Ukraine Crisis Updates

As most of you are now aware, the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has recently escalated to a point that most of us never imagined. Ukraine is currently under Martial law, and there are on-going military operations throughout most of the country. To say that the recent escalation of events are extremely unfortunate would be a gross understatement. All we can really do at this point is hope and pray for the safety of all involved.

We understand you may have concerns for the safety of the woman or women you have been in contact with, however, due to the current circumstances communication is going to be limited possibly for several days or even weeks.

Most of our offices in the Ukraine are now temporarily closed or may be operating remotely in some fashion. Although there will be some communication via correspondence that will be able to continue, even during these times, some may and will be delayed.

Obviously the scheduled tour to the Ukraine for late March will now be cancelled and there will be no individual travel to the country for the immediate future. Other services such as gift deliveries and in person IMBRA signings etc, will also be temporally disrupted. This is a very difficult time for all concerned and we ask for your patience and understanding.

Please be assured, if you choose to send communications (or have) to the women in Ukraine, or have placed other orders or requests, we will be doing everything possible to deliver those as normal. However, it is obviously a very fluid situation and we simply don't know what may happen or how or if our abilities to do that might be impaired. Again, we appreciate your patience as we try to assess things on a day-to-day basis.

We want to thank all of you who have contacted our offices and offered your support. Many of you wanted to be able to help morally and even financially. Many of our staff and others are now in the process of relocating, some possibly temporarily and others may be permanently, and will need financial assistance. We are in the process of setting up a GoFundMe page, (should be active soon) where 100% of the proceeds, including donations directly from AFA, will go to the associates and others who sincerely need financial assistance to deal with this serious situation. Unfortunately due to the volume of GoFundMe pages being requested relating to this crisis, it may take several days or longer to have it active.

In the meantime if you would like to contribute now you can reach Michelle at groupdesk@lovememail.com or (602) 553-8178 Ext 2009 and let her know how much you would like to contribute and we will process it directly. You can request that your contribution goes specifically to one of our AFA associates with whom you are familiar or to the general fund that will be dispersed on an as needed basis to our AFA family and associates. We will assess each individual situation as best as possible and act appropriately. We will post any amounts received directly (outside of the GoFundMe page) on the website for all to see, along with the contributors name if he/she so desires. I know many of you have developed meaningful relationships with many of our amazing associates over the years and are genuinely concerned for their safety and wellbeing, I cannot tell you how much we and they appreciate your support during these extreme times.

Our long term AFA Kiev Office Director, Victoria, who remains in the Ukraine, has written a firsthand account describing some of the events and issues currently happening and also asking those interested parties to donate to a special Ukrainian Defense Fund set up by the National Bank of Ukraine to raise funds needed for the Ukraine Military and humanitarian efforts. If you are interested in contributing directly to our efforst, please conatct us at (602) 553-8178 or using our contact form here. We are providing additional links that you can explore below that will also help if you choose (you can find a list or our current donors in the thread directly below this).

If you would prefer to donate to a broader Ukraine humanitarian relief fund, the following are links to such organizations. We are simply suggesting these possible organizations, however we have little to no familiarity with them and as always advise that you do your own research and vetting prior to donating to any organization.

Thank you for your support,

John Adams
President AFA

Links To Help During The Ukraine Crisis:

How To Help Ukraine

Ways To Help During The Ukraine Conflict

We've had numerous clients, along with us, who have expressed an interest in donating either generally or for specific purposes to help in Ukraine. Below is a list as of this date of current donors who have helped.

Your help to any degree is deeply appreciated by the recipients during this difficult period in Ukraine. If you too would like to help please contact us.

• A Foreign Affair ($20,000)
• Daniel M. ($1,695)
• Charles H. ($1,295)
• David V. ($1,200)
• Robert B. ($1,000)
• Scott H. ($1,000)
• Charles. S. ($1,000)
• Larry D. ($620)
• Ed S. (($600)
• Norman P. ($500)
• Jack S. ($500)
• John B. ($500)
• Chris H. ($475)
• George F. ($400)
• Robert M. ($250)
• Norman P. ($250)
• Stephen K. ($200)
• Charles N. ($200)
• Dax. V. ($150)
• Dave C. ($100)
• Daryl P. ($100)
• John P. ($100)
• Joe A. ($100)
• James N. ($100)
• David V. ($100)
• Patrick. T. ($50)
• Kurt F. ($50)
• Brad C. ($15)


• TOTAL DONATIONS TO DATE: $32,650

The full amount of these donations (100%) is sent directly to Ukraine for the specific purpose specified by the donors above. Most of this money has already been sent and received. Future donations will be sent promptly on a regular basis.

Again, we cannot express how greatly your assitacne of any amount is appreciated by the recipients of your help. We are expediting the delivery of all donations.

Now that we are about a month into the war between The Ukraine and Russia I wanted to share some thoughts with you and update you, as best as we can, as to the current situation and how it impacts what we are doing here at AFA.

I also want to sincerely thank all of you who so generously donated funds to help those impacted by the war. We have already sent out the first round of funding and we will be sending out a second round very soon, again our sincere thanks to your generosity.

