Sidenote: I don't want to support Ukrainian government but ordinary civilians. Judging from all I know, Russia are the 'bad guys' but all my information comes from western media so it is likely biased. Thus, I do not want to support any kind of war actions in itself, I rather want to help people that have to suffer from the consequences.
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.
- Donate money to the red cross (Ukrainian Red Cross)
- Donate to the The Voices of Children Foundation
- and/or many more more: https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/how-to-help-ukraine/
- Get a car and go the Ukraine border with Poland and bring refugees to Europe (I see a lot of people doing it right now. Staying there by some train station with a "free transportation" sign)
- You can join the Ukraine foreigner legion https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/ukraine-appeal...
It has proven to have bias in previous wars, and up to the pandemic. Truth is the first casualty of war. I suggest looking at alternative media (hard to do in EU without VPN) and extrapolating. It's unfortunate that normal people must now waste their efforts into researching history, just as countless months were wasted (for people whose background was other than bio) in the pandemic to research biology.
As to your question, there's no doubt organizations such as Red cross and EU (and even the Americas) will have another flood of refugees.
[1] - https://www.rescue.org/
https://www.shipping-to.com/ukraine.htm
you need to find out what everyday items may be needed, such as bandages, soap, needles and thread, instant oatmeal, ramen noodles, tarps etc.
things that any human would need regardless of sides, and cant be foreseeably used for war
In such a conflict, there are few like this that are so obviously cut-and-dry: Putin, and the Russian Military, are wrong here. Ukraine is clearly the victim.
but the feeling of helplessness comes from not being organized -- with other people, trying to do _something_, anything, that supports a quick end to the fighting.
the best (and only?) option i've seen thus far is make Ukraine a militarily-neutral country -- i.e. _not_ a member of NATO.
that means Ukraine has to buy in (Zelenskyy seems determined to destroy his country), the US (obv), NATO (to the extent they matter), Europe (can we even talk about Europe as an entity anymore?) -- all have to buy in.
i'm american so i should be pushing Biden to accept Ukrainian neutrality (and, by extension, some some small limits to global American dominance and rule). UK people should ping Boris and the Tories - they don't want to give up that Russian money anyways. Germans should pressure their new person to help stop the next/final world war.
right now it's a game of chicken, and most people are losing, but not our rulers.
whether this escalates to nuclear world war and an end of organized human life on earth is still up in the air.
i think each person can and should send care packages, contribute to the red cross (as other commenters have said), etc., but you can really make an impact - imo - by pushing for an expedient political solution, and organizing with others to do so -- probably by pushing for a neutral Ukraine.