{"id":85928,"date":"2026-06-10T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/the-day-never-stops-for-aid-workers-braving-missiles-and-drones-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:00:00","slug":"the-day-never-stops-for-aid-workers-braving-missiles-and-drones-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=85928","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The day never stops\u2019 for aid workers braving missiles and drones in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For Olga Scripovscaia, a field security coordination officer based in Odesa, each day starts with the same question: \u201cwhat changed overnight?\u201d<\/p>\n
After nights frequently interrupted by air alerts and coordinated attacks, mornings are spent reviewing incident reports, checking updates from local authorities and monitoring conditions across Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson, areas where humanitarian access can change within hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always something ongoing here,\u201d she said. \u201cThings are never quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A road that is usable today may not exist tomorrow\u2019\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Ms. Scripovscaia works across all UN agencies operating in southern Ukraine, helping assess whether missions can proceed safely and advising on movement plans, operational concepts and contingency measures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her team monitors security conditions around the clock, producing flash reports after incidents and conducting personnel headcounts whenever attacks occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cA road that is usable today may not exist tomorrow,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Conditions on the ground continue to evolve. According to Ms. Scripovscaia, increasingly sophisticated threats, including mines and highly precise drones, require constant reassessment of routes and operational procedures.<\/p>\n
If missions are planned in areas where conditions have recently deteriorated, teams may need to reroute or delay deployments entirely.<\/p>\n
\u2018You see tears. You see emotions\u2019<\/h2>\n
Coming from a military background, she says structure remains essential to managing the volume of information and decisions that flow through security operations.<\/p>\n
Yet she believes her experience as a woman in the field shapes how she approaches the work.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a woman, maybe you see more than protocol,\u201d she said. \u201cYou see tears. You see emotions. You see things beyond procedures.\u201d That perspective, she explained, becomes especially important before missions into difficult environments.<\/p>\n\n \u00a9 Courtesy Olga Scripovaisa<\/span> \n Olga Scripovaisa (left) Field Security Coordination Officer, talks to colleagues while working in the field in southern Ukraine.<\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Alongside formal security briefings, she pays attention to how colleagues are feeling, asking whether they feel prepared, whether they understand the risks and whether they need more information before deployment.<\/p>\n
When security and humanitarian needs collide<\/h2>\n
Among the most difficult parts of the job, Ms. Scripovscaia says, is supporting humanitarian access into locations where people urgently need assistance, but conditions remain dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She described a recurring dilemma: balancing professional responsibility with humanitarian need.<\/p>\n
Humanitarian agencies sometimes seek access to locations where risks remain extremely high and where local support networks may no longer exist.<\/p>\n
For security teams, those decisions are rarely straightforward.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtocol gives me maybe 75 per cent of the reason to say no,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I still keep 25 per cent in my heart for those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding another way<\/h2>\n
When missions cannot proceed, she says, the conversation does not end there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, the focus shifts to finding another way, whether it\u2019s through changing routes, reassessing conditions or identifying a future window for access.<\/p>\n
For her, that persistence reflects the purpose of security work in humanitarian settings. \u201cIf today is not possible,\u201d she said, \u201cwe are already thinking about how to make it possible tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n