Media Center Ukraine Producer Department

In 2010, a diving accident left Ivan Kosmyna with a spinal injury that changed his life forever. Since then, he has used a wheelchair – and turned personal hardship into a lifelong mission to make his hometown of Chortkiv, in Ukraine’s Ternopil region, more accessible to everyone.

In the early days of his recovery, Kosmyna fought off depression by rebuilding his grandfather’s motorcycle so he could ride it independently. That determination soon grew into building environments that are accessible and usable by all individuals, including those with disabilities in his community.

In 2014, frustrated by his inability to enter the local hospital, he used his own savings to build a wheelchair ramp there. Over time, he helped open a gym, established a playground in his village, and organized youth events to bring the community together.

Recognizing his efforts, the mayor of Chortkiv invited Kosmyna to serve as an advisor on accessibility that same year. Today, he continues to champion a city designed for all – from people with disabilities to parents with strollers and veterans returning home.

Kosmyna’s journey became the focus of the documentary Without Barriers, and he has also written three books reflecting on his experiences and advocacy work.

Those who wish to meet or speak with Ivan Kosmyna can arrange to do so either online or in person in Chortkiv.

• Ternopil

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Roman Chernenko worked as a bartender in Kharkiv, leading an ordinary civilian life. But in the summer of 2022, he enlisted in Ukraine’s Defense Forces and was later deployed to the embattled Bakhmut area.

Two years later, in 2024, Chernenko’s life changed in an instant when he stepped on an anti-personnel mine and lost his leg. After undergoing extensive treatment, he began rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv, where he learned to walk again using his first prosthesis.

Determined to help others facing the same challenges, Chernenko stayed on at the center – this time as a member of its team. Drawing from his own experience, he now supports fellow veterans on their path to physical and emotional recovery.

Looking ahead, Chernenko plans to introduce golf therapy for wounded soldiers, saying the sport helps alleviate phantom pain and restore confidence.

Those who wish to meet or speak with Roman Chernenko can do so by prior arrangement, either online or in person in Lviv.

• casualties
• military
• Lviv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

On November 15, the human right action ‘Empty Chairs’ will take place in Kyiv in support of journalists, writers, cultural artists and human rights defenders who have gone missing, been imprisoned or are in captivity due to the russia’s war against Ukraine. The event is organized by PEN Ukraine and Center for Civil Liberties.

The event aims to unite the efforts of all those who support Ukraine and fight for the release of civilians and prisoners of war illegally detained as a result of russia’s war against Ukraine.

During the event, stories will be told about missing, illegally detained, and imprisoned Ukrainian authors, artists, and human rights defenders. Former prisoners will also join the event:

• Maksym Butkevych, Ukrainian human rights activist, journalist, public figure, and military officer who was held captive from June 2022 to October 2024;
• Dmytro Khilyuk, a UNIAN journalist who was held captive in russia from March 2022 to August 2025;
• Leniie Umerova, a Crimean Tatar activist who was held captive in russia from December 2022 to September 2024;
• Yulia “Taira” Paievska, a soldier, volunteer, poet, and public figure who was held captive in russia from March 16 to June 17, 2022;
• Vladislav Yesipenko, a freelance citizen journalist and correspondent for Radio Liberty’s Crimean service, who was held in captivity by the russian occupation authorities from March 2021 to June 20, 2025.

The event will be hosted by Maxim Sitnikov, Executive Director of Ukrainian PEN, and Alexandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties.

During the event, the organizers will set up a symbolic installation of empty chairs bearing the names of illegally imprisoned, captured, and missing authors, media workers, artists, and human rights defenders.

Event organizers: Ukrainian PEN, Center for Civil Liberties.

Imprisoned Writers Day, or Empty Chair Day, is observed on November 15 at the initiative of International PEN. Empty chairs at human rights events on this day symbolize authors who cannot be with us due to imprisonment, persecution, disappearance, or murder.

Since 2018, Ukrainian PEN, together with the Center for Civil Liberties, has been organizing a human rights event on this day to remind Ukrainians and the world about writers, artists, and all Ukrainians who cannot be with us on this day due to russian aggression.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

Kyiv will host the Gongadze Prize Media Days on November 14-15, welcoming journalists, editors, researchers, philanthropists, and others shaping the future of Ukrainian media. The event serves as a platform for exploring journalism, collective memory, and professional responsibility.

Attendees can expect a program featuring:

– Panel discussions on the evolution of media within the Armed Forces, examining how war has transformed communication and documentation.

– Sessions on media as an institution, addressing resilience, independence, and influence in a country at war.

– Explorations of information control, considering how platforms, bloggers, and algorithms shape public perception.

– Conversations on sustainability, including media-donor partnerships, strategic planning, and evolving philanthropic ethics.

– Public interviews, lectures, interactive sessions, and exhibitions featuring prominent figures in journalism, culture, and public life.

Prior registration is required. 

For reference: The awards are organized by the Georgiy Gongadze Prize with backing from the International Renaissance Foundation and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, in partnership with organizational support from Media Center Ukraine, and with media coverage provided by PEN Ukraine, Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, Ukrainska Pravda, Suspilne, the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), Detector Media, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, and Lviv Media Forum.

• Kyiv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.