Themes by tag: casualties

Yuliia Dudysheva, a displaced resident from Crimea, has spent the past year and a half transforming the lives of fellow internally displaced persons by repairing and restoring homes. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Yuliia lived and worked in the Chernihiv region, where she specialized in advertising and occasionally helped friends with home repairs. But after the region’s liberation in spring 2022, she decided to leave her job and embark on a new path.

In June 2023, Yuliia launched her efforts to renovate and decorate homes for those displaced by the war. Her first project was helping friends who allowed her to redecorate their dwelling. Word spread, and soon she met another family in need of assistance. Over the next 18 months, Yuliia established the initiative Comfort for IDPs, completing repairs and restorations on eight homes for families forced to flee due to the invasion. Her most recent project, in Ternopil, involved preparing a house for a family from Enerhodar, a city in the occupied Zaporizhia region.

Yuliia actively shares her renovation journey on social media, where her followers rally behind her mission. Many support the Comfort for IDPs project by contributing funds and materials for her work. Currently based in the Chernihiv region, Yuliia is planning her next renovation for displaced families.

Those wishing to connect with Yuliia Dudysheva can schedule a meeting with her, either online or in person.

• casualties
• culture
• reconstruction
• women
• Chernihiv

Yulian Pylypei, a seasoned Ukrainian Marine, endured unimaginable hardships during his more than two years in captivity. A professional soldier since 2013, Pylypei joined the Marines in 2017, serving in Mariupol. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, he was leading a mortar battery in the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy.

On April 14, 2022, Pylypei and his comrades were captured while attempting to break through to Azovstal. His family learned of his capture through a text sent in russian from his phone. Over the next two years and five months, he was moved through several detention facilities, including Sartana, Olenivka, Taganrog, Novozybkov, Kursk, and Mordovia, before returning to Novozybkov. Each location brought its own trials, which Pylypei recounts in harrowing detail.

Twice accused and tried by his captors, Pylypei suffered relentless abuse. He was beaten for refusing to confess to ordering attacks on civilians, starved, and subjected to torture, including an attempt to burn off his tattoo of the Ukrainian coat of arms with a stun gun. In his prayers, Pylypei asked for the strength to remain sane amid the torment.

When he was taken from his cell with his belongings, Pylypei assumed he was being transferred to another prison. He could hardly believe it when he was informed he was part of a prisoner exchange. On September 13, 2024, after 29 months in captivity, Pylypei finally returned home to Ukraine.

Those wishing to meet or speak with Yulian Pylypei, either online or in person in Kyiv, can arrange it in advance.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

From December 6 to 8, journalists are invited to witness the final stage of the all-Ukrainian sports competition, Veterans Games. Organized by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the event is part of Ukraine’s National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Space, aimed at fostering inclusion and rehabilitation.  

Military personnel and veterans who triumphed in regional competitions will compete in the finals, showcasing their skills in CrossFit and eSports. The primary goal of the Veterans Games is to aid in the physical and mental recovery of servicemen and veterans, providing them with an outlet for strength, resilience, and camaraderie.  

Key attendees will include:
– Natalia Kalmykova, Minister of Veterans Affairs,
– Tetiana Lomakina, Presidential Commissioner for Accessibility,
– representatives from various organizations focused on veteran support and rehabilitation.  

Accreditation is required to attend the event.

• casualties
• military

Volunteers with the St. Nicholas Reindeer Project have already received more than 2,000 letters from children all over Ukraine. Among other things, children are asking Saint Nicholas for toys, sweets and the popular “Cat Paw” stress-relief balls. This year, many children are also asking for peace and an end to the war. Some have asked for their fathers to return from the front lines, or for their relatives to be released from captivity. Among those who wrote to St. Nicholas were children whose homes were destroyed by the war.

As part of this charitable initiative, anyone can choose a child’s letter and fulfill a wish. The volunteers will then deliver the gifts, organize a celebration and provide a photo report. They plan to visit de-occupied areas of the Kharkiv oblast, as well as communities in the Kyiv and Donetsk oblasts, working in more than 50 localities across various regions.

Journalists can talk to the organizers in Kharkiv and, if possible, cover the distribution of gifts by volunteers in different regions.

For reference: The St. Nicholas Reindeer project was established in 2016 in Kharkiv to support children in frontline communities.

• casualties
• children
• Kharkiv

Highlighting the importance of creating a truly inclusive environment for people who have lost limbs due to landmine and explosive injuries, FRIDA Ukraine had the opportunity to meet Nataliia and help her get back on both feet.

Nataliia is a nurse from the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk oblast. A russian shell hit her house and she lost a limb. In telling her story, she emphasized that in spite of everything, she continues to live life to the fullest and does not want to be pitied. After Nataliia became the face of the FRIDA Ukraine project, their German partners heard about her. A few months of logistical arrangements followed, and Nataliia returned with a prosthesis and an incredible determination to help others.

Her home clinic from Bakhmut has been relocated to Brovary in the Kyiv oblast, where Nataliia continues her lifelong mission.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian mission of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. It has been providing emergency and outpatient medical care to civilians affected by the hostilities since the beginning of the invasion.

