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The rule he teaches new soldiers: "If you plan to go to a position for two days, prepare for five. Food, water, a change of clothes. And mentally. Because nothing goes as planned." He left the morning after we filmed this.

Gummies. Not chocolate, because chocolate melts in this weather. And they're not for him: "You always want a little stash. A lot of guys come to your position. They're resting there, or their vehicle was destroyed. So you have to have something to cheer them up."

Then come the power banks, a bundle of cables, and the tablet he uses for maps and communication. "We operate in a digital environment," he says, which is an understated way of describing a job where a dead battery leaves you blind and there are no outlets where he's going.

The socks came out first, vacuum-sealed with the air pressed out, because moisture is what actually ruins you out there. Then the undershirts, and he's specific about these: the thinnest ones he can find, because body armor and equipment go over everything and he carries all of it on foot.

Dzyga's Paw @dzygaspaw.com · 05/10/2026

You've seen a hundred "get ready with me" videos. This is what it looks like when the destination is a frontline position. Pikachu, UGV pilot with the Da Vinci Wolves. Four years ago he was a product owner at a software company, packing a laptop bag for the office. 🧵

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The campaign ends tonight, but small requests never do. New ones come in every day, so the queue won't disappear. It just keeps moving, and your donations with the "no preference" option keep it moving. Thank you for not forgetting the soldiers who don't make headlines.

Dzyga's Paw @dzygaspaw.com · 05/10/2026

Defenders' Week is almost over, today is the last day! We'll close the campaign tonight, and we just want to say thank you 🤍 Together, you raised $25,911 and closed 6 parcels for soldiers who had been waiting in our queue. Parcel #7 is already halfway there.

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Dzyga's Paw @dzygaspaw.com · 03/10/2026

Look at his smiling face! It is all possible thanks to you 🧡 Donate to the general requests and help us make even more soldiers happy: dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d...

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Dzyga's Paw @dzygaspaw.com · 03/10/2026

Meet our friend and hero, Nazar, from the Azov. Recently, we delivered 4 batteries to him and his team for Vampire drones. And he created not just a report but a full story!

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Dzyga's Paw @dzygaspaw.com · 03/10/2026

Wow, our heroes created a comic about the parcel we sent them! Check out the full story in the thread 👇

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I came back with my heart full, and with a long list of small things our friends at the front still need. If you'd like to help us close one of them, you can donate with the "no preference" option: dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d... 🤍

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Besides the report, we visited our friends and brought them small things: power banks, flashlights, multitools, electric screwdrivers. Watching them light up like kids over these little things, I couldn't stop smiling.

I was also filled up by people on that trip: my team, the soldiers, and how sincerely happy they were to see us. When we come, they feel they're not alone, and that there are people behind them who remember them. That matters so much.

That sunset near Sloviansk: pink sky, green valleys covered with flowers. And all that beauty seen through nets stretched over the road to protect us from FPV drones. I felt pain and awe at the same time, and promised myself to do even more.

We went there to deliver gear and film a report for you. I never say no to trips east, because every time I think: "Maybe we won't be back here for a long time." So I photographed everything: every leaf, every snail, every wall that might not be there next time.

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I joined a military charity this summer. A few weeks later, I was watching a sunset near the front line through anti-drone nets. I'm Ann from Dzyga's Paw, and this is what my first trip east felt like 🧵

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This Defenders Day, you've already helped us close 4 of 39 parcels to our heroes. Next up: drone supplies and a tablet. If you'd like to support them, donate any amount with the "no preference" option: dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d... Thank you!

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Many of the joys they told us about are simple: coming back safe, being warm, calling home and knowing their combat friends are okay. That's what the small requests are about: Starlinks, generators and gear that help soldiers do their job and come home. Mike is on the photo

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Zelandiya: "Is there room for joy when war is raging? Yes. I find it in defending our homes, in doing what I do best, in giving everything I have today. It's not a cliché, it's real strength. We have to let ourselves be happy, because we still have tomorrow."

Jumbo: "There's a lot of sadness here, and I've lost people who became really close to me. But we can feel happiness no matter what's happening outside. If we all keep some light inside us and share it with each other, it helps us get through anything."

Vasylina: "People here aren't just friends, they're family I can rely on. When volunteers visit us, there's always so much fun and so many smiles. I'm happy every time we make a small step toward victory. And when I drive with music so loud I can't hear the drones."

Dan: "I'm quite a joyful person. My girl, my brothers in arms, good sleep, good coffee, saving someone's life, all of it brings me joy. In war, you either fight or work for those who fight. Either way, try to be as joyful as you can, but practice remembrance and gratitude."

