Themes by tag: casualties

Before the full-blown war, Oleksandr Budko worked as a barista in a coffee shop. When the enemy invasion began, the man did not hesitate to volunteer for the Carpathian Sich battalion. In May of the same year, the soldier lost both his legs during fighting in the Kharkiv region. Oleksandr says that he was inspired to engage in rehabilitation activities by soldiers like himself. Those who started boxing or running after being wounded. Over time, the guy got prostheses and started writing an autobiographical novel. And recently he starred as one of the main characters in a documentary. The film to tell the story of the dancers who evacuated after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and created the United Ukrainian Ballet, will be produced by actress Sarah Jessica Parker.

For reference: Oleksandr Budko is currently in Ukraine, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline.

• casualties
• culture
• military

On October 23, a sports ground and a rehabilitation ward will be opened at the Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center. The occupiers seized the center at the beginning of the full-blown war. Russian soldiers stole valuable equipment and severely damaged the Center while living in the facility. In particular, the windows and doors were smashed. After the de-occupation, the medical center reconstruction began. 

The philanthropists who contributed to the restoration of the Center, as well as the first captain of the Ukrainian national team at the Invictus Games, champion of the Games, commander Oleksandr Pysarenko (to train patients exercises on the playground) will attend the new sports ground opening. 

Journalists will also be able to interview the institution’s management and talk to doctors and patients as far as possible. 

For reference: The Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center is a healthcare institution providing qualified inpatient physical health assessment, treatment, and social and labor rehabilitation for patients with mental disorders.

• casualties
• doctors
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On October 18, the “LOOK CLOSER” installation will be unveiled in Kyiv. On the occasion of EU Anti-Trafficking Day, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ukraine is launching a new information campaign “LOOK CLOSER” with the aim of preventing human trafficking and raising awareness of safety rules during migration. It encourages people to think about the risks of exploitation and to see possible outcomes of offers of work or housing, which seem attractive at first glance.

In addition to Kyiv, “LOOK CLOSER” exhibition created as part of the campaign will be set up inside railway and bus stations and shopping malls as well as in the central squares of cities, etc. in 20 regions of Ukraine.

Participants:

• Iryna Postolovska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine for European Integration
• Marco Chimenton, IOM Ukraine Deputy Chief of Mission
• Theodora Dell, Deputy Mission Director at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ukraine (confirmation pending)
• Nils Dahlqvist, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine
• Oleksandra Khamulenko, Head of the Department for Quality Standards at the National Social Service of Ukraine
• Roman Delimbovskyi, Deputy Head of the Migration Police Department at the National Police of Ukraine

Accreditation is required.

• casualties
• culture
• Kyiv

Kyiv-based rehabilitation center “Spirit” features a special “Spirit warrior” psycho-emotional recovery program for the military. Defenders are rehabilitated with the help of equine-assisted therapy. Psychologists of the center take part in the rehabilitation sessions. The techniques used during equine-assisted therapy for the military are aimed at teaching them to sense reality “here and now” and to be able to fully concentrate on the process. This therapy helps to relieve stress, improve sleep and get rid of obsessive thoughts. More than 600 defenders have already undergone this rehabilitation program.

For reference: rehabilitation center “Spirit” specializes in working with children with disabilities. And since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has been helping internally displaced persons to recover.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

An apartment in the city center and her own successful business — pet grooming salons. Yevheniia Zhyhulina had had all of it in Donetsk, until russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014. Then Yevheniia and her family were forced to leave their hometown. Odesa became a second home for Yevheniia’s family. When the full-scale invasion began, Yevheniia and her husband decided that they would not run away again. And despite the bug war, the woman began to think about starting her own business again. With the help of a state grant, in February 2023, the doors of Yevheniia Zhyhulina’s grooming salon opened in Odesa. The entrepreneur dreams that she will be able to create a whole network of salons for dogs throughout Ukraine, in particular, in Donetsk, Ukraine.

• animals
• casualties
• women
• Odesa

Serhii Titarenko is a former military pilot, a combatant and a retired Major of the Armed Forces. He runs “Joint Mission” NGOs and works as a psychologist at a rehabilitation center in Lviv region.

