Themes by tag: casualties

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Ruslan Zadorozhnyi worked as a manager for an online retailer. In November 2022, he enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, serving as a machine gunner in the Kupiansk sector. There, he was wounded by a shell explosion and lost his arm.

Following months of prosthetics and rehabilitation, Ruslan began searching for civilian employment. Despite receiving thanks for his service, every resume he submitted was met with rejection, until he came across a service station dedicated to veterans.

The Nesemos Fund, founded by Mariia Ksondzyk, the daughter of a fallen Anti-Terrorist Operation soldier, and serviceman Petro Shuklinov, later launched a veteran-run auto repair center. It was there that Ruslan was offered a position as an administrator. The team equipped a workstation for him, and he now manages incoming military vehicles and oversees their repairs. Ruslan hopes to build on this experience and eventually open a service station of his own.

Nesemos Veteran Auto Hub, in partnership with Reskilling Ukraine, is also running a program to train women in car mechanics. The repair bays at the facility serve as hands-on classrooms for those starting from scratch.

Ruslan Zadorozhnyi and the Nesemos team are available for meetings in Kyiv, both online and in person, by appointment.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Media representatives are invited to a closed screening of the documentary “Home: Place of Power” on May 24 in Kyiv.

The film features heartbreaking yet heroic stories of individuals affected by russian aggression and portrays the daily efforts of volunteers from the Dobrobat construction battalion.

The heroes of the film and its creators will attend the screening. Journalists can arrange interviews with them in advance.

Accreditation is required to attend.

Background: The film was produced with support from 1+1 Media and the Kyivstar TV platform.

• casualties
• culture
• Kyiv

Oleksandr Kunhurov voluntarily joined the Ukrainian military in 2015. Since then, he has served on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia fronts.

In July 2023, he sustained a severe injury and had to wear a tourniquet on his leg for over nine hours, which ultimately led to amputation.  His rehabilitation lasted one and a half years. Unable to access a prosthetic for his above-the-knee amputation in Ukraine, Kunhurov traveled to the United States for specialized care funded by donors.

After becoming proficient with his prosthetic, Oleksandr took up dancing and learned the rumba, tango, and waltz. In February 2025, he became a model at Ukrainian Fashion Week.

Oleksandr has since returned to military service. He also fundraises for prosthetics for wounded soldiers and civilians, and plans to train as a psychologist to support veterans.

Journalists may interview Oleksandr Kunhurov online or in person by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military

Anatolii Levchenko is a theater professional from Mariupol who, in 2015, spearheaded a new chapter in the city’s cultural life by launching contemporary Ukrainian productions at a theater once designated as “russian.”

He and his wife, Hanna, were caregivers for their nonverbal autistic son and Hanna’s 90-year-old mother. Because of these responsibilities, the Levchenkos were unable to evacuate Mariupol quickly after the russian invasion began. They managed to leave only in May 2022. But just one day before their departure, Anatolii was detained by russian forces, following a denunciation from former colleagues in the theater who had aligned themselves with the occupying authorities.

At first, Hanna had no idea where her husband had been taken. She later learned that he had been accused of extremism and transferred to russian-occupied Donetsk. For more than 10 months, she sent him clothing, medication, and letters to the detention center. Occasionally, Anatolii was allowed to call her late at night. During this time, Hanna managed life on her own, caring for their son, sourcing food and water, and cooking over an open fire alongside neighbors.

On March 9, 2023, she received a phone call: Anatolii was being released. His health had significantly deteriorated after nearly a year in detention. That summer, the family reached Ukrainian-controlled territory, first relocating to Kropyvnytskyi. A year later, they moved to Kyiv. Today, Anatolii has resumed his work in theater.

He is available for conversations both online and in person in the capital, with prior arrangement.

For reference: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. On May 20, 2022, the city fell under russian occupation. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 8,000 civilians were killed during the siege. Thousands more were injured, many lost limbs, vision, hearing, or memory, often due to blast-related head trauma. Of Mariupol’s pre-war population of 540,000, approximately 400,000 had fled by mid-May 2022.

• casualties
• culture
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Mariupol

This week, the international humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) launched a new initiative aimed at supporting families in frontline regions of Ukraine: the Chicken Kit project.

As part of the program, families receive 10 vaccinated laying hens along with high-quality poultry feed, offering a simple yet effective solution to ensure access to food where supply remains limited.

The first deliveries have already reached residents in Donetsk Oblast. In the coming weeks, WCK plans to extend support to frontline communities in the Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, and Sumy regions.

Journalists may cover the project by prior arrangement. Upcoming deliveries will be open to photo and video coverage, including opportunities for interviews with WCK team members and participants. In addition, WCK is working with professional photo and video crews and will provide access to all visual materials.

For reference: World Central Kitchen is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides meals to people affected by natural disasters and other crises. Founded in 2010 by renowned chef José Andrés, the organization began its work by preparing food in Haiti following the devastating earthquake.

• casualties
• food

Before the full-scale invasion, Dariia and her husband were planning to buy their own home in the Kyiv oblast. Just as the couple was about to receive the keys to their new home, the great war began and an enemy shell landed near their house. The explosion damaged their new home, blowing out windows and shattering the roof and walls.

Dariia and her husband were forced back into renting. In addition, the woman lost her job, so she devoted all of her free time to decorating her temporary home. One day, she stumbled upon a video of crystal ornaments online. Inspired, she made her first piece and hung it in her window. As the sunlight danced through its prisms, the artisan came up with the name “sontselov” (meaning “sun catcher”). Soon after setting up a social media page, she received her first order. Today, Daria creates these luminous pieces with symbols of temporarily occupied cities — Mariupol, Berdiansk, Melitopol, Enerhodar. In three years, she’s made and sold more than 5,000 home decorations, eventually earning enough to buy a house with her husband.

You can speak with Dariia Terekhova both online and offline in the Kyiv oblast by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• women
• Kyiv

“I want my face to look like it did before the war” – these are the words of 43-year-old Oksana Serhiienko, a patient at the UNBROKEN Center, who was wounded while evacuating her children from the occupied part of Kyiv region during the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion.

russian troops shot Oksana in the face. The bullet shattered her jaw. She has since undergone multiple surgeries, including a procedure to reconstruct part of her lower jaw using a titanium plate. Though the operations saved her life, they left visible scars that she is now determined to erase.

Oksana is receiving treatment at the Aesthetic Medicine Center of the First Medical Union of Lviv, where doctors have already completed the first stage of laser resurfacing. She will require at least two more sessions to achieve the desired results.

For reference: Oksana Serhiienko’s care is part of a collaborative project between the UNBROKEN Center and L’Oréal Ukraine called “No Time for Beauty.” The initiative aims to help Ukrainian women heal by removing the physical marks of war from their faces and bodies.

The UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center operates under the First Medical Union of Lviv.

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes
• women

Before russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Viacheslav Kut’in was living and working abroad. When the war began, he returned home and was mobilized into the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He served on the front lines, including in the defense of Zaporizhia.

During a combat mission near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhia region, Viacheslav sustained severe leg injuries and was captured by russian forces. He spent over a year in captivity before being released and brought home on January 15, 2025.

Since his return, he has undergone intensive treatment and rehabilitation. Now adapting to life with prosthetic legs, Viacheslav has already made remarkable progress. On the day he was discharged from the rehabilitation center, he proposed to his longtime partner – the woman who had waited for him through his captivity and stood by him during his recovery.

Viacheslav Kut’in is available for interviews both online and in person in Kharkiv by appointment.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• Kharkiv

After the beginning of the full-scale war, Viktoriia lost her job and turned to working with clay. The young woman created numerous pieces, including tableware. Her work caught the attention of a company that was looking for a craftswoman to make platters. The key feature of these plates is their pins, which help to secure food so that it can be cut with just one hand.

Viktoriia studied the necessary information, consulted with an occupational therapist, and created her first inclusive plate. Today, she donates her creations to restaurants, hospitals, and veterans who have lost an arm in combat. She doesn’t charge the military for her work – instead, her social media followers cover the cost.

You can contact Viktoriia Beliavska online or in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• women
• Kyiv

The Contemporary View NGO has been organizing rehabilitation camps for wounded soldiers who have lost their vision for the past seven years. 

These two-week social adaptation camps are designed for servicemen blinded in combat. Trainers take an individualized approach with each veteran. Participants learn how to navigate their surroundings, cook, use digital devices, exercise at the gym, and swim. They also receive psychological support, massage therapy, and sessions in a salt room.

The camp is made possible through the support of donors and philanthropists. The next session is scheduled to begin on May 20 in Vinnytsia.

Interviews with the camp’s director, Olesia Perepechenko, and participating veterans can be arranged in advance for both online and in-person formats.

For reference: The All-Ukrainian League of Blind and Partially Sighted People Organizations – Contemporary View has been working with military personnel for several years. The first group of soldiers who lost their sight in the war joined the program in 2019. After the full-scale invasion began, the camp continued its work, actively seeking new ways to support service members.

• casualties
• military