Themes by tag: Cherkasy

Alina and Vadym Gaburych are soldiers of the Azov Regiment. They had defended Ukraine even before the full-scale invasion. After February 24, 2022, they defended Mariupol. Vadym was seriously injured in April 2022 and died in the bunker of the Azovstal plant. Alina, along with thousands of Mariupol defenders, was captured.

The couple’s son Yehor (now 8 years old) was raised by his grandparents. However, the boy looked at the pictures of his parents above his bed every day and believed that they would return. He even wrote a song for his mother.

In April 2023, Alina was released from captivity, and she and her son finally met. The woman still cannot bury her husband, because the russians did not hand over his body.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Alina in Cherkasy region.

For reference: the Children of Heroes Fund helps the family by providing material and humanitarian aid (medicines, food products, hygiene kits). Yehor also received a long-awaited tablet.

• casualties
• prisoners
• women
• Cherkasy

Georgian-born Rusudana Pavlichenko, found herself abroad attending her father’s funeral as the full-scale invasion unfolded. Her history with conflict traces back to childhood when, at the tender age of 10, she fled her first conflict, the war in Abkhazia, seeking refuge in Ukraine. Since then, she has called Ukraine home, living here throughout her adult years.

Rusudana’s husband, Serhii Pavlichenko, a stalwart defender of Ukraine against occupiers since 2014, bravely held the defense of Azovstal during the full-scale invasion before being captured. Tragically, he fell victim to a terrorist attack in Olenivka, a village within the occupied territory of Donetsk region, on the night of July 28-29, 2022. Left behind are their two children, Adelia, 10, and Nazar, 8.

Journalists seeking to delve into Rusudana’s story can arrange interviews with her in Cherkasy or online, by prior arrangement. 

Meanwhile, the Children of Heroes charity foundation has stepped in to support the grieving family. Dedicated to aiding children who have lost parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion, the foundation offers financial aid, psychological counseling, legal assistance, and ongoing educational opportunities until the children reach adulthood.

For reference: In the late hours of July 29, 2022, russia executed a terrorist assault, igniting an explosion within a barracks at the Olenivka penal colony, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were detained. The attack resulted in the tragic loss of at least 50 Azovstal workers amidst the turmoil.

• dead
• military
• occupation
• women
• Cherkasy
• Mariupol

Camp Maximum NGO together with an American team created the Opportunities Camp Program for Amputee Women. This year, about 20 women will take part in the camp (including veterans and civilians who lost their limbs during the full-scale war). The camp starts on May 5 in Cherkasy.

While women are staying in the camp, international-level rehabilitation coaches will conduct soccer training. Participants will have the opportunity to represent Ukraine at international levels and achieve recognition in sports.

For example, women will be able to participate in the World Championship 2024. (Ukraine’s women’s national team consisting of players with limb amputations will play at the World Championship, which will be held in Barranquilla, Colombia, from November 2 to 11, 2024).

In addition to football lessons, camp participants will have the opportunity to take part in other activities.

• casualties
• women
• Cherkasy

With the beginning of the full-scale war, Mykola Volyka, a resident of Lebedyn village in Cherkasy oblast, was approached by a fellow soldier and asked to make 300 staples for his unit. Mykola, who had never dealt with metal before, set up a forge right in his yard. He studied blacksmithing together with his friends, whom he also invited to join in. Later, he involved his fellow villagers to the forge to produce not only staples, but also potbelly stoves, axes, pickaxes, anti-tank hedgehogs and spades.

Tetiana Chepur, now a craftswoman in the forge, says that women actively took up the new activity. And now they are the main workers as a total of five female blacksmiths volunteer at the forge. They often work in the evenings after finishing their day jobs.

Since the forge was created, volunteers managed to make 156,000 staples, 13,000 pickaxes and 10,000 spades.

• volunteers
• women
• Cherkasy

Yevhen Kompanets ended up in a wheelchair as a result of an industrial injury in 2011. At that time, in the hospital, he met his future wife, who worked as a nurse. And now, together with their daughter, they cook goodies in their kitchen for Ukraine’s defenders. 

The family started volunteering in April 2022. They work every day and have already prepared 150 thousand dishes for the defenders. These include dumplings, pancakes, donuts, pies, and chebureks. (The dumplings are oven-ready meals, so service members only need to defrost them). In addition, the family prepares borscht dressings and cutlets and even manages to send more than 7 tons of pork fat to the defenders. The family invests their own money in the work, and caring people also help with donations.

Journalists can talk to Yevhen by phone, online, or site visit after February 15.

For reference: February 24, 2024, Ukraine marks 2 years since Russia commenced its unprovoked criminal full-scale invasion. This attack was the culmination of the initial war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for 10 years. This armed conflict was ignited on February 20, 2014. Back then, Russians invaded the territory of Ukrainian Crimea giving no obvious sign of its covert military operation in the now-occupied peninsula. After that, Russia started a war in Ukraine’s east. 

• food
• volunteers
• Cherkasy

Hasidic pilgrims have been arriving in Uman, Cherkasy region to celebrate Rosh Hashanah for a week. This year, the celebration of the Jewish New Year falls on September 15-17. It is widely known that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, founder of Breslover Hasidim, is buried in the city.

Security measures are being tightened in Uman. From September 11 to 21, a special regime of entry and exit, as well as the citizens’ travel through the city will be in place. Journalists who want to cover the celebration must obtain special permits.

Earlier, the regional authorities recommended that pilgrims refrain from visiting the country, given the war and regular mass shelling.

• religion
• Cherkasy

Liudmila Kulyk is a physical education teacher in Cherkasy. She holds classes on various sports activities for children of the city and children of IDPs despite the fact that, due to the war, there are a lot of mattresses in the gym in case it needs to be quickly turned into a shelter:

“During the first half of the year, all students were on distance learning. At the end of October, the school was prepared to house internally displaced persons. Desks had been taken away from all classrooms and these mattresses had been brought in. However, we are already used to them, sometimes we use them for exercise,” — said the teacher.

• children
• Cherkasy

The volunteer project “Marriage for a Hero” was launched in early summer last year. During this time, thanks to this charity initiative, turnkey weddings were organized for several couples. (The project operates in Cherkasy city and region, but recently newlyweds from Kyiv city have also applied).

For reference: The Cherkasy city resident Svitlana Olifer, who has been engaged in the wedding business for seven years, decided to organize a volunteer project entitled “Marriage for a Hero” after the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. The woman gathered a team of photographers, cameramen, make-up artists and florists who helped in implementation of the holiday for free. Sometimes restaurants or catering establishments are ready to provide services under special terms. In general, newlyweds will have to spend only on wedding outfits.

• military
• volunteers
• Cherkasy

Svitlana Olifer from Cherkasy has been running a wedding event business. After russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she came up with the charity volunteering project Marriage for a Hero. She put together a team of photographers, videographers, makeup artists, and florists who help organize a ceremony free of charge. Restaurants and catering businesses are sometimes prepared to offer their services on special terms. Overall, the couple will only have to buy their wedding gear.

• military
• Cherkasy

The city of Uman in Cherkasy region, where tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews gather every year to celebrate the arrival of the Jewish New Year, is expecting a visit of more than 10,000 pilgrims this year. Despite the prohibition of the Security Service of Ukraine, Hasids have already begun gathering in the city where the founder of Breslov Hasidism Rabbi Nachman is buried.

According to local authorities, more than a thousand people have already arrived in Uman from Israel. This year, Rosh Hashanah falls on September 25-26. The largest influx of religious tourists in the city is expected after September 20.

• religion
• Cherkasy