Themes by tag: casualties

Dmytro Mazurov joined the ranks of the National Police in 2018. Currently, the policeman serves in the “White Angels” group, which evacuates people from hot spots on the frontline. Dmytro mostly works in six settlements near the front line: Torske, Zarichne, Yampolivka, Terny, Kolodiazi, and Ivanivka.

When most of these villages and towns were occupied in April 2022, and there was one kilometer of land between the enemy and Zarichne, more than fifty people gathered in one spot waiting for evacuation. It took Dmitry 8 trips to take everyone to a safe place. Then he learned that two more women managed to get out of occupied Torske (Dmytro’s native village), and they were on their way to Zarichne. The policeman went to pick them up and evacuated the women under artillery fire.

Dmytro returned to service immediately after the liberation of the district in 2022. The “White Angels” deliver necessities including food and medicine to the de-occupied villages and towns. Also, the police work together with the rescuers, dismantle the rubble after enemy strikes, rescue the wounded and dead, and take care of those who refuse to leave. According to Dmytro, over the past year, the “White Angels” managed to evacuate all the children who lived near the line of fire in the policeman’s area of responsibility. He saved a total of 32 children.

For reference: Dmytro Mazurov is in the Donetsk sector. The policeman is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• evacuation

“Place of Strength,” a free space for supporting children and teenagers who suffered from the war, works in Kyiv. This is a project of the “Dobrodiy Club” charitable foundation.

The space has 3 floors and an equipped shelter. There are separate zones for creative activities, lectures, training and sessions with a psychologist. So, for example, various creative master classes and art therapy classes (ranging from drawing and compositing to creating affirmation paintings) are held in the art zone. Among other things, the space has an interactive theater, a film club, reading and discussion clubs. Famous guests are invited to certain events.

In total, within 5 months of operation, the space opened its doors to 5,400 visitors with more than 600 different events taking place during this time.

By prior agreement, journalists can visit the space and talk with visitors and organizers.

For reference: June 1 marks International Children’s Day in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General’s Office reports that more than 1,899 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of russia’s full-scale armed aggression. According to juvenile prosecutors’ reports, 548 children died and more than 1,351 received injuries of various degrees of severity as of the morning of May 27, 2024.

• casualties
• children
• Kyiv

Olga Abdalla, Tetiana Shcherbak and Elena Ernandes-Rodriges are volunteers and founders of the Bez.Doma charity initiative. In 2014, when russia first attacked Ukraine, the women came together, brought food for wounded soldiers in a hospital in Kyiv, and later began assisting children’s shelters. In the winter of 2017, Olga, Tetiana and Elena thought about how to support the homeless. Then the women decided to join the Help the Homeless initiative, came to the capital’s Podil and distributed more than a hundred sandwiches to those in need, particularly, the homeless, as well as the elderly. The team that worked in Podil took the next step and started taking care of those in need at the capital’s railway station.

On February 24, 2022, the Bez.Doma initiative announced a break, and volunteers responded to the requests of the military. Food, generators, and charging stations were sent to the soldiers. After three months, the team decided to resume the activity of the initiative, however, they had to start from scratch. After all, most people went abroad. 150 people came to the first distribution of food, later this number increased to 400. Internally displaced persons who needed support joined the homeless. Every Saturday, volunteers distribute food, basic necessities and medicine. In addition, last year Bez.Doma together with the Help the Homeless initiative created a shelter for those in need. The shelter is designed for 40 people, and it currently houses 25 people.

• casualties
• volunteers

The Media Initiative for Human Rights examined the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, capture, and death of soldiers from various units, including the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. Between April and June 2022, these soldiers were involved in intense battles near Novotoshkivske and Toshkivka in the Sievierodonetsk district of the Luhansk region. They later participated in the defense of the Kherson and Donetsk regions. The team spoke with relatives of the missing and deceased soldiers, as well as soldiers who directly took part in these events.