In 2012, the man took part in a peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and two years later, due to russian aggression, he joined the defense forces of Ukraine. In June 2014, during a combat mission near Slovyansk in Donetsk region, the occupiers fired at a helicopter with Serhii (navigator) and other crew members on board. The helicopter caught fire and fell from one hundred meters. Serhii had to be pulled out, his spine was broken. Then there was a long rehabilitation process. The man ended up in a wheelchair. However, this did not prevent him from mastering the profession of a psychologist. Currently, he works with wounded soldiers who have acquired disabilities as a result of their injuries. He helps them socialize and process traumatic experiences. He also provides aid to civilians who have suffered as a result of the war.

For reference: Serhii’s story will also be included in the book “History is not without us: the formation of the movement for the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine.” The book is being produced by Fight For Right NGO for people with disabilities. It will be presented at the end of October.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support

Yevheniia Molchanova and her husband founded the family farm “Green Grove” in Dnipropetrovsk region. With the beginning of the big war, Yevheniia opened their farm for those fleeing from shelling: she took in displaced people and animals rescued from hot spots. “Green Grove” became a shelter for a total of 311 people fleeing from the war with their pets. More than 1,500 animals in need of evacuation, treatment and rehabilitation also received help at the farm. Some of them include: donkeys, horses, pigs and sheep. Animals were brought from the hottest spots, in particular, Mariupol and Bakhmut.

Over time, the farm was reformatted into a rehabilitation center. Nowadays, families of fallen servicemen and children with disabilities come here. Psychologists work on the territory, and people can undergo treatment via equine- and dog- assisted therapy programs.

• animals
• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• women
• Dnipro

Oleh Miedviediev recalls how rockets fell near his house on February 24, 2022. And at 5 in the morning, his frightened son called. He told his father that the outskirts of Kharkiv were on fire from shelling. So Oleh joined the army to defend the country.

Last December, he was wounded near Bakhmut: an artillery shell exploded over him. Both Oleh’s legs were injured: his knee joints were completely shattered.

The serviceman was included in the national program #SaveaLimb. Currently, the defender is undergoing treatment in Dnipropetrovsk region. Doctors performed an endoprosthesis surgery on one leg, but the second one is awaiting treatment as well. At the same time, the soldier wants to start walking again and return to the front.

For reference: In order to ensure limb-saving treatment, the “Health of the Ukrainian People” International Charitable Foundation in cooperation with Ukrainian orthopedic doctors launched the national program #SaveaLimb. 

• casualties
• doctors
• military

Viktor Ilchak is 18 years old. By ethnicity, Viktor is a Roma ethnic group representative. He was born in Zakarpattia and has lived in western Ukraine all his life. When the full-scale invasion broke out, Viktor immediately warned his family that he was going to join the army and defend Ukraine. Viktor’s family tried to convince him to abandon the idea, his grandmother even went to the military recruitment officers to talk them out of considering Viktor’s candidacy. However, the guy stood his ground and fought in the Sonechko reconnaissance battalion. Now Viktor Ilchak is back in Zakarpattia, where he undergoes rehabilitation after getting injured and shell-shocked.

The soldier is ready to have both online and offline interviews with journalists by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Uzhhorod

Liudmyla Tabolina is a Kharkiv resident and teacher of Ukrainian language and literature. In 2022, when the full-scale invasion began, the teacher walked 11 kilometers every day, going through checkpoints and under fire, to get to school. Here she set up a shelter for residents of neighboring houses and a humanitarian headquarters. In early March, Liudmyla also started a canteen for local residents. There were many mothers with children in the shelter.

Liudmyla hid class journals, seals, documents, and personal files of children and staff so that the occupiers would not get hold of them in case the school was seized. It was only in September 2022 that the teacher decided to leave Kharkiv and move to the capital. Today, Liudmyla continues to teach, but in a Kyiv lyceum.

For reference: In September, Liudmyla Tabolina was put on the list of the 50 best teachers in the world according to the Global Teacher Prize 2023.

• casualties
• women
• Kyiv