Themes by tag: casualties

Former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko joined Ukraine’s territorial defense forces on the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion. When russian troops occupied the southern city in early March 2022, the 62-year-old former official went underground. He also took part in public rallies against the occupation, joining thousands of Kherson residents who defied russian forces. The largest demonstration, on March 13, 2022, drew more than 10,000 people into the streets.

In April that year, russian forces abducted Mykolaienko. He was held for more than two weeks at a police station in Kherson that the russian military had converted into a makeshift detention and torture site. According to accounts of his captivity, he was subjected to repeated beatings, interrogations, and abuse.

From Kherson, Mykolaienko was transferred to occupied Sevastopol and later moved twice more between detention facilities. He returned home on Aug. 24, 2025, as part of another prisoner exchange. Before that, he had twice refused to be included in swaps, opting instead to give his place to another captive who was gravely ill.

Mykolaienko is still recovering from the physical and psychological toll of his imprisonment. Even so, he has already resumed efforts to help secure the release of other Ukrainians held in russian captivity.

He can be reached for online or in-person meetings in Kherson by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kherson

Volodymyr Sorochan is originally from Kherson. In 2014, he joined the Ukrainian military and served in Crimea. After russia annexed the peninsula, he remained loyal to his oath and relocated to mainland Ukraine with his comrades. He later continued his service under contract with the 36th Brigade.

Volodymyr encountered the start of the full-scale invasion while on duty near Mariupol. He was captured in April 2022 after attempting to escape the Azovmash plant in Mariupol. He spent nearly three years in russian captivity. There, he endured daily beatings and constant hunger. The former prisoner recalls receiving meager portions of slop instead of proper food.

On October 18, 2024, Volodymyr was returned to Ukraine. After receiving treatment and undergoing rehabilitation, he returned to civilian life. He now maintains a blog where he shares his experiences. He has also finished writing a book in which he recounts his story.

Journalists can speak with Volodymyr Sorochan online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Azat Azatian has been uprooted three times in his life. As a child, he left Armenia with his family. In 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region. And in 2022, he once again found himself under occupation, this time in Berdiansk, in the Zaporizhia region.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk. He brought food to people stranded for hours at checkpoints and helped civilians evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory. That work drew the attention of russian forces. Azat was abducted, held in captivity for 43 days, and subjected to torture. He later said that thoughts of his wife and three children were what allowed him to endure the ordeal.

After managing to leave the occupied territory and undergo medical treatment, Azat chose not to retreat into private life. Instead, he returned to helping others. He went on to open 11 assistance centers for displaced people, providing support to those who, like him, had lost their homes and sense of security.

In 2025, alongside other civilians who had survived captivity, Azat co-founded the Way of the Freeman rehabilitation center in Zaporizhia. The center focuses on people who endured detention and abuse, offering free psychological counseling, legal support, and physical recovery sessions.

Azat Azatian is available to speak with people seeking support both online and in person in Zaporizhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

Vadym Fedorov once cut the figure of a 192-centimeter-tall bodybuilder, training on his own and following routines inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He entered the military at 18, completing his mandatory service before signing on as a contract soldier. When russia launched its first assault on Ukraine in 2014, he deployed to the east, serving as a medic, grenadier, and machine gunner in some of the conflict’s most volatile areas – Stanytsia Luhanska, Pisky, Zaitseve, Hranitne, and Bohdanivka.

A year before russia’s full-scale invasion, Fedorov transferred to the 109th Mountain Assault Battalion. While holding defensive positions near Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast, he survived a sniper round that grazed his spine and exited through his shoulder. After recovering, he returned to the battlefield.

In June 2022, he was severely wounded near Bakhmut, an injury that led to the loss of both legs. With help from volunteers, he later traveled to the United States for rehabilitation and prosthetic treatment.

Fedorov now lives in the Kirovohrad region and works at a rehabilitation center supporting wounded service members. He continues treatment for an arm injury that has slowed his progress with prosthetics, but he remains deeply involved in helping other veterans rebuild their strength and mobility.

Conversations with Fedorov,  either online or in person in the Kirovohrad region, are available by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military

Yuliia Stefaniuk is the head of the International Charity Organization World Central Kitchen’s mission in Ukraine and one of the women who, from the very first days of the full-scale invasion, joined organizing humanitarian aid in the country.

Before the full-scale war, she lived in Lviv and for over eleven years worked as the managing partner of !FEST Catering and Just Lviv It! — partner projects of the !FEST Holding of Emotions. Yuliia graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with a degree in sociology and worked in the insurance business in Kyiv for some time.

When the invasion began, Yuliia was among the first to join World Central Kitchen in Lviv. In March 2022, she organized the first large-scale hot meal production for refugees arriving in Lviv and played an active role in creating the logistical and organizational processes that enabled WCK to rapidly scale up and operate across Ukraine, including frontline communities. To date, World Central Kitchen has provided over 290 million meals as part of its mission in Ukraine. Currently, the organization provides hot meals, distributes food and vegetable kits, supports evacuation centers, delivers water and bread to communities on the front lines, and implements long-term programs to restore local food security, particularly by helping families grow their own food and opening kitchens for internally displaced persons.

