Themes by tag: casualties

Before the full-scale invasion, Andrii Pentsak worked as a physical therapist. He headed the rehabilitation department in the network of medical centers in Kyiv and helped Ukrainian defenders recover. With the beginning of the big war, Andrii joined the Hospitallers Medical Battalion (a volunteer organization of paramedics), but later he was mobilized to the 38th separate marine infantry brigade as a combat medic.

In October 2023, Andrii and his brothers in arms came under mortar fire in Kherson region. In the enemy shelling the soldier’s leg got crushed, and his Achilles tendon was damaged. In total, the man underwent 10 operations, was treated in 3 cities of Ukraine, and is currently in Lviv’s Unbroken center. Doctors predict that Andrii will be able to fully restore his walking ability. The veteran himself dreams of returning to work as a physical therapist to help people.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Lviv

Kyiv has recently kicked off an equine therapy program catered to both female and male veterans, including those in wheelchairs. 

This holistic approach, known as hippotherapy, utilizes interactions with horses to enhance both physical and psychological well-being.

The initiative, titled “Equine Assisted Therapy for Veterans and Wounded,” aims to accommodate 30 participants over a three-month period from April to June 2024. Notably, participation in the program is free of charge.

For reference: This project is spearheaded by the NGO “Union of Wounded Military of Ukraine ‘Strong 300’,” in collaboration with the Veterans Reintegration Program supported by IREX and the US Department of State.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale war, Olha Leus worked at an administrative service center in Mariupol. She was raising two sons: They are 10-year-old Hera and 16-year-old Mykhailo. Olha’s husband Volodymyr worked at the Azov Shipyard, and shortly before February 24, 2022, at the port.

Despite the escalating concerns about wider war, the family initially chose to remain in Mariupol, hoping for a swift expulsion of the invaders. However, as the situation worsened and the city became blockaded, evacuation became impossible.

Olha experienced relentless russian shelling and bombing for 11 consecutive days, culminating in tragedy on March 20, 2022, when her younger son sustained injuries from an enemy shell hitting their home, leaving him with leg wounds. A week later, her husband tragically passed away after leaving the house and never returning. His body was discovered by his mother-in-law and laid to rest in a local green space that once served as a sports ground.

It wasn’t until April 15, 2022, that Olha and her family were able to escape Mariupol. Following their displacement, the Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation stepped in to provide support, with Olha eventually joining as a specialist in aiding affected families. Meanwhile, her eldest son aspires to become a psychotherapist, aiming to assist those scarred by the horrors of war.

Journalists seeking to speak with Olha can arrange interviews in the Kyiv region.

For reference: After enduring 86 days of fierce defense, Mariupol fell under russian occupation on May 20, 2022. Human Rights Watch reports a staggering civilian death toll of at least 8,000 due to russian shelling, with thousands more suffering life-altering injuries, including amputations, blindness, deafness, and memory loss, often stemming from traumatic brain injuries caused by explosions. By mid-May 2022, approximately 400,000 residents had fled Mariupol, significantly reducing the pre-war population of 540,000.

In the wake of this devastation, the Children of Heroes organization steps in to aid children who have lost one or both parents in the war. The foundation offers financial assistance, psychological and legal support, and advocates for the education and development of these children as they transition into adulthood.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

Since the fall of 2019, Nataliia Haietska has been the head of the “Mariupol Zero Waste” initiative group, which includes “Eco Gurt” (eco team) environmental NGO. She has also been an activist in Mariupol. Her activity began with large waste sorting centers in Mariupol. Her team also introduced waste sorting in about 100 housing co-ops of the city. In 2020, the team engaged in environmental education for adults, children and students. They held the first eco-festival in Mariupol and launched a project to implement waste sorting and composting in Mariupol hospitality establishments and parts of Pryazovia area. Their plans were to cover the entire hospitality industry of the region.

Nataliia was caught by russia’s full-scale invasion in Mariupol. She could not leave in the first days because of sick parents. The woman had to survive under the siege for three weeks – under shelling and bombing. Upon receiving help, together with her parents, she was evacuated to Zaporizhia. Then they got to Lviv by evacuation train.

Despite the war, Nataliia together with her colleagues from Kherson in 2022 implemented an international project on making the hospitality sector of Ukraine greener. In 2023 it was scaled up to the current project “Restoration and Modernization of Hospitality Establishments Based on Zero Waste & Climate Friendly Principles for the Sustainable Development of Ukrainian Communities.” 

Nataliia is available for interviews in Lviv offline or online by appointment.

• casualties
• ecology
• occupation
• women
• Lviv

Stanislav Onyshchuk, hailing from Ivano-Frankivsk, initially launched his business with a solo cosmetology center. Later, in collaboration with German investors, he established a plastic surgery clinic. However, with the onset of the full-blown invasion, Onyshchuk made a pivotal decision: transforming the facility into a volunteer surgical hospital, where wounded soldiers receive treatment at no cost.

According to Onyshchuk, the German investors swiftly agreed to reconfigure the hospital, leaving only the task of assembling a team of volunteer doctors. Fortunately, medical professionals from across Ukraine stepped up to offer their services pro bono. Today, the hospital in Prykarpattia not only provides essential treatment to injured soldiers but also facilitates their rehabilitation process.

The entrepreneur has additionally established a polyclinic offering free medical care to internally displaced persons.

• casualties
• doctors
• Ivano-Frankivsk

Olha was an operating room nurse at the Department of Surgery in Hospital No. 555 in Mariupol. Russia’s full-scale invasion caught her while in Mariupol: she was helping to rescue wounded soldiers and civilians (including children). At that time, the medics did not even have time to sleep.