Pikachu: "Yes, I kinda stop myself from being too cheerful, because someone I knew will never have a cheerful moment again, and somewhere on the front line there are heavy fights right now. But I still find small moments, and today it's a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate."

Mike: "Most Ukrainians are still civilians, and we're fighting so they can feel free and live a normal life. When I get a few weeks at home, I want to see that this life still exists, the one we want to come back to. Happiness hasn't gone, it has just changed".

Have you ever thought about the question many Ukrainians quietly ask themselves: is it even okay to feel joy while the war goes on? We asked our defenders. Here's what they said 👇🏻

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But for us, every day is Defenders Day. This week, we put our big projects aside to close small requests from soldiers. You've raised $14,606 and closed 3 of 39 parcels. Next up: Starlinks for Mahno. Donate with the "no preference" option: dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d...

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Today is Defenders Day in Ukraine. Truth is, we wish there were no need for it. This day exists because russia invaded in 2014. We dream of a life with no war, no need to defend against such evil. But here we are. For almost 13 years, our defenders have been holding the line.

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This week, for Defenders Day, we've put our big projects aside to close small requests from soldiers like him. About 38 of them are still waiting in our queue. Please, help us close as many as we can, donate any amount with "no preference" option: dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d...

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"How many more months can Sloviansk hold?" That's what our director Iryna asked a soldier from the 30th Brigade when we brought him EcoFlows and Starlinks worth $3,045. Sloviansk is a city near the front line in eastern Ukraine, Donbas. The answer is here:

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This week, for Defenders Day, we've put our big projects aside to close exactly these requests. Thanks to you, the first parcel is already closed, and the second one is in progress.

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And every few days, I have to say no to someone new. The hardest part is that they almost never get upset. They just thank us and tell us to hang in there. Honestly, you never get used to that.

And they're not just rows in a spreadsheet. I know these people by name, and I know how they're doing. Some of them wrote to us back in the summer. They don't remind us, they don't push, they just wait.

That's why it's so hard for me to tell them "please wait." Even though we send out parcels almost every day, there are about 38 small requests in our queue right now.

Over time, I've become real friends with some of them. Some calls have nothing to do with gear: how are you, how are the kids, what your wife said, where they're going on leave, what they want to do with their lives after the war.

These small parcels go straight to the people we talk to. They get the gear, use it on combat missions, and then send us videos of the results.

Soldiers know better than anyone what they need. My job is to figure out where to buy it, how much it costs, and when we can deliver or ship it. Since the start of this year, our team has sent or delivered 216 parcels. Think about it, that's almost one every day!

"Got it, thanks. God bless you and your work." That's what soldiers usually say when I have to tell them no. Hi, I'm Yura, and I handle logistics at Dzyga's Paw. I'm usually the one soldiers text and call when they need something. So that's what I've noticed. 👇🏻

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🔥 Together, we've raised $5,538 this week for our urgent Defenders Day campaign! Parcel #1 is closed, and Parcel #2 for White Demons is already over 40% funded. Only ~$3,900 to go. Can we close it by the end of the day? dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d...

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We won't close every request this week, but we want to shorten the queue and help them a little faster. You can see all the requests on our website. Please support them and donate any amount with "no preference" option dzygaspaw.com/defenders-d...

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Don't expect fancy video reports from them. They're always in a rush: they pick up their gear at the post office and head straight back to work. But there will be photos of tired men your donations made a little happier.

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We're always thinking about how to make our work better. So this week, we're going back to where we started: for Defenders Day on October 1, we've put our big projects aside to fund small requests from soldiers in lesser-known brigades.

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You all know fundraising is hard right now. And the truth is, nobody really knows how to do military fundraising the right way. There's nowhere to learn it, so we figure everything out ourselves, as we go.

Right now, we're declining someone's request every couple of days. Soldiers write to us by email, on social media, even in our personal DMs. These aren't huge asks, but the queue is so long that we can't take on new ones right now.

Soldiers send us these requests every day. Each one costs around $2,000-5,000, and right now about 39 of them are waiting in our queue. We simply don't have the funds to close them all.

A soldier and four civilians stand outside holding equipment cases, with a van and trees in the background under a cloudy sky.

On our website, you see big projects worth thousands of dollars, and we report on each one carefully. But alongside them, we also close small requests from soldiers, funded by donations that come in outside our projects.

What do you picture when you hear "military fundraising"? Drones, big goals, loud reports? But there's a part of our work you almost never see on our social pages. I'm Yustyna from the Dzyga's Paw fundraising team, and today I want to show it to you. 🧵

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