Themes by tag: Chernihiv
The Olympic Reserve Sports School in Chernihiv, although damaged during the occupation, continues to operate today: about 200 students train here, and athletes compete in World Cups and European Championships.
The ski base was destroyed by the russians during the beginning of the full-scale invasion in March 2022. Despite the destruction, children’s biathlon training resumed at the base in May 2022. They practiced on a small section of the course that survived. The trainees were also warned not to stray from the training area, as there were concerns that unexploded ordnance might remain on the ski base grounds.
Currently, the ski track and shooting range have been restored, but the facilities remain in ruins.
Background: By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces had completely liberated the Chernihiv oblast.
The Specialized Olympic Reserve Sports School for Children and Youth (ski base) was established in 1977 and later expanded. Before the outbreak of the full-scale war, biathletes and skiers trained at the base, and Ukrainian championships were held there.
As part of the national project “Shoulder to Shoulder: United Communities,” plans are being developed for cooperation with the partner municipalities of Oskil and Chernihiv.
Hennadii Stukalo is an anesthesiologist and head of the anesthesiology department at the Chernihiv regional hospital. From the very beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, he stayed at the hospital around the clock.
During the most intense days of the encirclement, more than 50 wounded patients arrived within an hour, all requiring urgent surgery. With no electricity, heating or water, and under constant shelling and airstrikes, Stukalo and his team worked tirelessly to save lives, even performing complex surgical procedures under extreme conditions.
Due to frequent power outages, the doctors had to illuminate the operating room with headlamps, flashlights and cell phones. To keep patients warm, they used plastic bottles filled with hot water.
Journalists have the opportunity to interview Dr. Stukalo both online and in person.
Background: On April 6, 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Forces completely liberated Chernihiv oblast from russian occupation
Before russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine broke out, 38-year-old Artem Kostiuk worked as a gas boiler operator and ran a power tool sales and repair shop in Sloviansk. Even as the front line drew dangerously close, he remained at his post, ensuring people had heat until the very last moment. But when a russian missile leveled his store, he knew it was time for a drastic change.
In November 2024, Artem became the head of HALO Ukraine’s mine clearance team in the Kyiv region. His wife, Maryna, also joined the effort. Today, he continues his work in the Chernihiv region, clearing explosives left behind by the war.
Artem says his years in the boiler room prepared him for this high-stakes responsibility. “One mistake could have left 20,000 to 30,000 people without heat. Explosive ordnance disposal is different, but the core responsibility is the same—people’s lives and well-being depend on me. Every day, I’m responsible for the safety of my team and Ukrainians as a whole.”
For reference: Journalists can interview Artem in the Chernihiv region by prior arrangement.
The HALO Trust is the world’s largest international nonprofit dedicated to clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance. For 35 years, it has operated in 30 countries and territories.
By April 6, 2022, Ukrainian forces had fully liberated the Chernihiv region from russian occupation.
Larysa Zahryva has devoted 25 years to education. She worked as a teacher, and in 2022 she became the head of the Center for the Provision of Social Services in Chernihiv Oblast. When the full-scale war broke out, the village of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske, where Larysa lived and worked, was under occupation. For 37 days, she continued to go to work and take care of the elderly people who remained in the village. Larysa hid documents from the russians and was shot at five times. The occupiers came to her house in the middle of the night and interrogated Larysa’s husband.
After Ukraine retook Mykhailo-Kotsiubynskyi from russian occupation, Larysa successfully founded the University of the Third Age (U3A) with support from the United Nations Development Program. Today, several areas of study are already available for lifelong learners, including the Healthy Lifestyles Program, the Philosophy Program, and the Arts and Crafts Program Larysa also created a mobile social assistance project: A car with volunteers who help residents with household chores runs around Chernihiv. The University has also recently opened a resilience space where women, children, IDPs, and war victims can work individually with a psychologist or attend support groups.
For reference: By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces had completely liberated Chernihiv Oblast.
Researchers from the Chernihiv historical museum named after V. Tarnovskyi travel to the village of Yahidne, Chernihiv oblast, to collect eyewitness testimony. (In the spring of 2022, russian occupiers detained over 300 local residents in inhumane conditions in the basement of the school for almost a month).
Since September 2023, historians have been documenting historical artifacts in Yahidne. They have examined and described over 1,000 objects, including clothing, shoes, personal items, backpacks, books, empty russian military ration boxes, antiseptic tubes, russian newspapers, wooden pallets used for sitting and sleeping, plastic water bottles used as makeshift toilets. Experts recorded descriptions of all basement rooms and photographed artifacts found throughout the village, including remnants of enemy equipment, uniforms and ammunition boxes.
At the request of the regional authorities, copies of occupation documents found in Yahidne have been turned over to the museum.
All documented artifacts will remain in place. There are plans to create a memorial complex in Yahidne, including the school basement where civilians were imprisoned.
Journalists can learn more, join researchers on the ground, and see the historical artifacts firsthand.
