Meet Yuliia

Yuliia Kardash lives and works in Lviv, Ukraine. She has been involved with helping Ukrainians since February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now she works with the Ukraine Children’s Action Project as Regional Director, overseeing the development and implementation of UCAP-funded programs.

Yuliia has played a very important role in Freedom Pancakes for Ukraine. She searched for a Ukrainian illustrator for author Janice Cohn and connected her to Yana Holubiatnikova, whose beautiful artwork appears in the final book.

In the early days of the war, Yuliia helped thousands of Ukrainian families flee violence and escape to safety in other countries. She describes her experience here:

Yuliia’s Story

In those first days, Lviv rapidly transformed into a kind of shelter and humanitarian aid hub for hundreds of thousands fleeing from frontline and occupied regions.

Desperate to protect themselves and their children, many Ukrainians were trying to leave the country. Overcrowded evacuation trains arrived at Lviv station daily and volunteers guided people onto buses bound for foreign borders.

As one of the volunteer coordinators, I witnessed firsthand the confusion and fear of those we helped. Most arrivals in Lviv, clutching only their documents, were leaving their home regions for the very first time. My role was to explain the border crossing process, provide translation assistance, and offer comfort to distraught women and children.