In the first days of the full-scale war, Tatiana, a resident of the village of Hrynky in the Zhytomyr region, welcomed 45 displaced people from the Kyiv region into her home. They were fleeing russian occupation. People slept on the floor and ate whatever Tatiana and her neighbors had managed to gather. Later, fellow villagers joined the rescue effort. And when the Kyiv region was de-occupied, Tatiana continued to help. 

Together with the women from the volunteer workshop “Polissia Hostesses,” she bakes boxes of homemade cookies for the soldiers on the front every day. She says it’s no longer about food — it’s about warmth. The team’s record is 42 kilograms in one day. From the first gingerbread made with lard and potatoes to four tons of cookies over the years of war — it’s been a long, hard volunteer journey for the women of Zhytomyr region.