The enemy bomb hit the hospital on March 16, 2022. (The woman was in the operating room at the moment of the attack. The blast wave blew away her and her colleagues). The next day, the nurse was sent to the Ilich Iron and Steel Works together with other doctors. Under extremely tough conditions, in a bunker, they had to do, among other things, bandages and amputations, and doctors even performed open brain neurosurgery.

On April 12, 2022, the nurse and other doctors were taken prisoner. Olha was held in occupied Olenivka, Russian Taganrog, Valuiky, and Kursk, among other places. She was held in captivity for six months. The woman faced humiliation, interrogations, physical and psychological pressure.

Journalists seeking to interview Olha can reach her either in person in Kyiv.

• casualties
• doctors
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

Five child-friendly spaces recently sprouted in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, bringing the total count to 27 scattered across Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions. It’s a tag-team effort between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine and the NGO Responsible Citizens.

These sanctuaries offer a snug and secure setting where families with kids can team up with psychologists, art therapists, and speech therapists. Social workers and legal eagles also swoop in to aid families in tackling sticky situations. And for those kiddos hungry for knowledge, select spaces dish out classes designed to jazz up their understanding of core subjects, all while having a blast.

Covering every corner, mobile psychosocial support units are on the move throughout all four regions. Psychologists, social workers, art therapists, and a backup crew of lawyers and speech therapists trek to far-flung communities, extending a hand to those lacking local resources. 

IDP families and locals alike are cordially welcome to swing by these spaces.

Journalists have the opportunity to delve deeper into the spaces and cover their functionality, with prior arrangement.

• casualties
• children
• psychological support

In 2022, the Koval family’s farm, Pani Jupiter, boasted over three hundred cows and a staff of twelve. However, when the full-scale invasion struck, their farm in the village of Khotimlia, Kharkiv region, fell under occupation.

Andrii Koval swiftly organized a refuge in the farm’s basement to shield fellow villagers from rocket assaults. Even now, families with children in Khotimlia owe their survival to the farm’s generosity, offering free milk and freshly baked bread from its staff. The farm, powered by a separate family-owned generator, maintained electricity, and occasionally, even cell phone reception was possible.

Andrii was seized by the occupiers, who were going to take him to a torture basement. The man narrowly evaded capture by running for his life. The Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated Khotimlia in September 2022. Presently, the farm is grappling with the aftermath of its harrowing ordeal, yet it remains distant from its pre-war production capacity. Pani Jupiter’s priorities entail reviving the confectionery and cheese-making school, alongside forging partnerships with local villagers, whom the Koval family intends to procure fruits and berries from.

• casualties
• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kharkiv

Maryna and Mykola are both military; they met in 2019 in the army. The woman had two daughters from a previous marriage — Olena and Oleksandra. Mykola also has a daughter named Milana. At first, the family lived in Mariupol, Donetsk region (now the city is occupied), then they moved to Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (now the city is occupied).

The couple served in the Azov brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2020, Mykola resigned from the Azov and joined the Marines. Maryna’s contract ended in November 2021, but she did not want to leave her brothers in arms.

When the full-scale invasion began, Maryna, along with other Azov defenders of Mariupol ended up at the Azovstal plant (i.e. Iron and Steel Works where fierce battles with the enemy took place in the spring of 2022). Mykola wanted to switch with Marina and go to Azovstal instead of her. The woman persuaded him not to do this because at the checkpoint, the russians shot three guys who were on their way to meet their girlfriends, and many others who broke through to the plant went missing. Even then, Maryna understood that she and other military personnel were unlikely to get out of the Azovstal alive. And she asked her husband to take care of her daughters. On May 8, 2022, the woman died in a fire at the Azovstal.

Now Mykola is fighting for the right to adopt his deceased wife’s daughters and give them a happy future. He is purchasing a three-room apartment for the girls in the Kyiv region so they can live together as a family.

With the help of the Children of Heroes Fund, Maryna’s daughters received gifts and visited a rehabilitation camp, which helped them to distract themselves from terrible memories and disturbing thoughts.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped putting up the defense, left Azovstal, and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol was occupied by russia.

The Children of Heroes Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund offers financial aid as well as psychological and legal support. The organization helps these children with education and development until they reach adulthood.

As of the beginning of February, 7,889 wards are under the care of the Fund. Of them, 1,062 are IDPs, 151 children have lost their mother and father, 177 are children with disabilities, and 970 are children from large families. Every week, about 80 children are included in the list of recipients of the fund’s help. Among the fund’s children, 88% are kids of military personnel, while the remaining 12% are civilians.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

FRIDA Ukraine’s largest medical volunteer mission is once again preparing to go to Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Chernihiv regions as well as other oblasts, whose residents have been cut off from access to high quality medical care. In particular, 4 such missions are planned for April, and five for May.

The closest consultations will be held in Kherson and Donetsk regions: April 12-14 and April 20-21, respectively.

The team members themselves set up field clinics on site, where they conduct physical examinations and consultations as well as diagnose illnesses. If necessary medical volunteers do surgeries and provide free medicine to vulnerable categories of the civilian population, in particular, children who suffered from the full-scale invasion and occupation.

The media representatives are invited to join these missions.

For reference: During the 2 years of its existence, the FRIDA Ukraine medical volunteer mission made about 100 trips to the frontline and de-occupied areas.

• casualties
• doctors
• volunteers