Just after three in the morning on May 24, the quiet town of Markhalivka was rocked by massive explosions as Iranian-made Shahed drones and Russian ballistic missiles slammed into civilian neighborhoods, leaving homes shattered and families terrified. A local resident, Victor Vlasenko, filmed the immediate aftermath and described the horror of glass and debris where children once played. This is the ugly reality of Vladimir Putin’s war by proxy, where Iran’s drone factories and Russia’s missiles make neighbors into targets.
Out of that ruin, however, has risen something that Washington’s elites could learn from: Dobrobat, Ukraine’s largest volunteer reconstruction battalion, mobilizing men and women to start rebuilding the roofs, walls, and lives destroyed by enemy fire. These are not distant bureaucrats writing grants; they are carpenters, students, fathers, and Americans who show up with hammers and grit to put families back together. The battalion’s crews move in sometimes within hours of an attack to stabilize homes and prevent further suffering, proving what real civic duty looks like on the ground.
Dobrobat’s work is not a feel-good anecdote — it’s combatting the strategic aim of Russia and its partners to break Ukrainian society. According to the volunteers and organizers, they have already rebuilt thousands of homes, apartments, and civic buildings, saving communities from collapse and denying Moscow the victory of empty streets and abandoned towns. This is the kind of hands-on, results-driven response that conservatives respect: solve problems, stand with the vulnerable, and refuse to let tyrants win by terror.
Let’s be blunt: Iran’s supply of Shahed drones and Russia’s continued missile strikes make clear the wider coalition against freedom in Europe, and Americans should not be complacent about the geopolitical stakes. Reports from the same period show a wave of intense drone and missile attacks across Kyiv region that killed and injured civilians, underscoring how brutal and indiscriminate these campaigns are. When foreign regimes arm a butcher and then deny culpability, the world’s defenders cannot stand idle — the American people must demand a policy that recognizes the scope of this aggression.
Stories like that of Michael, a 22-year-old American volunteer from New Mexico who left his backpacking life to help Ukrainian neighbors, should shame career politicians who prefer virtue-signaling tweets to tangible support. Real Americans answer the call for freedom, and volunteers like him are living proof that liberty still inspires sacrifice across borders. If our leaders in Washington want to prove they mean business, they will support reconstruction efforts, bolster air defenses, and ensure aid reaches boots-on-the-ground projects that restore normal life for families under fire.
These Dobrobat crews are rebuilding more than houses — they are restoring dignity, community, and hope in the face of calculated cruelty. Patriotic citizens in the West should celebrate and support such efforts, while pressing their governments to match words with decisive action. Ukraine’s defenders and volunteers deserve every tool and dollar we can give, because standing with them is standing for civilization, sovereignty, and the safety of future generations.
