International and run by volunteers, Rubikus.HelpUA has been helping to evacuate people from Ukraine's war zones to European countries since the earliest days of Russia's full-scale invasion. Older people, persons with disabilities and families with children are at the heart of its work. Each day, around 70 families ask for their help. The Rubikus team explains how this lifeline operates in practice.

Can you explain how the process works for a Ukrainian family seeking assistance from Rubikus.helpUA, from initial contact to reaching their final destination?

Rubikus has supported Ukrainian families since the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion. To date, we have helped evacuate more than 60 000 people, including refugees from occupied territories.

The process consists of a few simple steps. A family fills out a short form on our website (providing basic contact details, approximate travel dates and a preferred destination country, if they have one). The request goes into our system. An operator reviews the information and checks that the necessary documents are in order. The case is then handed over to a coordinator, who takes responsibility for the journey from that point until the family reaches their final destination.

If people are leaving Ukraine for the first time since the start of the full-scale war and cannot afford travel costs, Rubikus may cover their tickets and, if needed, accommodation on the journey. We prioritise support for vulnerable groups, including families with children, older adults, people with disabilities and people with medical needs or pets.

How does your team support families throughout their journey, particularly vulnerable individuals?

Twice a month, Rubikus runs a free evacuation bus from Lviv to Warsaw for vulnerable groups, including families with small children, older people and families travelling with pets. Many commercial carriers will not take people with disabilities or animals, which makes this route inaccessible to many families. Our bus delivers people directly to accommodation in Warsaw, which Rubikus covers.

In addition, we operate a 'medical' bus designed for people with severe health limitations. It has 44 regular seats and seven lay-down beds and picks up passengers in several cities across Ukraine, including Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Lutsk, so people with serious conditions do not need to travel to Lviv first. This service is intended for those who cannot endure long journeys on commercial transport, including adults and children with disabilities and patients in advanced stages of illness.

In February 2026, one of our medical evacuations took place during severe winter conditions and ongoing ballistic attacks on Kyiv, which made the operation particularly challenging but also critically necessary. The launch of the 'medical' bus was supported by a dedicated fundraising campaign, and we aim to run these medical evacuations monthly, as they are often a matter of survival.

How do volunteers – both on the ground and remotely – coordinate to ensure families are supported effectively, and what roles are critical for the success of Rubikus.helpUA?

Each family is assigned a coordinator, who plans the evacuation route according to the family’s specific needs and limitations. Many refugees are travelling abroad for the first time and may never have used long-distance transport before. Coordinators provide step-by-step guidance throughout the journey, help families navigate transfers and border crossings and offer practical and emotional support along the way.

Behind each case, a broader volunteer team supports the process. Some volunteers handle ticket purchases and transit bookings, others organise bus charters and accommodation and on-the-ground teams assist families at key points along the route – helping them board trains, find refugee centres, obtain essentials such as baby food or access urgent medical help. This coordination helps families navigate unfamiliar systems with support at all stages of the journey.

How do you coordinate evacuations across multiple European countries, and how does your team address issues related to local policies, paperwork or language barriers?

Rubikus works with dedicated local experts for each country to which refugees are relocated. These experts continuously monitor changes in policies and requirements related to temporary protection and residency and advise the team on practical conditions in each destination country. This allows us to plan routes and placements that are realistic, lawful and sustainable for each family.

Our international team also maintains two public information resources: varenik.help, which helps compare living conditions and support systems across different countries, and the Rubikus.HelpUA Wiki page, which provides structured, country-specific guidance for refugees and those supporting them.

Looking ahead, what are Rubikus.helpUA’s plans for the future development of the project?

We aim to continue responding to the refugee situation as effectively as possible, within the limits of our resources, which come entirely from private donations. Our focus remains evacuating people from the most difficult and dangerous regions of Ukraine, including occupied territories, to countries where they can access safety and long-term support.

We plan to keep operating our evacuation buses on a regular basis, expand our network of partner organisations and continue to raise awareness about the ongoing challenges faced by Ukrainian families.

Rubikus.HelpUA is a non-profit volunteer project that helps people in Ukraine (including those in Russian-occupied territories) to evacuate to safety in European countries. It started operating in February 2022, immediately after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has since helped evacuate over 60 000 people.