It’s been four and a half months since the first Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian border city of Luhansk Oblast, and a Santa Clarita resident is continuing to risk his safety to provide help to the people there.

In the past several months billions of dollars of military aid, medical supplies, and food have been donated to Ukraine from the U.S., according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The donations have been largely from the U.S. government, but a lot of citizens around the country have chipped in their own support against the ongoing fight between Russia and Ukraine. 

Citizens from all over the country, including one from our own backyard, Joseph White have chipped in to support not only the military, but to support the people who he more aligns with, the people who are suffering in torn buildings with no secure shelter from possible bombardments.

“We brought around three tons of food and then also medical supplies which was roughly 300 pounds and also first-aid equipment for those who have been injured,” said White of his most recent trip to the war-torn region.

Every time White goes to Ukraine, he is ultimately putting his life in danger, but he says that “my hope is always with God” when it comes to potentially being in the firing-line of Russian soldiers.

White’s courageous acts have led to tears of joy from the Ukrainian people, according to White.

When White arrived in the city of Bucha, Ukraine, a city that had its people massacred in April, he was shell-shocked to see all of the destroyed buildings. 

He would have one more shock when he stopped at what seemed to him an empty torn down building, but when he walked towards the building he would see just how the people of Ukraine are living in that moment.

This ultimately raised the question from both himself and his dad about how the future months are going to look like for the people living in these torn-down structures that have little to no power.

“My dad and I were talking, ‘so what’s gonna happen in the winter,’” White said. 

In Ukraine, temperatures during the dark days of winter can reach as low as 23 degrees which can be dangerous for the human body without the proper protection, according to Climate Change Knowledge Portal.

As of Wednesday morning the United Nations reported in Istanbul a “positive” result from the first face-to-face talk in months between Russia and Ukraine on grain exports, according to the Associated Press.

Every time someone is connected and motivated enough to help out Ukraine, he always makes sure to send enough supplies to last a while.

“Whoever goes in, we give them a sufficient amount of supplies,” said White.

When the Summer months begin to dwindle down and the snowflakes of the Eastern European winters start to rain down upon the war-torn country, White is set to return later this year to make sure that the country in which he spent so much time is well-fed and treated for.

“I am planning a trip in the fall,” White said.

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