Mud, cold and constant stress: how to help the military in the face of the impending cold weather?

According to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, the abnormal autumn heat is coming to an end. Starting in the second half of November, the temperature will drop significantly, making it much harder for the military at the front.

"We sleep wherever it is more or less warm or at least without rain and wind. It happens that there are many of us in the shelter, and each of us does not smell very nice, but we are used to it. When a combat mission lasts for several days, there is simply no way to wash," says Oleh, who is fighting in Donetsk region.

There are thousands of soldiers like Oleh. They are fighting the Russian occupiers, risking their lives in very uncomfortable conditions. Often without the opportunity to eat or wash properly. To take a shower and change into clean clothes, to keep warm are basic human needs that one can only dream of at the front. Mobile baths help to satisfy them. 

To take care of the military on the front line, provide them with a decent life and enable them to recuperate, EVA chain of stores and the Dignitas charity foundation have launched a joint project called From the Store to the Frontline. This is a collection of hygiene products and donations for mobile bath and laundry complexes (MBLC) for the Ukrainian Defense Forces. 

You can join the project in EVA stores by purchasing and leaving laundry and hygiene products in special baskets. The list of necessary goods is posted above each basket, and the addresses of the stores involved in the initiative can be found on the project's website . The chain will transfer the funds collected from customers to the Dignitas Foundation to equip the military personnel who will go to the front.

You can also contribute directly to the creation of mobile bath and laundry complexes by transferring a comfortable amount on the Dignitas website .

"Last fall, when the power and water supply were cut off after the missile attacks, I thought: how do our defenders live in such conditions? They are constantly in the cold,

without hot water and the basic opportunity to wash their clothes. We were looking for a solution, and in

2023 we were able to send 14 MLPCs to the front. The search for donors and partners continues.

We are raising funds to create such complexes. And the help from EVA partners

is incredibly valuable.  We must provide decent conditions for our defenders," said Lyubov Shipovych, founder of the Dignitas Foundation.

The front line stretches for more than a thousand kilometers and our defenders are everywhere in trenches, dugouts, cold rooms and basements. 

"Hygiene problems not only spoil the mood and create discomfort, but also lead to skin diseases and general health problems. That's why improving sanitary conditions at the front is very important," says Oleksandra Hnatyk, Head of PR at EVA stores.

Thanks to one MLPC (which is actually a special trailer for a car), up to 50 people can wash on one tank of water. The containers do not depend on electricity, as they run on generators. They are also equipped with washing and drying machines, so you can immediately put your uniform in order.

"In the summer, the soldiers suffer from the heat, but at least they can pour water heated in the sun. But fall and winter means cold, wet and mud. Warming up, washing, and laundering clothes is a basic care for the military. Therefore, we decided to support the initiative of the Dignitas Foundation and launched a joint project with them. I hope our clients will actively join it," commented Oleksandra Hnatyk.