the spouse of a serviceman or woman who is serving and offer to cook them a family dinner or help them with grocery shopping. You can even just reach out to see how they are doing – sometimes even the smallest gesture can make all the difference.
- Support them with good news. Family events, news from the town where the soldier comes from, good jokes or shared memories during communication with the military warm their hearts and keep them believing that their mission is not in vain. You don’t need to find any special words, just communicate and say what you feel.
- Become a blood donor. If you have no contraindications, find out the addresses of donor centers and wait for a call. Get enough sleep the night before donating blood, follow a diet, refrain from smoking a few hours before, and do not drink alcohol, aspirin, or analgesics.
- Work for victory. Keep your front, do what you do best, find your social role and invest in it to the last. And for those who don’t care, at least just don’t interfere.