Themes by tag: culture

Media representatives are invited to cover the Final Four of the Ukrainian Amputee Football Cup. Journalists will have the opportunity to speak with representatives of the “League of the Mighty” project, players from the four finalist teams, their coaches, as well as match officials. The event will take place in Kyiv.

The teams reaching the final stage are Bartka, Vinnytsia AMP, Pokrova AMP, and Shakhtar Stalevi.

Media accreditation is required to attend the event.

Background: The “League of the Mighty” project was launched by the Ukrainian Association of Football in 2024 to engage people with limb amputations and limb impairments in the world’s most popular sport.

• casualties
• culture
• Kyiv

Participants: 

– Alina Frolova, co-founder of Media Center Ukraine, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Center for Defense Strategies;

– Otar Dovzhenko, Ukrainian journalist and media critic. Creative Director of the Lviv Media Forum, Chair of the Independent Media Council. Co-editor of the “DovgyiPes” media newsletter. Book editor;

– Ihor Solovey, Head of the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.

Topics for discussion: 

– Ukraine’s experience in countering Russian disinformation; 

– Key takeaways from the book and benefits for the international community

• culture
• Kyiv

On March 14, the capital will host the exhibition “Rights in Our Hands,” organized by the international movement Amnesty International Ukraine in conjunction with the Boris Paton State Polytechnic Museum at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

The project tells about the protection of human rights in the context of full-scale war and the daily struggle of Ukrainians for their rights. The exhibition will feature 12 portraits and stories of human rights defenders, activists, educators, volunteers, and other concerned individuals whose actions help preserve human dignity every day and prove that human rights exist not only on paper.

The faces of the exhibition are: Marta Levchenko, founder of the charitable project and Ukraine’s largest crisis center, “City of Good”; Masy Nayem, veteran, lawyer, and human rights activist; Ivan Lyubish-Kirday, Reuters war correspondent who was wounded in a rocket attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk; and other heroes.

The exhibition is free and will run until April 1.

• culture
• Kyiv

A North Korean cluster munition that hit the window of the Kherson Regional Museum has been added to the exhibition “Unbreakable Kherson Region.” The exhibition features exhibits about the defense of Kherson, the occupation, the liberation of the city from russian troops, and life under shelling. The Korean munition got stuck right in the window of the exhibition hall. A fragment of a russian shell warhead was also found in the museum courtyard.

In addition, museum staff created an exhibition called “When War Loses Its Power” from the remains of weapons used by russian troops to shell the city. Fragments of various types of weapons became parts of works of art.

Due to constant enemy shelling, the Kherson Regional Museum is closed to visitors, but virtual tours are available.

Before the full-scale invasion and occupation, the Kherson Regional Local History Museum had one of the largest collections of antiquities in southern Ukraine. In October 2022, russian occupation forces stole more than 23,000 exhibits from the museum’s collection. Among them were archaeological finds, Scythian gold, antique icons, ethnographic collections, and archival materials. After the de-occupation of Kherson, the museum resumed its work. More than 160,000 exhibits were evacuated to safer regions.

For reference: The museum was founded in 1890 at the suggestion of Ukrainian archaeologist and local historian Viktor Ivanovich Goshkevich. The buildings that house the museum’s exhibition are architectural monuments of the 19th century.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kherson

The Ukrainian Amputee Football Cup has begun. In total, the tournament will bring together 16 teams from different regions of the country, who will compete for one of the main national trophies.

In recent matches, all quarterfinalists have already been determined and will continue the fight. On March 14-15, the quarterfinal matches of the Ukrainian Amputee Football Cup will take place, and the Final Four will be held in Kyiv on March 21 and 22.

For reference: The Strong League project was launched by the Ukrainian Football Association in 2024 with the aim of involving people with amputated limbs and limb function impairments in the most popular game in the world.

• casualties
• culture
• Kyiv

On March 13, an event dedicated to Ukrainian Volunteer Day, which Ukraine celebrates on March 14, will take place in Kyiv. This holiday honors the courage and self-sacrifice of those who consciously stood up to defend their country in the most difficult times. The date was not chosen at random: on this day in 2014, the first 500 volunteers left Independence Square for a training base in Novi Petrivtsi to form the first volunteer battalion. They were not professional soldiers, but they had a common desire — to defend their homeland.

During the meeting, they will talk about the mood and motivation of those who took up arms in 2014 and those who joined the defense of the country in 2022 from the very first days. They will try to understand what motivated people to make this decision then and what supports them today. They will discuss the challenges veterans face after returning to civilian life. Special attention will be paid to the issues of veteran employment and the role of the state and society in shaping a culture of support for people with military experience. They will also talk about the lives of families after the loss of a son or daughter — about memory, pain, and the need for sensitivity and solidarity.

Participants:

Dmytro Kraslyansky — combatant in eastern Ukraine, veteran, founder of the veteran business “Barbecue BBQ`72”;

Marianna Kuzmenko — mother of the deceased volunteer Daniel Kovalchuk “Francuz”;

Serhiy Mokrenyuk — veteran, community activist, representative of the Regional Council of Ukrainians of Crimea, deputy director for development of a Ukrainian UAV manufacturer,

Anastasia Rozlutska — head of the Nazustrich project at Work.ua, expert on veteran employment, head of the Ukrainian World NGO.

Advance registration is required.

For reference: In response to russian aggression in 2014, the volunteer movement quickly gained mass popularity. With the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, territorial battalions began to form, and under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, volunteer units of the National Guard and special police forces were created. In addition, independent volunteer battalions appeared, which became the country’s shield in the first months of the war. Thanks to their dedication, it was possible to gain time for mobilization and save Ukrainian statehood.