Since the day this terrible war began I have spoken with many different individuals, mainly from the Ukraine, but some from Russia as well, virtually every day. As you may know AFA has its own offices in Ukraine (unfortunately our office in Nikolaev was just recently destroyed by bombs, thankfully there appeared to be no injuries from that blast), as well as many different independent affiliates with whom we have worked together with for many years.

All of these wonderful individuals are dealing with this awful crisis as best they can and all have different perspectives and different life situations from which they are forced to make very personal and possibly life and death choices.

They have limited information from which to operate and make decisions, all while under ungodly stress levels. One of the most astonishing things that has so greatly impressed me (and humbled me as well) is the raw courage and resolve the people of the Ukraine have demonstrated. These people are dealing with a brutal war, with the prospect of leaving everything they have worked for behind and leaving family members for countries and destinations totally unknown and foreign to them.

Even if they make the choice to leave to a safer place such as Poland or Germany, with nothing but maybe a suitcase or backpack, there is no guarantee they will reach there safely or even alive. Yet when I speak with them, to a person, they are optimistic, strong, thoughtful, caring, patriotic, and determined. They even laugh and make fun of some situations, even though inside they are very fearful of what may come of their families and themselves. There are just not enough words to describe the amazing character of all the people in the Ukraine with whom I have had the honor to interact.

I have known some of these very special people for over 20 years, and it is so difficult to see what they are now forced to experience. Some of them may have helped you to meet that special someone, maybe given you advice or a shoulder to cry on, gotten you out of a jam etc., etc. They are special and they loved doing what they did and still do - helping women and men from all around the globe to connect and in many cases form life-lasting relationships.

We are doing what we can to assist all of them as best we can and we will continue to do so until life gets back to normal, whatever that new normal may end up being. If any of you worked with any of these special individuals and would like to assist them in any way please reach out to Michelle or Anna at the Phoenix office and they will give you more info as to how to do so.

Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced due to the war, with many leaving for other countries such as Poland, Germany, Romania, Moldova and others. We do still have staff members in the Ukraine who continue to work, and we also have many that are now outside of the country and also continue to work.

We are doing our best to continue with correspondence, phone and skype calls and even personal introductions. Some women have relocated outside the Ukraine and we have already been able to facilitate some meetings and will be doing more in the future. If you are in touch with someone you believe is no longer living in the Ukraine and you want to try and meet please contact the Phoenix office and we will do our best to assist.

We have also been trying to contact the women from the Ukraine and verify that, given all that has happened, they do still have an interest in remaining on the site and meeting someone. We also want to try and verify where they are now residing and other logistical details.

You may have noticed that we stopped adding new profiles from the area given the circumstances, however we have had several women who do want to join and are interested in meeting so we will be adding those new profiles in the weeks and months to come.

We still strongly advise and caution you to not engage in a lot of correspondence with women you may not be able to meet for a long period of time. It is always best to only use correspondence in conjunction with a plan of meeting in person and doing so in a relatively short time period so you do not waste time and resources on just correspondence.

Unfortunately, at least for the time being, there will be no Group Tours or Clubs in Eastern Europe. So our normal advice of going over and meeting a large number of women while you are there via Group tours or Club’s is just not going to be possible for some time.

However, if there is someone that you feel you would like to meet and she has relocated to another country that may be a possibility. If that is the case please contact the office and we will do our best to assist.

Thank You for your understanding and patience during these very difficult and trying times,

Hi John,

IF POSSIBLE WOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE THIS LETTER AND INFORMATION AMONG OUR CLIENTS

Me and my family are ok so far, but there are many victims among my friends. The Russian army is bombing not only military facilities, but also residential buildings, ambulances, and even some schools and kindergartens (i personally have video and photo evidence of these actions) They also scatter explosives right on the streets of the city. Most of the civilian population of Ukraine is hiding in bomb shelters or underground subways for a few days in the row already.

Our soldiers fight bravely and defend Ukraine, but the enemy uses very heavy artillery and we still lose some objects and parts of Ukraine. One of these objects is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which, in the event of its explosion, will lead to an environmental disaster not only in Ukraine and Russia, but throughout Europe and far beyond its borders.

According to available data, we have 198 dead at the hands of the invaders, including 3 children; 1,115 wounded people, including 33 children.

I personally do not know how to hold a weapon in my hands, but I cannot sit idly, so I signed up for a volunteer group to help our soldiers. You don't have to be at the forefront of our defenders, but YOU can support them by providing them with essentials!

Our defenders are in dire need of help: medicine, food, clothing, weapons and military equipment, as well as funds to help to support our military and defense needs.

The National Bank has opened a special account to raise funds to support the Ukrainian army. I will attach a picture with this bank details where everyone around the world can join, show your mercy and help our Ukrainian army. I kindly ask you to share this information with your friends. Even if each of you donates $50 or $100, in total we will raise a decent amount to support our defenders, our soldiers, our fearless warriors who give their lives for the salvation of Ukraine and Europe as a whole. Since Putin, after the conquest of Ukraine, can most likely go to other countries and it could easily escalate into the Third World War.

Victoria