Media Center Ukraine Producer Department

For the third consecutive year, spring songs, circle dances, chants, psalms, and choral music will be performed under Easter bells inside Saint Sophia Cathedral and in the courtyard of the Saint Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve.

The programme includes:

• blessing of Easter baskets;
• a folk art fair;
• a festive Easter bell performance at the 17th-century bell tower;
• performances by folk groups Roksolaniia, ShchukaRyba, Mykhailove Chudo, Stodyvnytsia, Shumia, and Yevshan-Zillia, as well as flute players Ivan Prudko and Yevhen Dmytrychenko;
• a children’s programme on spring traditions;
• traditional Easter egg games;
• charity workshops;
• performances showcasing kobzar and lirnyk traditions by Taras Kozub, Mykola Tovkailo, Zhdan Bezverbnyi, Dmytro Radchenko, Vitalii Kobzar, Eduard Drach, Taras Dorotskyi, Oles Sanin, Roman Lysenko, and Yurii Kocherzhynskyi;
• a shared meal for participants and guests;
• the Easter communal performance VOLODAR, featuring circle dances, traditional kryvi dances, and games from different regions of Ukraine;
• a traditional ritual of singing for married couples based on the customs of Rozkoshivka village in Vinnytsia region;
• a ceremonial singing procession around the cathedral;
• traditional dances with the group ShchukaRyba.

Journalists can request the full programme of the event.

Background: Easter at Saint Sophia of Kyiv revives traditional Easter customs in the historic and cultural heart of Kyiv. The event is jointly organised by the National Reserve Sophia of Kyiv and the Ivan Honchar National Center of Folk Culture, in partnership with the Vytoky project by Zagoriy Foundation.

• culture
• Kyiv

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

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. On April 15, Khartiia Hub will host a meeting with Kateryna Shavanova — a servicemember, radiobiologist, and co-author of the book “The Terrible, the Beautiful, and the Ugly in Chornobyl.”

During the discussion, she will share her research on present-day Chornobyl — a space she describes as “terrible, beautiful, and ugly.”

The event will also address the future of radiation and nuclear safety in Ukraine and globally after the end of the russian-Ukrainian war. Participants will discuss the period of the russian occupation of Chornobyl, the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and the broader context of nuclear risks during and after the war.

Registration is required to attend the event.

• military
• women

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

Before the full-scale invasion, Yurii Yahusevych worked in music and organised festivals, while also keeping horses. Among the animals he acquired was one of the Polissian breed, which he later discovered was nearly extinct. He decided to revive the breed in Ukraine.

Yahusevych established his Shcherbati Tsuhli farm in northern Kyiv region, where there was enough space for a small herd. Shortly before February 2022, he and a team of enthusiasts relocated young horses farther from the border, while seven adult animals remained behind. After the start of the full-scale russian invasion, the horses ended up under occupation.

Following the liberation of Kyiv region, the animals were left without pasture, as the area was contaminated with remnants of explosives and, in some places, mined.

A year ago, Yahusevych and the horses relocated to Khmelnytskyi region, where he has since rebuilt the farm. Some animals were entrusted to local residents, while he continues to care for the rest.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Yurii Yahusevych both online and in person in Khmelnytskyi region by prior arrangement.

• animals
• occupation
• Khmelnytskyi

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