In 2014-2015, nearly 40 volunteer battalions took part in combat operations in eastern Ukraine. Subsequently, most of them became units of the security forces, and many volunteers pursued military careers and became experienced commanders.

The volunteer movement was revived with renewed vigor after russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. From the very first hours of the war, thousands of Ukrainians joined the ranks of the Armed Forces, territorial defense, and volunteer formations. Many returned from abroad to defend their homeland.

• culture
• Kyiv

Nazarі Krasovsky signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier encountered a full-scale invasion in Mariupol, defended Azovstal, and, together with his comrades, carried out the command’s order and surrendered in May 2022.

Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep himself going, the soldier wrote poems, scratched lines on a bar of soap, and when the opportunity arose, transferred the texts to scraps of paper. The man was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.

Since then, Nazarі has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center in Lviv. The soldier has a serious spinal injury, which he sustained while in captivity. The soldier said that he had long wanted to sing with Khristina Soloviy. During a gala evening organized by the rehabilitation center, Nazarі managed to fulfill this dream. On stage, they performed the song “Who, if not you?”, and the audience gave them a standing ovation.

You can speak with Nazari Krasovskyi both online and in person in Lviv or Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Lviv

On March 6, the exhibition project “Cultural Suitcase” opens at Kyiv’s Central Railway Station, offering visitors a chance to explore Ukrainian culture through personal belongings, archives, and stories of prominent Ukrainian figures.

The project is a way to preserve memory, identity, and meaning amid the constant movement the country is experiencing during the war. It also brings remarkable artifacts of the past out of archives — stories worth sharing with the world and remembering ourselves.

Forced displacement — abroad, to the front line, or back home — has become part of a shared experience. “Cultural Suitcase” speaks directly to this state of being on the road: to people in transit, to each and every individual. In motion, culture becomes a way to maintain a connection to one’s roots, to the country, to what cannot be left behind. At the same time, the exhibition engages with archives — presenting extraordinary artifacts from the past that are returning to the public space.

Among the artifacts gathered by the project team are the travel bag of composer Stanislav Liudkevych, original song lyrics by Andriy Kuzmenko (Kuzma), notebooks containing well-known poems by Serhiy Zhadan, and the 1936 score of “Carol of the Bells” by Mykola Leontovych. Visitors will also see the original facade design sketch of Kyiv’s railway station by architect Oleksandr Verbytskyi — an important cultural and transportation symbol of the capital.

Through these and other objects, the exhibition tells the story of literature, music, cinema, architecture, and art as a living experience that shapes the world’s perception of Ukraine. The project also has an educational dimension: independent experts contributed to its creation, shedding light both on the stories of individual artifacts and on broader phenomena within Ukrainian culture.

The exhibition invites every visitor to remember at least one story about Ukraine — and to pass it on.

Background: The project is implemented by Bolt Ukraine in cooperation with Port of Culture, in partnership with Visa, Ukrainian Railways, and Ajax Systems.

• culture
• Kyiv

On March 2, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War will host a memorial event titled “6700,” dedicated to honoring the victims of the 1943 Koriukivka tragedy. A total of 6,700 people were brutally killed on March 1–2 and 9 by Nazi occupation forces and their allies — the Hungarian 105th Light Division — who burned the settlement to the ground along with all its residents, from infants to the elderly and infirm.

The event launches an annual tradition of candle-lighting at the War Museum to commemorate the murdered civilians of the town of Koriukivka in Chernihiv region. This crime stands alongside Nazi atrocities in Lidice (Czech Republic), Khatyn (Belarus), and Oradour-sur-Glane (France).

Today, as russia deliberately commits war crimes against Ukraine’s civilian population, the Koriukivka tragedy takes on renewed significance, requiring reflection and international attention. All democratic forces must condemn crimes against humanity and remind the world that such crimes have no statute of limitations.

Background: The event is co-organized by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.

• culture
• dead
• Kyiv

Five Ukrainian veterans will participate in the international open-water swimming competition Oceanman Lago d’Orta (Italy). They will compete in the 2 km and 5.5 km distances.

All members of the team are veterans with amputations and severe injuries. Each has gone through war, prolonged medical treatment, and rehabilitation. They are currently preparing for the international competition and train four times a week.

Team Members:

• Ivan Khalupa — veteran of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade. He lost a leg in combat. Swimming became part of his systematic rehabilitation. He has experience in international competitions.

• Ihor Oliinyk — veteran of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He began swimming after being wounded to restore psychological balance.

• Serhii Khrapko — lost an arm and a leg in 2015. Participant of the Invictus Games and Warrior Games. Has extensive experience in sports rehabilitation.

• Volodymyr Shanayda — was wounded in 2023. After a year of treatment, he began swimming. Oceanman will be his first international competition.

• Ihor Bystryi — combat veteran since 2016. He was wounded in 2022 by a cluster munition. After rehabilitation, he continues his sports training.

The project aims to support veterans’ participation in an international sporting event and highlight the role of sport in physical and psychological rehabilitation. It promotes the development of veteran sports and raises awareness of recovery through sport.

By prior arrangement, journalists may cover training sessions in Kyiv.

Background: The project is implemented by the charitable foundation YANKO Fund. Logistical support is provided by the concierge service FlyPoint. The team trains under the supervision of medical specialists, coaches, and rehabilitation professionals. The Oceanman organizing committee has provided the athletes with complimentary entry passes for the competition.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv