Help Kriuchkovs and their community in Ukraine

My name is Andrei Butenko. This GoFundMe campaign aims to provide direct aid to Ukrainians suffering from war on their land. All donations will go to my friends Lena and Sasha Kriuchkov, who will then distribute aid to those in the community: providing funds for transport to safer areas, money for food/necessities, and financial assistance to those who have lost their homes, their possessions, and their loved ones.

I was born in Kherson and raised in Zaporizhzhya, two cities at the heart of the tragic, unwarranted, senseless Russian invasion. While not able to physically fight on the ground in Ukraine, I will never cease and help my friends and family who are now living through a war, spending their nights in bomb shelters worried every day about losing their homes, freedom, and lives.

Sasha and Lena Kriuchkov are two of my closest friends, having known both since grade school in Zaporizhia. They have lived in Zaporizhia their entire life, with their daughter Olya (my goddaughter) and grandson Timon (age 15). Sasha is a master violin maker and luthier (my son Alex is lucky enough to play one of his incredible violins), and Lena is an art professor at the local Fine Arts university). The Kriuichkovs are the most caring and selfless people I know, and my heart is heavy knowing that they, along with other Ukrainians, are suffering.

I communicate with Lena and Sasha every day, ensuring they are okay and trying to provide them with moral support to face the terrifying reality outside their front door. The idea for this fund came from Debra, Alex and I wanting to help Sasha, Lena, and Olya directly. However, when asked, they said they would only take money to share it with the community.

Any amount helps. Please help me aid my fellow Ukrainians as they fight for their freedom, country, and lives.