Participants:

– Maria Klymyk, MIHR journalist, author of the article “Missing from the 57th Brigade: heavy fighting, deaths, captivity, and search”;

– Olena Zavalna, daughter of Oleh Khodak, who went missing during the battle for Bohdanivka, Donetsk region;

– Mariia Plaksii, representative of the initiative group of the NGO “Find and Return. 57/34”, whose brother was released from captivity in January 2024;

– Liliia Lukianiuk, representative of the NGO “Wives of Toshkivka prisoners”;

– Valentyn Zabolotnyi, deputy commander for moral and psychological support, 57th Brigade. 

• casualties
• military
• prisoners

On May 31, the Center for Civil Liberties and the Kateryna Osadcha Foundation, in collaboration with the XII International Book Arsenal Festival, will host a poetry reading focused on themes of captivity. 

“Hold on! I’m holding on!” is more than a slogan—it’s a heartfelt message from prisoners to their families, friends, and the broader community. The poster for the event features an illustration by Serhii Ofitserov, a Kherson resident captured in his parent’s apartment and currently detained at the Lefortovo detention center on false terrorism charges.

The event will showcase works by renowned Ukrainian poets including Serhii Zhadan, Tetiana Vlasova, Tonia Kornuta, Natalka Heiman, Yuliia Musakovska, Anna Malihon, Maryna Ponomarenko, and Oksana Stomina, whose husband remains in captivity. Contributions from prisoners such as Serhii Tsyhipa, founder of the Tavrian Games, Nariman Dzhelialov, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and Andrii Holubiev, a trainer from Melitopol, will also be featured. Their works will be brought to life by actors Akhtem Seitablaev, Kateryna Vyshneva, and Roman Yasinovskyi, along with human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk. The event will be hosted by Kateryna Osadcha.

Journalists wishing to attend must apply for accreditation by May 27.

• casualties
• culture
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Since the start of the all-out russian invasion, hostilities have impacted 20% of Ukraine’s territory, leading to the capture or deportation of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Their homes have been looted and destroyed, and liberated lands have been left heavily mined. The exact number of civilian prisoners and deportees remains unknown, and there are no established legal mechanisms for their return.

Ukrainian authorities, in collaboration with European institutions, are actively seeking ways to bring back Ukrainians who were forcibly deported to russia and belarus.

List of participants and speakers:  

• Iryna Korobko, spokesperson for the EU Advisory Mission Ukraine;
• Maria Mezentseva, Member of the Verkhovna Rada, Head of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe;
• Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, Head of Internal and Information Policy Department of Kherson Regional Military Administration (online);
• Oleksandr Baulin, Head of Kurylivka Village Military Administration, Kupiansk District, Kharkiv Region (online);
• Khrystyna Shkudor, “Where Are Our People?” campaign advocacy manager, PR Army NGO;
• Yuliia Khrypun, co-founder of the NGO “Civilians in captivity”;
• Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties.

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes

The results of the fourth environmental mission will be published in the coming days. The mission was conducted in March 2024 by “Let’s do it Ukraine” volunteers together with the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea. Water and bottom sediment samples were taken from reservoirs, wells and boreholes in settlements of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions with the goal to analyze how the quality of water changed due to the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP dam.

Research results will also be used in the criminal proceedings conducted by the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine and the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine.

As reported, environmental volunteers and scientists already conducted three such missions in the South of the country. The first water samples were taken in June 2023 in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. The next environmental mission took place in July. The first results yielded disappointing forecasts. Starting from the Dnipro River near Kherson, the content of oil products, toxic metals (zinc, cadmium, arsenic) and organic chlorine compounds exceeded safe concentration levels in the Dnipro-Buh estuary, the Black Sea near Ochakiv, and the Odesa Bay. The third environmental mission didn’t show any significant changes, as the results were just as disappointing.

Journalists have the opportunity to learn more about the findings of the previous and latest missions as well as talk with representatives of the “Let’s do it Ukraine ” movement in Kyiv. Media representatives will also have the opportunity to talk with representatives of the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea in Odesa.

In addition, it is possible to obtain photos and video materials from environmental missions.  

