 In April 2022, MPs sent a fact-finding mission to document civilian protection challenges in Lviv, Kiev, Nipro, Zaparyja, Odessa, Mikolayev, Kharkiv and Tuhuv. Our teams prioritized identifying civilian protection needs and priorities, specifically in the hard-to-reach and frontline areas with the focus on civilians' exposed to vulnerabilities, namely the elderly and people with special needs. Christina, I am here with Nonviolent Peace Force. We are an international humanitarian organization that provides protection, unarmed protection to civilians in conflict zones. Today we are in Kharkiv, one of the cities that has been affected by the violent conflict in Ukraine most. Behind me you see a damaged apartment block, a huge building that has been hit by a missile. We've spent this afternoon talking with some residents that were able to escape most of the fire and are now sheltering in accommodation nearby. Ongoing violence, reluctance or inability of older people and those with disabilities or health concerns to evacuate, closures of public transport and essential businesses and socioeconomic disadvantage have compounded and create situations in which people with special needs are isolated and unable to access services. Where these populations have been identified, the majority burden of providing support has been placed on the self-organized local volunteers. During the mission assessment period MP engaged with a variety of local stakeholders, including women's centers, human rights activists, religious leaders, representatives of the Ukrainian government, volunteer collectives, civil society organizations, national and non-governmental organizations and emergency response teams. It became quickly clear that these groups are leading the humanitarian response in Ukraine. The Ukrainian machine moving into Ukraine is very hierarchical and the response that is most effective is coming from local organizations and civilian-led volunteer mechanisms. MP's unique responsibility in this is to be the bridge, being the bridge to fill the gap between the on-the-ground local organizations and then the humanitarian structures that would be able to provide the much needed service provision. Despite the leading role of local actors in frontline efforts, the vast majority of resources remain concentrated with international agencies. Although some of the local humanitarian organizations interviewed by MP have partnered with international actors to receive funding to conduct such operations, more support is needed. Frontline efforts are further hampered as a result of damaged civilian infrastructures. The Russian forces are continuously targeting Ukraine's power stations, causing massive blackouts across the country. Residents are being urged and in some cases forced by circumstances to conserve water and energy. Destruction of houses and lack of access to fuel and electricity due to damaged infrastructure could become a matter of life or death. To support self-protection strategies already adopted by local organizations and help them better observe safeguarding and do-know-how principles while implementing humanitarian activities, MP has began delivering trainings on unarmed civilian protection. Programme contents have included introduction to unarmed civilian protection methods, at MP's values and principles, namely non-violence, primacy of local actors. In anticipation of the fast approaching winter months, MP aims to continue to support the hyper-local response structures, focus on civilian protection and the delivery of aid. Ukrainian women's networks have been central to the humanitarian aid response here in Ukraine. There are a number of women's networks who are running shelters, who are running evacuation networks, moving women and children from the east and the south areas that have been occupied or under threat by the Russian forces, and moving them into Western Ukraine and into Europe as well, so the humanitarian response has been incredibly women-led, incredibly youth-led, and it's been such a privilege to see.