Themes by tag: casualties

Azat Azatyan has become a displaced person three times in his life. As a child, he moved with his family from Armenia; in 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region; and in 2022, he found himself under occupation in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk, feeding people waiting in lines at checkpoints and helping them evacuate to Ukraine-controlled territories.

This work angered the russian military, who subsequently abducted Azat. He was held in captivity for 43 days and subjected to torture. Only thoughts of his wife and three children helped Azat survive the abuse. After escaping the occupied area and undergoing medical treatment, he chose to continue helping those in need, opening 11 centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In 2025, alongside other civilians who survived captivity, he founded the “Way of the Free” rehabilitation center in Zaporizhzhia for those who suffered in confinement. The center provides psychological and legal assistance free of charge, as well as physical rehabilitation sessions. Additionally, this summer, the NGO presented a documentary about captives titled “Fire Does Not Burn the Fierce.” The film compiles the stories of seven civilians who survived russian captivity.

Azat Azatyan is available for interviews both online and offline in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

UNBROKEN ANIMALS aims to establish a comprehensive canine therapy system in Lviv. To achieve this, 10 “handler + dog” teams will be formed. Following specialized training and certification, these teams will regularly visit patients at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center.

The program will be Ukraine’s first systemic initiative providing emotional support to veterans, female veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their families with the help of therapy dogs. The initiative is designed to help people undergoing medical treatment and rehabilitation recover through interaction with specially trained animals.

• animals
• casualties
• psychological support
• Lviv

Tetiana Fedorova is originally from Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Prior to the full-scale russian invasion, she balanced her job at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with volunteering for the Ukrainian military. Following February 24, 2022, her son joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to fight on the front lines. Tetiana herself refused to evacuate her native Enerhodar, believing that the enemy occupation of the city would be temporary.

She recalls that nuclear plant workers were intimidated and forced to submit to the occupiers; those who resisted were killed. When the russians discovered that Tetiana’s son was defending Ukraine, they abducted her from her own home. She endured torture as the russians attempted to extract information about Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers remaining in the city. They also questioned her about ordinary citizens who supported Ukraine. Tetiana takes pride in the fact that, despite the torture, she did not disclose any useful intelligence to the enemy. After a month in captivity, she was released, and she eventually managed to flee the occupied territory with her family.

Tetiana found refuge in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, where she underwent medical treatment and worked with a psychologist. In her new home, she enrolled in sewing classes and handcrafted a pair of small shoes for her dog, Luna. She immediately received orders for pet footwear from other owners. This sparked the idea for her own brand, Luna.animalshop. Tetiana began sewing pet clothes and various costumes, completed a business entrepreneurship course, won a grant, and purchased the necessary equipment. Today, Tetiana continues to run her business, support the military, and await both her son’s return from the war and the liberation of Enerhodar.

Interviews with Tetiana Fedorova can be arranged either online or in person in Khmelnytskyi Oblast by prior appointment.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Khmelnytskyi

Olha Rukavishnikova is a violinist and athlete. The veteran began studying music at the age of four, and by eighth grade she had taken up conducting. She performed, among other venues, at the Mykolaiv Philharmonic and the Grand Hall of the Kyiv Conservatory. Olha also dedicated 10 years of her life to sports, which earned her the military call sign “Karatyst”.

At 8 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2022, Olha was already standing in line at her local military enlistment office. By the evening, she had received a weapon, and the following day she used it against the enemy for the first time. Olha served in the ranks of Ukraine’s Armed Forces for four years. Her primary weapon was the RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher, although she is also trained to operate a sniper rifle, an automatic grenade launcher, a machine gun and a mortar.

During one combat mission, an explosion threw Olha several metres through the air, and one of the fragments, according to the servicewoman, fractured a cervical vertebra. As a result of the same injury, she lost her left eye.

Olha returned to her unit relatively quickly and continued her service. However, she recently left the military due to health reasons. She is now gradually readjusting to civilian life.

Olha Rukavishnikova is available for interviews with journalists, both online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• women

Nazari Krasovskyi signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier was in Mariupol when the full-scale invasion began; he defended Azovstal and, alongside his brothers-in-arms, followed command orders and surrendered into captivity in May 2022.

Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep his spirits up, the serviceman wrote poems, scratching the lines onto a piece of soap, and whenever the opportunity arose, he transferred the texts onto scraps of paper. He was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.

Since then, Nazari has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv. The soldier suffered a severe spinal injury while in captivity.

The serviceman shared that Ilona had been his friend for 15 years. During his rehabilitation, she immediately came to visit Nazari, and he realized he wanted to marry her. Ilona said yes to his proposal.

Interviews with Nazari Krasovskyi can be arranged either online or offline in Lviv by prior agreement. Photo and video materials of the marriage proposal moment are available for journalists upon request.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Olena Velychenko is the founder of the Grand Dog canine training center in Kherson. Together with her team, she taught dog owners how to build connections with their pets, while training dogs to assist people.

However, everything changed after the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For some time, Olena remained under occupation together with the dogs, even though her center had been destroyed by russian forces. Following the liberation of the city, she relocated to Odesa, where she began rebuilding her life’s work.

Today, the Grand Dog canine training center also operates in Odesa, providing support to children, internally displaced people, veterans, and individuals going through difficult periods in their lives. Velychenko conducts classes for children free of charge.

Olena Velychenko is available for interviews both online and in person in Odesa by prior arrangement.

• animals
• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Odesa

Media accreditation is now open for the 3rd round of the 2026 Ukrainian Amputee Football Super League, which will take place in Lviv. The event will be held on June 13–14.

Reference: Amputee football is a modification of association football designed for players with an amputated limb or a limb function impairment.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Lviv

Alla and Oleksiy began building their life together in 2021. As a serviceman in the “Azov” Regiment, Oleksiy was frequently deployed on missions.

On the night of February 24, 2022, the couple was scheduled to fly abroad for a vacation. However, just a day prior, the fighter was urgently deployed to Mariupol. It was there that Oleksiy witnessed the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and in May 2022, he and his fellow brothers-in-arms entered captivity following orders to leave the Azovstal steelworks.

Since then, Alla, who never had the chance to officially become Oleksiy’s wife, has been fighting for his freedom and return to Ukraine. For four years now, alongside Oleksiy’s mother, Oksana, she has been anxiously awaiting every prisoner exchange. In 2024, alongside other relatives of captured Azov fighters, Alla traveled to the Vatican, where she met with Pope Francis. The young woman continuously initiates meetings with the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Guard (NSU) command, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Currently, Oleksiy remains illegally sentenced in russia to 29 years in a maximum-security prison. He faces fabricated charges of shooting a civilian woman in Mariupol and committing acts of terrorism.

Interviews with Alla can be arranged by prior agreement, either online or in person within the Kyiv region.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Five Ukrainian veterans with amputations and severe combat injuries will compete in the international Oceanman Lago d’Orta swimming event in Italy. On June 13 and 14, they will take on 2-kilometer and 5.5-kilometer open-water distances alongside participants from around the world, without a separate category or special conditions. An open-water training session will take place in Kyiv region on June 6.

The team’s preparation for the competition is led by Serhii Kostenko, founder and head coach of the K-TEAM Swimming Club and co-founder of the NGO Impossible Is Possible, which promotes adaptive and veteran sports in Ukraine. According to the coach, open-water swimming presents a completely different challenge from training in a pool.

The training program focuses on balance, stroke technique, breathing, navigation, and interaction with the water environment. In addition to physical preparation, psychological adaptation is a key component.

During training sessions, the veterans learn to work as a team, navigate using buoys, manage their energy, and cope with the stress factors typical of open-water competitions.

Journalists can attend and cover the open-water training session by prior arrangement.

Background: The IRON WARRIORS project is implemented by the YANKO Fund charitable foundation in partnership with IRON WARRIORS SPORT HUB and FlyPoint, which also serves as the project’s logistics partner.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

The De-occupation Shop (Lavka Deokupatsii) is a volunteer initiative operating in Kharkiv that sells vegetables and other products grown by residents of liberated communities in the Kharkiv region.

The project’s main goal is to help restore local farming and create economic independence for residents of Studenok village in Izium district. Located near the border of the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, the village spent more than three months under russian occupation after May 31, 2022.

The initiative assists residents with purchasing seeds, building and maintaining greenhouses, and marketing their harvests in Kharkiv. A retail outlet in the city offers cucumbers, green onions, young garlic, carrots, zucchini, new potatoes, artisanal seasoned salt and fresh honey produced by local farmers. Customers can also purchase preserved vegetables, jams and cheeses made in the liberated village of Khotimlia.

Products are also available through partner fairs and online sales. The project has developed a B2B sales channel and cooperates with restaurants and food-service businesses across Ukraine.

In addition, products from the De-occupation Shop have been ordered from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Croatia, the United States, Finland, Lithuania, Hungary and Belgium.

By prior arrangement, journalists can visit and report on the initiative in Kharkiv.

Background: The De-occupation Shop is a project of the charitable foundation Volonterska.

• casualties
• occupation
• volunteers
• Kharkiv