For reference: on June 6, 2023, the russian military blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam in Kherson region. This caused Ukraine losses estimated at USD 14 billion, states the report “Post Disaster Needs Assessment report of the Kakhovka Dam Disaster” by the UN and the Ukrainian government.

• casualties
• ecology
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• Kyiv

In the South of the country, particularly in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, volunteers of “Let’s do it Ukraine” movement are currently working on drying and disinfecting premises damaged due to the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP dam. Journalists are welcome to cover the work of volunteers and communicate with local residents.

Under the auspices of the AWO International and with the financial support of Aktion Deutschland Hilft the All-Ukrainian youth movement “Let’s do it Ukraine is implementing the project aimed at eliminating the consequences of the Kakhovka HPP dam explosion “Overcoming the consequences of the flood in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, helping households and social infrastructure objects: cleaning, disinfection, restoration works, preparation for winter.”

A total of 192 households will be gradually restored as a part of the project. Organizers, volunteers and specialized companies will help people dry the premises, carry out disinfection and pest control measures. In addition, some of the participants will even receive resources for carrying out basic works on liquidating flood consequences, and special equipment will be provided free of charge to speed up repairs.

For reference: one of the largest man-made disasters in Europe occurred on June 6, 2023, as the russians blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam. 600 km2 of territory was flooded, 30 settlements came under water in Kherson region, and 31 more in Mykolaiv region.

A huge wave of water from the Kakhovka Reservoir washed away everything in its path – garbage dumps, sewers, cemeteries, animal corpses, dangerous chemicals, etc. This contaminated water stayed in the houses for several days. In order to live in these premises, they must first be properly dried and disinfected.

• casualties
• ecology
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kherson
• Mykolaiv

Inna Sorokina is from Toretsk, Donetsk region. The woman saw the war with her own eyes in 2014, when russia attacked Ukraine for the first time, and her hometown was temporarily occupied by the enemy. Inna didn’t want to leave her native region, so she moved to Sloviansk, which is also in Donetsk region. At that time, Ukraine had already regained control over the settlement. On February 24, 2022, the Kramatorsk District State Administration, where the Inna worked, decided to order an evacuation of its employees to Dnipro. Soon the woman came up with an idea to create a place in Dnipro where refugees from Eastern Ukraine could meet and communicate. Together with her supervisors, Inna founded and headed “We Are Together” IDP Support Center in Dnipro. Soon the Center began to organize thematic festivities and pajama parties for children. And for adults, the Center held a master class on pysanky painting. In the Center, displaced persons can also receive legal, psychological, informational, educational and healthcare services. The Support Center has been operating for 18 months with over 7,000 people addressing the center for help.

• casualties
• women
• Dnipro

Kateryna met her husband Volodymyr at KPI University. When the Maidan protests began, he felt compelled to join. In 2015, he volunteered for the front lines. A year later, during a combat mission, Volodymyr was hit by an enemy mine, losing both his legs.

The family was in Bucha at the start of the full-scale invasion. Volodymyr moved Kateryna and their 5-year-old son from their apartment to a private house. Despite his prosthetics, he eagerly joined the local defense forces, determined to protect his country.

Volodymyr died on Vokzalna Street in Bucha, a site later infamous for photos of destroyed Russian equipment. He was among the first to engage in the battle and was killed.

Kateryna and her son endured two weeks in a basement, suffering from constant darkness and running out of food and water. Finally, they ventured outside to find a car to escape the city. After hours of wandering outside in the cold temps, an elderly man picked them up. They traveled under fire for six hours in a frigid car, eventually reaching a village near Kyiv where Kateryna’s brother lived.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Kateryna in the Kyiv region for more details.

For reference: A street in Bucha has been renamed in honor of Volodymyr Kovalskyi. After his exhumation, he was reburied on the Walk of Fame and posthumously awarded the title of “Honorary Citizen of the City.”

The family is now supported by the Children of Heroes charity foundation, which aids Ukrainian children who have lost parents to the war.

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv