Media Center Ukraine Producer Department

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Mariia-Viktoriia and Ivan lived in Hlukhiv, Sumy region, and were raising their five-year-old son, Volodymyr. After February 24, Hlukhiv was under enemy siege for a month and a half. The city lacked medicine and food. Mariia-Viktoriia worried that her son and grandmother might fall ill.

Ivan joined the military in the first days of the war. He initially served at checkpoints in the city. In late May 2022, he was sent to Kyiv and later to Donetsk region as part of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade. Mariia and her son remained in Hlukhiv. She ran a children’s development center and worked a lot. They did not see each other often, but Ivan always tried to get away and come for his son’s birthday or September 1.

In the summer of 2023, while stationed near Avdiivka in Donetsk region, Ivan decided to pursue a second degree and enrolled at Poltava State Agrarian University. In February 2024, the couple spent two weeks together while Ivan was attending a university session. In March 2024, he was killed.

Life in Hlukhiv became unbearable for Mariia and her son because of constant russian shelling. In addition, as the city is located close to the border, enemy FPV drone strikes became a regular occurrence there.

Mariia and her son now live in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi region. Little Vova goes to school and attends extracurricular activities, and has made friends.

Vova’s biggest dream is for the war to end. After that, he wants to travel to Japan.

By prior arrangement, the family is available for in-person and online interviews.

Background: The Children of Heroes Foundation supports the family. In the summer of 2025, Vova went to a summer camp for the first time and enjoyed it very much. In December 2024, one of the boy’s biggest dreams came true: he met Ukrainian television host Dmytro Komarov.

• children
• dead
• military
• women

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

The Ukrainian Association of Football has opened registration for the first children’s amputee football camp, which will take place as part of a new branch of the Liha Duzhykh project, Liha Duzhykh Dity.

The camp will take place on August 7–11 in one of Ukraine’s western regions and will be free of charge for children and their guardians.

The project is designed for children with limb amputations or impaired function of one of their limbs. Amputee football does not require special physical abilities — only a willingness to try: on crutches or with a prosthesis, as an outfield player or goalkeeper, the camp is open to everyone.

Liha Duzhykh Dity was created in response to a stereotype that has often kept children with different medical conditions outside active social life. The project aims to give them the opportunity to fully realize themselves and find support and like-minded people from an early age.

Background: The program is implemented by the Ukrainian Association of Football as part of the Liha Duzhykh Dity social project, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine within the Development Cooperation and Democracy Support Programme.

• children

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

On July 25–26, groups of volunteer doctors from FRIDA Ukraine will travel to the Zaporizhzhia region on missions to provide medical assistance to civilians in frontline areas.

By prior arrangement, journalists can cover the work of the medical volunteers and interview patients and doctors.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine medical volunteer missions are regular trips by teams of doctors to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists in various fields, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, dermatologists and others. During the missions, local residents receive free medical examinations, consultations and tests. The team has also recently begun conducting cancer screenings — early detection of cancer aimed at helping identify the disease at an early stage.

• doctors
• volunteers

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