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

As part of the “St. Nicholas for Children in Need” campaign, the Maltese Relief Service has received more than 2,000 heartfelt letters from children across Ukraine. The letters come from children with disabilities, those who lost their parents to the war, whose parents are held in captivity, and children facing difficult life circumstances or without parental care.

In many of the letters, children ask St. Nicholas for peace and victory for Ukraine. Some requests are deeply personal—a child wishes for their father to receive a new leg, while another hopes their mother will return from captivity. Others even express concern for the saint’s safety, warning him to be careful amid the missile attacks. Alongside these touching pleas, children also ask for traditional gifts such as toys, scooters, and bicycles.

The letters are sorted by benefactors, who fulfill the children’s wishes by delivering gifts to the Maltese Relief Service’s office, which serves as St. Nicholas’ residence for the campaign’s duration.

Volunteers are now completing the final stages of gift packing. Deliveries have already begun, with gifts sent to locations in the Lviv and Kharkiv regions. The main distribution events will take place from December 2 to 7.

Journalists are invited to cover the gift distribution in Lviv and surrounding areas and can also meet with St. Nicholas’ helpers to learn more about the campaign.

• casualties
• children
• Lviv

Anastasiia Saksman, 32, took an unconventional path into the military. She prepared for service in the Armed Forces by attending paid military training courses, where she learned first aid and weapons handling. Meanwhile, she sent her resume to various units, determined to find her place.

Unexpectedly, her opportunity came through a dating app. A soldier she connected with reviewed her resume and forwarded it to his unit. After passing the interview, Saksman joined the army as a UAV operator in early 2023.

Tragedy struck in September 2024 when Saksman’s vehicle hit an enemy mine. The doctors had to amputate her left limb, while the battle to save the right one continues. Waking up in intensive care, “Ada” made a remarkable request: she asked not to be discharged, vowing to return to the front lines with a prosthetic leg.

Currently, Saksman is undergoing rehabilitation in the Lviv region as she awaits prosthetics.

Those wishing to speak with Anastasiia Saksman, either online or in person, can do so by arranging approval through the unit’s press officer.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Lviv

On December 6, the Neopolis amusement park, located in the Respublika Park shopping mall, will host a heartwarming charity event for 200 children impacted by the war. These children, rescued through the efforts of the Save Ukraine charity organization, will experience a day filled with joy, care, and festive cheer.  

The event’s program offers:  

– Interactive entertainment with animators dedicated to creating a joyful and supportive atmosphere;

– Gift distribution near the mall’s grand Christmas tree, marking the celebration’s bright conclusion.

Each child will receive a personalized gift, made possible by the NGO “Ukraine is a Mother” through its “Bridge of Support” project.  

This gathering is more than a festive celebration—it’s an opportunity for children who have endured unimaginable hardships to feel embraced by a community of support and hope, empowering them to dream again.  

Journalists wishing to cover the event must obtain accreditation.

• casualties
• children
• Kyiv

For over two decades, Anna Yaroshenko has been exploring the depths as a diver, firmly believing that diving is an experience everyone can enjoy. She’s guided children, seniors, and individuals with hearing and visual impairments, mental health challenges, and physical injuries into the underwater world. Beneath the surface, gravity fades, and the sensation of weightlessness becomes universal.  

When russia’s full-scale invasion began, Anna realized that diving could offer more than adventure—it could be a path to physical and psychological rehabilitation for wounded soldiers. Her first participants, veterans with injuries and amputations, were introduced by her mother, a rehabilitation therapist.  

Anna launched her initiative with a bold name: “Gravity? WTF?” The goal is to provide veterans with a challenging and rewarding new hobby—one that demands mastering the full range of skills needed to become independent divers.  

Training begins in a shallow, wheelchair-accessible pool free from barriers. Once comfortable, participants advance to a 3.8-meter-deep pool. For those who feel confident after several sessions, the final challenge is open water.  

So far, around 40 veterans, including three women, have taken part in the program.  

Journalists are invited to witness this unique rehabilitation effort firsthand at a Kyiv pool where the diving lessons take place.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Kyiv

On December 2, Kyiv will host the presentation of the book “Prykhystok: A Startup That Saved a Million Lives” by MP Halyna Yanchenko.

The book details the eponymous initiative launched on the first day of the full-scale invasion, which helped over a million Ukrainian refugees find free temporary shelter. It is a poignant collection of the project team’s memories of the resilience, solidarity and innovation that Ukrainians demonstrated during the darkest days of the invasion.

The event will feature real-life heroes from the book – Ukrainians who endured the occupation and managed to relocate and start new lives in other cities, thanks in part to the Prykhystok (Shelter) initiative. They will tell their personal stories.

Program highlights:

– A conversation with the author about the creation of the initiative and the book.

– Stories from the book’s protagonists who were forced to find a new home and found shelter.

– A discussion about the power of social innovation and the ability of Ukrainians to unite for mutual aid.

– A book signing with the author.

Registration is required for this event.

• casualties
• culture
• occupation
• Kyiv