Themes by tag: culture

Early this winter, Kyiv will host HART, Ukraine’s first national multisport event for military veterans recovering from injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained in the defense of the country. From November 30 to December 7, participants from across Ukraine will compete in nine adaptive sports.

Team events will include wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball. Individual competitions will feature archery, indoor rowing on a simulator, laser run, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming.

Athletes are free to join.

Around the world, adaptive athletics have become a cornerstone of veteran rehabilitation. In the United States, the Warrior Games have spurred thousands of recovery programs. In the United Kingdom, the Invictus Games reshaped public attitudes toward wounded service members. Similar initiatives in Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia have helped build statewide “sport-based recovery” programs that integrate rehabilitation, mentorship, and social inclusion.

Ukraine is following suit. With support from Ukrgasbank, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs have launched HART as a comprehensive sports-based rehabilitation effort for veterans.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Journalists are invited to cover this year’s commemorations of Dignity and Freedom Day, observed annually in Ukraine on November 21.

The date marks two pivotal moments in the country’s modern history: the 21st anniversary of the Orange Revolution and the 12th anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity. The schedule features exhibitions, public gatherings, and a slate of academic and educational events, including a scientific forum titled “The Revolution of Dignity: Towards History.”

On November 21, official ceremonies will take place on the Alley of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. The program includes a flower-laying ceremony, the tolling of bells in remembrance of those killed, and a prayer service. A joint prayer for Ukraine and for those who defended its freedom is also planned.

The day’s events will include the consecration of the Angels in White Lab Coats monument. The memorial was created in 2014 on the grounds of Kyiv City Hospital No. 17 by wounded participants of the Maidan protests. In 2025, the five-ton granite sculpture was transferred by hospital staff to the Maidan Museum, which is organizing this year’s program.

Journalists can access the full schedule of events.

For background: Dignity and Freedom Day is marked each year on November 21 to honor the start of the Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2013.

• culture
• Kyiv

The Union of Wounded Military Personnel of Ukraine ‘Mitsni 300’ invites the media to the open bowling tournament, “Mitsni Shary”, which will take place on November 22 in Kyiv.

The competition will feature 30 participants, including wounded servicemen and veterans from various regions of Ukraine.

The media will have the opportunity to speak with the participants, organizers, and partners.

Accreditation is required for the event.

• culture
• military
• Kyiv

The Teplokrovni donor hub – whose name means “warm-blooded” – is opening a mobile, interactive exhibition highlighting blood and the lifesaving impact of donation. The initiative, in partnership with its collaborators, invites the public to attend the exhibition and participate in blood donation.

The “Warm Weekend” event will run from November 20 to 23 in Kyiv, giving visitors the chance to explore the exhibition inside Teplokrovni’s 13-meter, two-story bus, a mobile hub designed to promote blood donation. The first floor features an interactive display where guests can discover surprising facts about blood, such as its trace gold content, and hear personal stories from donors and recipients whose lives have been saved. The second floor houses a comfortable donation area, open to donors from November 20 to 22.

Teplokrovni is a joint initiative of PUMB (First Ukrainian International Bank) and Mastercard aimed at encouraging a culture of blood donation in Ukraine. The mobile hub travels to different cities to attract donors and raise awareness about the importance of giving blood. Since the project’s launch, 225 donors have contributed 101 liters of blood, offering over 675 people a chance at life. The project is implemented in partnership with DonorUA, an automated system for recruiting and managing blood donors in Ukraine, and Blood Agents, a public organization promoting voluntary, unpaid, and regular blood donation.

• culture
• Kyiv

An exhibition titled Shot Down… has opened in Kyiv, showcasing fragments of russian aircraft and missiles that attacked Ukrainian cities but were intercepted before reaching their targets.

The collection includes parts of the experimental Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B (“Hunter-B”) stealth combat drone, remains of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, Gerbera UAVs, downed strategic cruise and tactical guided missiles, a 9M79M ballistic missile from the Tochka-U tactical system, the fuselage of a Su-30SM fighter, a suspended ejection seat, and a parachute from a Su-35S aircraft. Recent additions include an almost intact Shahed, an upgraded Gerbera, and a fragment of a smart bomb.
The Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum is hosting the exhibition, which is open to journalists for coverage.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In less than two and a half years, Yulia Dudysheva, herself displaced from Crimea, has rebuilt and renovated 11 homes free of charge for families uprooted by war.

