Ten years ago, the lives of each one of us changed after Russian troops crossed our country's borders for the first time, occupying parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Crimean peninsula (the constitutionally Ukrainian territories), proclaiming the creation of the so-called “national republics”. Many of us had to know in those days the true meaning of such terms as “filtration,” “forced passport nation,” and “strict censorship.” Then, we faced, for the first time, war crimes and marauding of occupiers. People massively fled their homes, hoping to find a bright future in other regions of the country. On the February 24th, 2022, the enemy reminded them of those tragic days. From then on, no city in Ukraine could be fully safe and a shelter for civilians. Millions of Ukrainians, those who stayed and those who left the country, painfully watched the news on Russian atrocities in Bucha, Hostomel, Mariupol, Kherson, and Izium. We waited for the happy ending of the story of the missing 4-year-old Sashko, whose body, unfortunately, was later found in Kyiv Sea. Together, we bought flowers for the apartment building in Odesa, where, after another missile attack, a family with a 3-month-old baby died. The extermination of civilians in the Drama Theater, the missile attack on the Amstor shopping center in Kremenchuk, the full destruction of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka, the daily shelling of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Nikopol, Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Kramatorsk and other cities. The western regions are also in danger: Lviv Oblast, Ternopil Oblast, Rivne Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and Transcarpathia repeatedly went through explosions of enemy shells. The terrorist act in Olenivka, the abuse of the "Azov" soldiers, and thousands of other crimes committed by the occupiers. An indescribable pain that we will never forget. And never forgive.

In our new reality, we have learned how to distinguish the sounds of the flight of "ordinary" cruise missiles from hypersonic ones, to calculate the approximate time left to the first probable explosions, depending on the type of enemy aircraft, and still stay able to calmly have some sleep. We all have acquired a habit of donating money instead of having a morning coffee, calling relatives when the air raid alert map turns “red,” and being extremely nervous when the news warns of the approach of missiles. Some of us wake up in a cold trench thinking, "Will I see the dawn tomorrow?" The same thoughts may have an ambulance driver who rushes to an apartment building destroyed by a "shaheed." From now on, we know what to do in case of a concussion and how to behave in enemy captivity. Unfortunately, we had to learn about all this and live with it.

Our meetings have become different, although mostly in parking lots and shelters. We do not postpone "for later". We live here and now. We are tired, but we find the strength to continue to stand as a shield; we continue to work and fight for victory. Everyone who is temporarily abroad and who chose to stay. All those under occupation for ten years still believe and wait. Doctors, teachers, volunteers. The enemy is trying to break us daily with impending defeat, but for 730 days, these words mean nothing.

The Charity Fund "Direct Inclusion" is proud of the bravery and courage of the Ukrainian people. We will continue to help the military to effectively defend every centimeter of our home and to help the civilians who suffered because of the enemy recover from the horror they experienced and continue to live fully. Our team will do this as long as it takes to finally win.

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to all its Heroes!