Themes by tag: culture
On May 21, a charity meeting with writer and veteran of the russia–Ukraine war Artur Dronʹ will take place in Lviv.
All proceeds from ticket sales and a charity auction will go toward the rehabilitation of 15-year-old Mariia from Zaporizhzhia. Her father was killed at the front in June last year. That same summer, Mariia and her mother were involved in a car accident in which Mariia suffered a spinal fracture and her mother was killed. Mariia is now under the care of her grandparents and receives support from the Voices of Children Foundation.
Artur Dronʹ will speak about his new book, which is set to be published this autumn by The Old Lion Publishing House. Guests will hear excerpts from the upcoming book, texts from previous works, as well as new poetry and prose that have not yet been published.
The discussion will be moderated by communications specialist Oksana Zіobro, and the charity auction will be hosted by volunteer and educator Bohdan Ivanus.
Background: The event is organized by The Old Lion Publishing House, with support from partners and donors, including the Lviv Officers’ House and the IT company inVerita.
Artur Dron is a poet, writer, and veteran of the russia–Ukraine war. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he joined the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In October 2024, he sustained a serious combat injury in the Zaporizhzhia direction.
He is the author, among other works, of the short prose collection Hemingway doesn’t know anything and the poetry collection We Were Here.
On May 2, at a basketball court in Lviv, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs will host HART | Wheelchair Basketball. The event will bring together veterans of the Russia–Ukraine war, members of national veteran teams, and influencers to play wheelchair basketball. Visitors will also have the opportunity to join in and try the game themselves.
Visitors can expect:
- watching the game and supporting the participants;
- an opportunity to try wheelchair basketball;
- meeting veterans who practice the sport and learning their stories.
The game in Lviv is only the beginning of a larger phase. Immediately afterward, the following will take place:
A five-day training camp: a specialized program aimed at recovery, adaptation, and social reintegration through sport for veterans with visible and invisible injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained while defending Ukraine.
National competitions: a two-day event for more than 100 veterans from across Ukraine.
Participants will also include skeleton racer and Olympic flag bearer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who honored fallen athletes with his “Helmet of Remembrance,” stand-up comedians Vadym Dziunko, Oleh Luzanov, Bohdan Vakhnych, blogger Mariia Pankiv, and others.
Background: The event is held under the patronage of the Lviv Regional Military Administration. It is organized by the Come Back Alive Initiative Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, with support from the Matra Programme (an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). The general partner of the event is EPAM.
On April 30, journalists will be shown unique exhibits from the period of the Ukrainian War of Independence (1917–1921) at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. One of the largest collections of artifacts from the period of the Ukrainian Revolution was preserved for decades by the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.
The collection was safeguarded thanks to the Ukrainian Military-Historical Museum and the archive of the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences in Canada. It will form the basis of the upcoming exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura.”
Speakers at the event include:
- Olena Zemliana, Director-General of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine
- Bohdan Patryliak, curator of the exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura”
- Artem Mykolaichuk, Head of the Board of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation
- Yaryna Yasynevych, Program Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation
For the first time, journalists will be presented with relics revealing stories of Ukraine’s struggle for independence in the 20th century, including:
- the regimental banner of the 2nd Uman Regiment of Cossack Cavalry of the Separate Cavalry Division of the UPR Army
- pennants from the car of Symon Petliura
- a Ukrainian People’s Republic passport belonging to UPR Army Colonel Oleksandr Vyshnivskyi
- drawings by Mykola Bytynskyi from the album “The Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the Liberation Struggle 1917–1921. Uniforms”
- a regimental bugle instrument of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Kyiv Rifle Division of the UPR Army
In total, more than 1,500 objects and 123 boxes of archival materials (documents and photographs) were returned from Canada to Ukraine. These artifacts are not only museum items but direct evidence of the struggle for Ukrainian statehood in the 20th century. For those forced to leave Ukraine, this work was not only academic research but also a form of resistance and preservation of memory about the liberation struggle abroad.
The collection was returned in December last year. The museum is now preparing a large-scale exhibition, “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura,” scheduled to open at the end of May. The exhibition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of Symon Petliura, Head of the Directorate of the UPR and Chief Otaman of the UPR Army.
During the event, a Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed between the museum and the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
Journalists are required to obtain accreditation for the event.
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. Member of the national Invictus Games team and a participant in the national selection for the Warrior Games.
- 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.
On May 2, Lviv will host the presentation of a new collection by Ukrainian designer Fedor Vozianov, titled “AMPUTATIONS.” The project sits at the intersection of fashion and art, exploring human transformation after amputation and the emergence of new meanings and possibilities.
The collection will be showcased as part of Lviv Fashion Week. Taking to the runway in Vozianov’s designs will be UNBROKEN Center patient Liudmyla Chorna and mentor Viktoriia Khemych.
Liudmyla Chorna, 27, from Chernivtsi, lost her leg in a road accident when a logging truck’s trailer detached and collided with her car. She took her first steps with a prosthetic limb after three and a half months of rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center. Despite the loss, she is now even more determined to fulfil a long-held dream — to take up dancing.