Over the course of two years during the war, Yuliia served as the executive director of the Ukraine Foundation, which was established with the support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. She is also a co-founder of the Hachiko Pet Foundation in the United States, which supports frontline animal shelters by providing food, medical assistance, and sterilization services, as well as facilitating adoptions.

Currently, Yuliia coordinates one of the country’s largest hot meal programs, created in response to the full-scale invasion. She works tirelessly to ensure that citizens have stable and easy access to humanitarian aid, even under the most difficult conditions.

Yuliia is a mother of two children and the rescuer of a cat she adopted from the de-occupied city of Izium.

By prior arrangement, journalists have the opportunity to speak with Yuliia in person in Lviv or online.

• casualties
• food
• volunteers
• women
• Lviv

Until 2022, Tetiana Khimion was a ballroom dance instructor in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, teaching students who would go on to become world champions. She also served as a judge at international dance competitions on multiple occasions.

When the full-scale invasion reached her hometown, her husband immediately joined the territorial defense, and Tetiana began volunteering to support the war effort. But volunteering soon felt insufficient. Determined to take a more active role, she enlisted in the Special Operations Forces, completed rigorous training, and became a sniper. Known by her call sign Tango, she has seen combat near Kherson, Kurakhove, and Netailove in Donetsk Oblast.

During her service, Tetiana was wounded three times, most recently in an attack involving a drone. She sustained injuries to her back, torso, and both legs, requiring eight operations. Doctors say her leg may never fully recover, yet she remains undeterred. Tetiana trains daily, committed to regaining her strength and returning to active duty.

Tetiana Khimion is available to meet or chat online by appointment in Donetsk Oblast.

• casualties
• military
• women

From November 30 to December 3, the fourth international “Vision for Ukraine” oculoplastic mission will take place in Kyiv. A team of medical professionals will work to reconstruct the faces of defenders who have sustained severe trauma and lost an eye.

The international surgeons are preparing a series of advanced reconstructive procedures, including restoring the orbit and soft tissues, microvascular skin flap transplantation, and installing custom titanium implants created with a 3D printer. According to the mission organizers, one such implant can cost approximately $10,000, but the defenders will receive them free of charge.

The mission’s schedule includes consultations on November 30 and operating days from December 1 to 3, with approximately 30 surgeries and over 40 consultations planned. From December 4 to 5, the team will continue working in Lviv, providing care to children affected by the war.

Background: Over the past two years, “Vision for Ukraine” medics have provided assistance to more than 130 patients.

Interviews with medics and patients will be available online and in person in Kyiv and Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• Kyiv
• Lviv

From November 30 to December 7, participants from across Ukraine will compete in nine adaptive sports at HART, the country’s first national multisport event for military veterans recovering from injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained in the defense of Ukraine.

Team events will include wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball. Individual competitions will feature archery, indoor rowing on a simulator, laser run, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming.

Athletes are free to join.

For reference: Around the world, adaptive athletics have become a cornerstone of veteran rehabilitation. In the United States, the Warrior Games have spurred thousands of recovery programs. In the United Kingdom, the Invictus Games reshaped public attitudes toward wounded service members. Similar initiatives in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia have helped build statewide “sport-based recovery” programs that integrate rehabilitation, mentorship, and social inclusion.

Ukraine is following suit. With support from Ukrgasbank, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs have launched HART as a comprehensive sports-based rehabilitation effort for veterans.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, 18-year-old Dmytro Tereshchenko planned to become a boxer. However, on February 24, 2022, he enlisted in the Territorial Defense in the Chernihiv oblast. He served on the border and later deployed with his unit to the eastern front.

In March 2023, Dmytro sustained multiple injuries in the Luhansk oblast, and doctors had to amputate his leg. The veteran underwent treatment in Ukraine for five months before traveling to the United States for a prosthetic fitting. During this time, his military unit listed him as AWOL (absent without leave), which halted all his payments. He is now engaged in a legal battle to have this status revoked and his payments restored.

A photographer in America suggested that Dmytro try modeling. After returning to Ukraine, the veteran compiled a portfolio and sent it to modeling agencies. He began his career with a presentation of an adaptive clothing collection. He also walked the runway at Ukrainian Fashion Week this year.

Dmytro Tereshchenko is available for interviews online and in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Viktoriia and Bohdan Popov ran a family workshop in Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, working alongside their parents. Together, they kneaded clay, molded and fired products, polished, decorated, and painted each piece.

When the full-scale war broke out, the front line reached Sloviansk, and enemy shelling began to devastate the city. In April 2022, the Popovs evacuated to western Ukraine, returning nine months later to find their workshop damaged by Russian strikes. Following another nearby explosion that rendered the building unsafe, they were forced to find a new workspace.

In November 2025, a Russian shell destroyed their home. Fortunately, Viktoriia and Bohdan were away at the time. They are now living with relatives on the outskirts of Sloviansk and plan to rebuild their house. Having saved their equipment, the couple continues to create ceramics, determined to keep their craft alive.

The Popovs are available to speak with journalists, both in Sloviansk and online.

• casualties
• culture
• russian crimes