Dobrobat Ukraine volunteers repair homes hit by Russian attacks
Dobrobat says 55,000 volunteers patch damaged homes after attacks, filling gaps faster than state agencies during Russia’s war.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Dobrobat Ukraine volunteers rushed to an eastern Kyiv neighbourhood after a Russian missile attack on June 15 shattered windows and damaged homes, Al Jazeera reported. The group’s work matters because it offers quick repairs to civilians exposed by attacks while government aid can take longer to arrive.
According to Al Jazeera, Russia fired 70 missiles at Ukraine in the hours-long overnight assault. One missile exploded above an apartment building where Mariya Prokopchuk, a doctor, lived; the blast sent debris into a nearby pond and broke hundreds of windows across the area.
The attack killed five civilians and wounded about three dozen, Al Jazeera reported. Fires also broke out, including at the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra, the historic Orthodox Christian monastery complex in the capital.
Prokopchuk told Al Jazeera the flying fragments narrowly missed her head. After the blast, her main concern was that the broken windows left her first-floor apartment vulnerable to looting.
What is Dobrobat in Ukraine?
Dobrobat is a Ukrainian volunteer repair network whose name is short for “Battalion of Kindness.” The group sends teams to damaged homes to clear debris and carry out emergency repairs such as boarding windows and covering damaged roofs.
Hours after the 4am blast in Kyiv, more than 100 Dobrobat volunteers arrived with strand board and battery-powered saws, Al Jazeera reported. They cut and fitted temporary coverings for broken windows, giving residents a stopgap until permanent replacements could be arranged.
Vadym Severyn, a spokesman for Dobrobat, told Al Jazeera the group has more than 55,000 volunteers and has helped restore apartments and houses for more than one million Ukrainians. He said the group sends teams only after areas have been checked for unexploded mines and other dangers.
Most Dobrobat volunteers are Ukrainians, including people who travel from other regions after hearing about attacks. Al Jazeera reported that foreign volunteers from about three dozen countries have also joined for longer stays.
Among them is Lars Fersters, a 70-year-old retired blacksmith from Sweden, who told Al Jazeera he joined after learning about Russian atrocities in occupied Ukrainian areas. He uses gestures and translation software to work with Ukrainian colleagues and residents.
Another volunteer, Jason Hercula, a 37-year-old hair stylist from North Carolina, told Al Jazeera he sold plasma to pay for a trip to Poland before taking a train to Kyiv. He said his experience losing homes in fires made him want to help people return to theirs.
Dobrobat also carries out longer-term repairs. Al Jazeera reported that Fersters previously worked with volunteers from Canada, China, Israel and the Netherlands on a new roof for a 73-year-old woman in Irpin, a Kyiv suburb where more than 3,000 buildings were damaged after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Why volunteer groups move faster than the state
Al Jazeera reported that Dobrobat is part of a broader Ukrainian volunteer movement that supplies civilians and soldiers with equipment, aid and repairs. Volunteer groups raise money for drones, protective gear, medical treatment, prosthetics, first aid kits, heaters and other wartime needs.
They also evacuate elderly people, children and pets from frontline areas and bring help to towns after Russian forces withdraw. In one case reported by Al Jazeera in 2024, a diabetic man from Yahidne said volunteers found insulin for him after Russian troops had held villagers in a school basement during the occupation.
Some groups have shifted into technical work. Army SOS, which had supplied flak jackets and paper maps, developed software for phones and tablets that helps soldiers send coordinates for drone strikes, Al Jazeera reported.
Ukrainian volunteers often fill gaps left by state agencies slowed by bureaucracy and corruption allegations. A serviceman using the call sign Baloo told Al Jazeera that work handled by volunteers was far more dependable than work left to the state.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.