Themes by tag: casualties

Born in Odesa, Hennadii immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 13. There he got an education. As an adult, he worked as a truck driver.

When he learned about the full-scale invasion of Russia, he decided to return to Ukraine and protect his country. He served in the Third Separate Special Forces Battalion of the International Defense Legion of Ukraine. In December 2022, during an assault on an enemy position in the Luhansk region, the soldier stepped on a landmine. He lost an eye and two legs in the explosion.

The man was offered to go abroad for treatment, but he did not want to leave Ukraine.

Soon, journalists are welcome to talk to Hennadii in Lviv.

• casualties
• military
• Lviv

From now on, Ukrainian servicemen can join training sessions from anywhere in the country. All this is part of the online training project from the organizers of the Games of Heroes competition. The online platform of rehabilitation training was launched in September of this year. This is a unique system of exercises developed by coaches Julia Koval and Valerii Kysil, which aims to rehabilitate military personnel with amputations and return them to a full life.

For reference: The “Game of Heroes” competition was first started in 2016. The project was founded by Yevhen Koval, and headed by Roman Lindov, a Kyiv native who was injured on February 18, 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity. The “Games of Heroes” were held annually until February 2022, in particular, among veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Troops. 

• casualties
• military

First enrollment at the course “Fundamentals of Rehabilitation of People with Visual Impairments” is starting in Ukraine to train specialists who work with military and civilians who have completely or partially lost their sight as a result of the war.

The courses are free of charge. They will be held in online and offline formats. Шn particular, students will study issues of social and domestic rehabilitation and comprehensive rehabilitation of people with vision impairments.

The training program is aimed at employees of rehabilitation centers, social workers, employees of veteran organizations, etc.

By prior agreement, journalists will be able to cover in-person classes.

For reference: The training is implemented by the “League of the Strong” public union together with Charity Organization 03:00 Foundation.

• casualties

Yurii Zdor took up arms back in 2015, when Russia first attacked Ukraine. For the man, it seemed the only logical decision to make. He fought in different brigades and completed his military service as the 72nd Brigade named after the Black Cossacks member. The fighter was on standby when the full-scale invasion broke out, he has packed up all his belongings. Yurii’s wife Svitlana stayed at home in Chernihiv, and her husband went to Kyiv.

Yurii and his unit took part in heavy battles in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He was seriously wounded and lost his leg while fighting in eastern Ukraine. Yurii’s spouse says that waiting for her husband for stabilization point discharge was the hardest part, then she found he was getting treatment from the intensive care unit and never left him.

Yurii and Svitlana reside in Chernihiv. They are ready to talk to journalists, both offline and online.

• casualties
• military
• Chernihiv

Since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine, Fight For Right NGO has gone on more than 1,500 evacuation trips (including medical evacuations by ambulances). They transported people with disabilities and their family members away from hostilities.

Evacuation is carried out mostly from areas near the front line. One of the biggest difficulties is that sometimes it is very hard for people to find courage to leave their homes, even when it is dangerous to stay there.

The organization also provides psychological assistance, particularly, individual consultations for people with disabilities and for mothers of children with disabilities.

In addition, psychological support groups for IDP women with disabilities are currently operating in Dnipro. The organization plans to create such groups in other cities as well. First of all, in Kyiv.

By prior agreement, journalists are welcome to cover the evacuation process or the work of the organization on psychological support for people.  

• casualties
• psychological support
• evacuation

On November 3, Odesa will launch to deliver tour guide training courses for internally displaced persons. The classes will last 4 months and are completely free of charge. Residents of Mariupol, Mykolaiv, and Kherson Oblast have already signed up to attend the guide courses.

According to the organizers, the training provides people not only with new knowledge but also with psychological support.

Journalists can attend the classes and cover the learning process.

The courses are being implemented by the Hospitable Hut humanitarian center, supported by the Department of Culture, International Cooperation, and European Integration of the Odesa City Council.

• casualties
• Odesa

A two-day press tour, during which scientists and environmental activists will conduct the third sampling of water and sediments from the Dnipro River, the areas flooded by the Kakhovka dam disaster, the Dnipro-Buh estuary, and the Black Sea will take place on November 1 and 2. 

The Ukrainian Scientific Center for Marine Ecology specialists together with environmental volunteers from the country’s largest environmental movement, Let`s Do It Ukraine, will conduct a study to analyze the condition of water bodies affected by the Kakhovka HPP breach. In particular, they will analyze the toxic pollution that got into the Black Sea as a result of the dam’s destruction.

The water samples will be promptly delivered to the laboratory on the same day, where journalists will have the opportunity to see how the analysis is carried out and talk to the specialists.

The press tour participants will also have the opportunity to attend the hot lunches in eco-friendly packaging distribution as a part of the Good Kitchen humanitarian project in Kherson Oblast.

Important! Journalists are to be provided with a transfer from and to Kyiv and an opportunity to stay in Mykolaiv overnight. The organizers ask for bulletproof vests and helmets to carry with you. 

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• ecology

On October 27, the final event to mark the completion of the SportAmbassadors project will take place in Kyiv. Journalists are invited to join the event and meet the sports ambassadors, learn firsthand about the motivation of the participants and the results achieved during the project.

In addition, the event will feature a demonstration of adaptive training equipment, including wheelchairs for basketball and concepts for rowing that will be used for training. The importance of adaptive sports and the involvement of veterans will be discussed as well. 

Press registration is required to attend the event.

SportsAmbassadors are veterans from different regions of Ukraine who underwent a personal recovery journey following an injury sustained on the front line. They are united by a common feature and mission—recovery through sports and motivation to share their experience with their brothers and sisters-in-arms, to engage them in adaptive sports, and to create such opportunities for other veterans in their local communities to go through this path.

For reference: The SportsAmbassadors project is implemented by the Come Back Alive Foundation supported by the US Embassy in Ukraine in partnership with the NGO “Invictus Games Ukraine”.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

21-year-old Daniil Melnyk studied at the Lviv Military Academy. He used to be a deputy platoon leader and defended the Kyiv region from the enemy at the beginning of the all-out invasion. In the Borodiansky district, he was ambushed but took the fights with other combatants. Getting his hands wounded, he couldn’t even bandage them. He gave his ammunition to a comrade. Then he lost consciousness. Two days later, the Russians found him and took him prisoner. He was first held in Ukraine, then in Belarus, Russia, and the occupied Crimea. On April 21, 2022, Daniel was released from captivity.

He lost both his feet, his left palm, and 4 fingers on his right hand. Now the defender wants to go back to active duty service. He recently took part in the Sculpture series photo project.

For reference: Last December, Ukrainian photographer Marta Syrko founded the Sculpture series photo project. The protagonists of her photographs are Ukrainian defenders who suffered as a result of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. (These are soldiers who were injured, got burned, or had their limbs amputated.) Civilians affected by the war can also join the project.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners

On October 21, Dobrobat volunteers will clean up a kindergarten damaged in a helicopter crash in Brovary in Kyiv Oblast from rubbles. 

January 18, 2023 helicopter crash killed 14 people: the aircraft crew and all passengers, as well as a child and adult civilians at the crash site. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were on board: Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, State Secretary of the Ministry Yurii Lubkovych, and First Deputy Minister Yevhen Yenin were among the onboard victims. 25 people were injured (including 11 children).

For reference: Dobrobat is a volunteer building division assisting victims in the urgent restoration of housing and social infrastructure in the de-occupied territories.

• casualties
• dead
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv