As the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) continues its emergency operations in Ukraine, proactively reaching out to tens of thousands of Jews in the restive eastern part of the country, it extends its deepest condolences to the families of three members of the Jewish community of Lugansk killed in fighting over the weekend. Svetlana Sitnikov, 57, her daughter Anna, 31, and Larisa Faschuk, 75, were killed in two separate incidents during the shelling of the city. ‘We mourn the deaths of these three women, who were JDC clients and beloved members of the Jewish community of Lugansk,’ said JDC CEO Alan Gill. ‘We continue to extend help to their bereaved families, as well as to thousands of other Jews who are either caught up in the fighting or have fled to other cities, providing them with emergency aid, food, shelter and other urgent services.’ The Sitnikovs were hit by a missile on their way to buy shoes. Anna and her 5-year-old son, Vadim, were clients of JDC’s Jewish Family Service, an innovative program set up to help struggling families. JDC is involved in providing ongoing assistance for Vadim, who is in the care of a member of the local Jewish community. He is expected to relocate shortly to Zhitomir, where he will be enrolled in a summer camp. Faschuk died on her way to buy bread. She was both a client and a volunteer at JDC’s local Hesed welfare center, where she often organized social activities and is fondly remembered for her kindness and affability. JDC staff and Jewish community volunteers have been providing emergency aid to Ukraine’s roughly 300,000 Jews over and above the organization’s established services since violence first erupted there late last year. JDC has delivered urgent food packages to homebound individuals; deployed emergency mobile units delivering food, medicine, and other critical supplies; opened emergency phone lines; arranged temporary shelter for members of the community who are leaving their homes due to the fighting; and is in constant contact with others who remain in cities where fighting is raging.JDC provides life-saving assistance to tens of thousands of needy Jewish elderly and children in Kiev and other cities and towns throughout the country. JDC is also shaping new generations of Jewish leaders and developing Jewish community life through Jewish Community Centers, Jewish family camps, Jewish holiday celebrations, cultural festivals, educational opportunities, and young adult leadership training programs.About JDCThe American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters.