Even some horses have become used to the sounds of war in Ukraine.

Under a clear-blue sky last November, two women who work for the Reimer Center, a Mennonite Central Committee partner, stood in a small, enclosed field near the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. While showing off horses used for youth therapy to visiting MCC staff, loud jet-like sounds suddenly echoed off the hills near the stable.

“It is the Ukrainian military doing [weapons] exercises,” said Margarita, who leads the therapy program for the Reimer Center, which began under the leadership of the Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches of Ukraine.

The horses did not budge. “They are used to it,” Margarita said. (For their security, only the first names of Ukrainians are used.)

Nearly four years since the Russian military launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the citizens of Ukraine have become accustomed to war. Despite the horrible conditions, many have learned to adjust.

These days, Ukraine is a country filled with heartache and hope — heartache for the lives lost and buildings destroyed, and hope that the war will soon end.

Since the beginning of 2022, MCC has spent more than $23.7 million in Ukraine and reached more than 264,000 people with emergency food, shelter or mental health support. In addition to supporting the work of its partners in Ukraine, MCC has shipped 61 containers of relief items, including 124,000 comforters, more than 340,000 pounds of canned meat and more than 210,000 kits of various supplies.

Many Ukrainians have a comfort zone when it comes to living in the country. Each person has their own limit for what they can live with. That is the case for Maxym, who directs the MCC partner New Hope Center.

“For my family, we will leave in case of [Russian] occupation,” he said. “If Zaporizhzhia becomes occupied, that is our level. Then we will leave.”

The staff of New Hope were able to spend a time of rest and recovery at a retreat center in western Ukraine near the end of 2024 with support from MCC. Several MCC partners in Ukraine have made mental health for children and adults a focus of their work over the past four years.

In some areas, church attendance has increased, two Ukrainian pastors said. Despite the rise, faith-based MCC partners do not make church obligations necessary to receive aid.

Despite many challenges, the 12 MCC partners in Ukraine — several of which are located close to the military contact lines — continue to serve those in need.

One partner finding ways to help despite disruption is Charitable Foundation Uman Help Center, located in Uman, a city in central Ukraine.

“They buy groceries in bulk to make food packages for internally displaced people and local residents that are designed according to specific plans that MCC has made with them, keeping in mind maximum nutrition and stability of goods,” said Liz Driver, MCC representative for Ukraine.

After the Kakhovka Dam broke in June 2023, most likely due to a Russian military strike, Uman Help Center distributed bottled water to those in need since nearby water supplies were unsafe and unusable.