Background: Yahidne is a village near Chernihiv. At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, the occupying forces set up their headquarters in the local school. In its basement they imprisoned 299 adults and 67 children – almost the entire population of the village. The basement was only 197 square meters, forcing people to sleep sitting up, with limited oxygen. Ten people died as a result of the horrific conditions.
In February 2023, a photograph of the Yahidne basement appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
Oksana Starodub, a mother of two from Chernihiv, faced unthinkable challenges after deciding to stay in her hometown when the war began. Her husband, Mykola, joined the territorial defense forces on the second day of the all-out invasion, determined to protect his family and city. On March 6, 2022, russian mortars struck Oksana’s home, leaving her severely injured and unable to move. Her teenage son bandaged her wounds as they awaited help, but continued shelling prevented an ambulance from reaching them. Eventually, Mykola and his unit managed to return home, where a military medic applied a tactical tourniquet to Oksana’s leg before she was taken to a hospital. The hospital, overwhelmed with wounded, was operating under dire conditions. Power was down due to nearby shelling, staff was stretched thin, and resources were scarce. Drinking water arrived only once daily, and food for both patients and doctors was cooked outdoors over an open flame. Oksana later traveled to Vinnytsia for multiple surgeries and, by September 2022, was able to walk on her own again.
Meanwhile, Mykola continued defending the Chernihiv region until his battalion was deployed to Donetsk. On June 17, 2024, during a combat mission, Mykola sustained fatal wounds, leaving Oksana a widow.
The Children of Heroes charity foundation is currently supporting the family. Dedicated to aiding children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the foundation offers financial assistance, psychological counseling, legal aid, and educational support to help these children grow and thrive until adulthood.
On March 14, the Ukrainian Volunteer Day, the First Chernihiv Veterans Theatre will perform the play “Hospital Rhapsody”. The author of the play is Yurii Vietkin, a veteran of the russian-Ukrainian war who lost his leg during an enemy shelling. The play is based on real events that took place in a ward of the Chernihiv military hospital in March 2022.
The premiere of “Hospital Rhapsody”, staged by the Chernihiv Veterans Theatre “Sercevir”, took place at the end of February. The cast consists entirely of veterans and military personnel — three of the actors are amputees, while two others have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. Widows of fallen soldiers and director Anastasiia Kuzyk, the wife of a serving soldier, also took part in the performance.
The lead role is played by veteran Ruslan Ivanov, who has an amputated arm. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked as a production designer in a movie studio. He volunteered to defend Ukraine, fought in the Kyiv oblast and was wounded near Bakhmut in October 2023.
Guests from Poltava — partners involved in supporting veterans through the “Shoulder to Shoulder: United Communities” project — attended the performance alongside Chernihiv residents. Poltava and Chernihiv had previously launched a joint initiative, the “Veteran Spaces Opportunity Map”, which helps returning soldiers find the psychological, legal, and social support they need.
Journalists will have the opportunity to interview the cast, attend the dress rehearsal, and cover the performance of “Hospital Rhapsody” on March 14.
Background: On April 6, 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Forces completely liberated the Chernihiv oblast from the russian occupiers.
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.
Is humanitarian mine action possible in winter? How do snow and freezing temperatures affect the painstaking work of removing deadly explosives? These are the questions many are asking as winter sets in.
Deminers face extreme challenges in cold weather, but the work doesn’t stop when the first snow falls. Can mines be detected beneath a blanket of snow? How do teams stay warm during long hours in the field? And is it true that some even heat the frozen ground to continue clearing land?
Journalists now have the chance to witness these operations firsthand. Media visits can be arranged to key regions where HALO Ukraine is actively working, including Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
For context: HALO Ukraine is part of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest non-governmental organization dedicated to humanitarian demining. Since russia’s full-scale invasion, they’ve cleared over 6 million square meters of land, ensuring safer ground for thousands of Ukrainians.
Oksana Starodub, a mother of two from Chernihiv, faced unthinkable challenges after deciding to stay in her hometown when the war began. Her husband, Mykola, joined the territorial defense forces on the second day of the all-out invasion, determined to protect his family and city. On March 6, 2022, russian mortars struck Oksana’s home, leaving her severely injured and unable to move. Her teenage son bandaged her wounds as they awaited help, but continued shelling prevented an ambulance from reaching them. Eventually, Mykola and his unit managed to return home, where a military medic applied a tactical tourniquet to Oksana’s leg before she was taken to a hospital. The hospital, overwhelmed with wounded, was operating under dire conditions. Power was down due to nearby shelling, staff was stretched thin, and resources were scarce. Drinking water arrived only once daily, and food for both patients and doctors was cooked outdoors over an open flame. Oksana later traveled to Vinnytsia for multiple surgeries and, by September 2022, was able to walk on her own again.
Meanwhile, Mykola continued defending the Chernihiv region until his battalion was deployed to Donetsk. On June 17, 2024, during a combat mission, Mykola sustained fatal wounds, leaving Oksana a widow.
The Children of Heroes charity foundation is currently supporting the family. Dedicated to aiding children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the foundation offers financial assistance, psychological counseling, legal aid, and educational support to help these children grow and thrive until adulthood.