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Dudysheva lived and worked in the Chernihiv region, building a career in advertising while occasionally helping friends with home repairs. But after Ukrainian forces liberated the region in the spring of 2022, she left her job, determined to find a new purpose in the wake of destruction.

By June 2023, she had launched a volunteer initiative called “Cozy Homes for IDPs”, focusing on restoring, repairing, and decorating homes for internally displaced people. Her first projects were for friends who offered their houses for renovation. Soon, her efforts expanded to other families who had lost their homes in the war.

Her most recent project took her to Ternopil, where she renovated a house for a family from Enerhodar, a city still under russian occupation.

Dudysheva also shares her work online, documenting every stage of the repairs and attracting a growing community of followers who help fund materials for her projects. Now back in the Chernihiv region, she continues her mission to bring warmth and stability to those rebuilding their lives after displacement.

Interviews with Yulia Dudysheva can be arranged both online and in person by prior appointment.

• casualties
• culture
• reconstruction
• women
• Chernihiv

A Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran who lost three limbs in combat has set a national record for climbing the country’s highest peak. The official announcement will take place in the Lviv region on November 17, recognizing Zakhar Biriukov for the first ascent to the summit of Hoverla by a person with three amputated limbs.

Biriukov, 35, sustained devastating injuries in 2022 while serving on the front lines – losing both arms, one leg, an eye, and part of his hearing, along with severe facial wounds. Despite the trauma, he has dedicated his recovery to helping other service members find purpose after injury.

With his mission focused on supporting fellow service members to rebuild their lives, this climb up Hoverla, Ukraine’s 6,762-foot mountain, became a testament that physical loss is no match for inner strength and determination. “Life is not over, it’s just beginning,” Biriukov said, reflecting on his achievement and his determination to inspire others facing similar challenges.

Journalists are invited to attend the record announcement. Media accreditation is required.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Lviv

Svitlana Matsiuta is an artist from Kherson. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an assistant set designer in a theater.

She experienced the full-scale invasion in her hometown. During the occupation, Svitlana and her son avoided leaving home out of fear of russian soldiers. 

Despite financial hardship, she rejected all offers to work in the theater under russian control. In March 2022, reports began circulating in media and social networks claiming that wild geese had “downed” an enemy military plane. Inspired by this story, Svitlana created her own toy combat geese.

These toys symbolize Kherson’s unbreakable spirit and resistance. 

Svitlana says the combat geese are especially popular among Kherson residents who have relocated to other parts of Ukraine or abroad. She has received orders from the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.

In addition to geese, the artist makes roosters inspired by the folk art of Maria Prymachenko and Polina Raiko. Creating these toys helps Svitlana distract herself from the shelling and keeps alive her dream of victory and the liberation of the rest of the Kherson oblast.

Svitlana Matsiuta is available for interviews online or in person in Kherson, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• occupation
• women
• Kherson

As a result of a russian missile attack on May 5 and 7, 2025, several exhibits, an exhibition pavilion, and one administrative building of the Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum were damaged. Specifically, several windows were shattered and the window frame system was deformed in the building housing the collection of aircraft models, preserved engines, and rescue equipment. This allowed moisture to enter the building, endangering the exhibits.

The museum is currently undergoing restoration. The repair work is being carried out within the framework of the “Culture Unites: Museums of Japan – Museums of Ukraine” grant program, implemented by ICOM Ukraine with financial support from ICOM Japan and the Japanese Association of Museums.

By prior arrangement, journalists can document the restoration process and speak with museum representatives.
Background: Thanks to the grant program, 6 unique damaged exhibits will be restored, and new glass will be installed in the pavilion and the administrative building.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On November 8, the Buhurt Sich will hold an open training session for veterans as part of the Veteran Hut Open Day program.

Buhurt Sich promotes rehabilitation through historical medieval battles, known as buhurt or armed combat, an approach that combines physical training, discipline, and camaraderie. The method helps veterans regain physical strength while restoring emotional balance through teamwork and shared purpose.

In partnership with the Veteran Hur project, Buhurt Sich brings together two key aspects of recovery: physical rehabilitation through movement and psychological healing through community engagement.

Media accreditation is required. The venue address will be shared individually with those accredited.

• culture