[wolverine876]

> I don't want to support Ukrainian government but ordinary civilians

The Ukranian government is by far the best source of help to the Ukranian civilians. First, it is their government - these are the people and institutions they chose; it is the people. Who are you (or me) to question their choice? Second, the government is organized, on a large scale, to serve and protect the people; nobody else can remotely do the job. Governments handle everything from their military, of course, to food, shelter, roads, weapons, ammunition, communications, etc. etc. It is the Ukranian government that is fighting the Russian invasion.

The anti-government theories can be valuable to debate in peacetime, and every government is deeply flawed and corrupt to some degree. But so is every other human institution and human being, including whoever else you would support. You need to go to war with the government and army you have. Undermining the Ukranian government would do great harm to the civilians.

That said, there are always holes and blind spots in government services, and I'm sure there are many other worthwhile groups.

I would look at the ones who are very credible and have great experience in delivering goods and services in conflict - there is a lot of fraud in war, and that applies to charities etc. I would look at Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the International Rescue Committe (last I knew - I'd double-check they are still the same institution), or the International Red Cross.

> all my information comes from western media so it is likely biased

Everything is biased and we always need to read and think critically. The good thing about media in the free world is that there are so many different sources that you can get a wide range of perspectives. There is not one "western media" that coordinates itself; they are pretty competitive, in fact.

[_jae_]

Ad government support: My main reason for not wanting to support the government is actually that I do not want to support warfare in any kind. I consider myself a pacifist and thus don't want my money to potentially indirectly finance violence (even if its 'against the bad guys').

Ad media: Agree - everything is biased. And also agree that there is not one 'western media', nonetheless, I believe that there could be relevant information on this conflict that is not easily accessible via common media outlets. Also, I am definitely pro-Ukraine but these things are never just black and white.