Viktoriia Khemych, 28, from Lviv, also lost her leg in a traffic accident after being struck by a minibus at a pedestrian crossing. After completing treatment, rehabilitation and prosthetic fitting at the UNBROKEN Center, she joined the team as a mentor. She now supports patients on their recovery journey, helping them adapt to new circumstances and resume an active lifestyle.
The “AMPUTATIONS” collection is the designer’s attempt to reflect on loss as part of the human experience. The meaning of each piece shifts depending on its context: displayed as artworks, they function as visual statements, while on the body they become evening and cocktail dresses.
Media representatives are invited to attend the presentation and will have the opportunity to speak with the designer and participants of the show. Accreditation is required.
A rehabilitation sailing trip will begin in Greece on May 9, bringing together 25 Ukrainian service members with amputations as well as former prisoners of war. Participants will cover around 200 nautical miles.
“Titans Under Sail” is a charitable project that offers Ukrainian defenders physical and psychological rehabilitation through sailing.
During the seven-day journey, participants learn to operate a catamaran, face the challenges of the open sea and work as a team. The experience helps restore mobility and supports psychological recovery and reintegration.
Media can cover the sailing rehabilitation program online or in person in Athens, Greece. Interviews with participants and organizers are available upon request, and photo and video materials can also be provided.
Background: In 2025, similar rehabilitation sailing trips took place in the Canary Islands, Greece and Croatia. The project is run by the NGO Titans Under Sail.
Nataliia Shmahel has been practicing yoga for eight years and working as an instructor in Kherson for the past three. The youngest participant in her classes is 18, the oldest is 63.
Training sessions depend on the security situation in the city. When heavy shelling begins, the instructor notifies participants via chat that the session has been canceled. Last year, as Nataliia was heading to a class, a drone struck Kherson, forcing her to take cover under a tree.
She says that fear is something everyone experiences, but the classes help people cope by relieving tension and helping them clear their minds.
Interviews with Nataliia can be arranged in Kherson or online upon request.
Background: russian forces occupied Kherson at the beginning of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated the city on November 11, 2022. russian forces continue to shell the city regularly.
On April 24, Kyiv will host the award ceremony for the winners of the 16th All-Ukrainian competition “I Am a Journalist!” A total of 1,355 participants from across the country — children, students and teachers — submitted entries on war, loss, occupation and memory. Some of the winners will travel from frontline and recently liberated areas to receive their awards in person and share their stories.
This year’s theme, “I Will Remember,” focuses on people and events that must not be forgotten. For the first time, not only school and university students but also teachers took part, with every fifth submission coming from educators.
One of the winners is 15-year-old Maksym Kliuchko from Kharkiv. In his piece, “A Letter to My Brother Whom I Am Waiting to Return Home,” he writes:
“Your parents will wait for you until their last breath. They will look for you in every soldier returning from the station. And I… I will be your voice here. I will earn the diploma we dreamed of. I will learn the language you died for. I will carry our surname through the years so that it shines with pride.”
Maksym’s brother was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage. He is officially listed as missing in action while carrying out a combat mission. Maksym will attend the ceremony with his father and his teacher.
Among the participants is also a teacher from Kharkiv region, Iryna Kozyrkova, who recalls: “I was washing a window when a vehicle pulled up and soldiers with rifles got out. They took me outside, put me in the car and placed a bag over my head. Today I understand: I became a target because I am a Ukrainian teacher.”
Tetiana Havaha from Zaporizhzhia region writes about the first months of the war: “The most terrifying moment was saying goodbye — the first dead were buried in plastic bags; later we learned to make coffins ourselves.”
Vira Ustsova from Luhansk region writes: “Our school was destroyed by the enemy, our homes are occupied, and an occupier is now living in my house.”
The youngest participant in the competition is nine years old, the oldest is 75. The contest has become a platform for documenting the experience of war through the eyes of Ukrainians of different ages.
Journalists will have an opportunity to speak with the participants.
On April 30, a meeting with psychologist and author Yulita Ran will take place in Kharkiv at Khartia Hub. She is the author of the book “Letters to Alinka,” which tells the story of a friendship between two girls who grew up doing everything together — until the main character, Alina, was injured by a landmine and lost her leg.
During the event, participants will discuss how to talk to children about loss, why it is important not to avoid the topic of disability, how acceptance and support are formed in society, and what psychological inclusion means in everyday life.
Registration is required to attend the event.
A veteran bowling tournament, “Mitsni Shary: Spring Range” (Strong Frames), will take place in Kyiv on April 26 — an event aimed at bringing veterans together through sport, support and in-person interaction.
Thirty participants — including veterans, active service members and their family members from across Ukraine — will take part in the competition. The format includes individual and doubles games adapted to participants’ physical abilities.
Journalists are required to obtain accreditation to attend the event.
Background: The project was launched by the NGO Mitsni 300 as part of efforts to create a national veteran league. The first Mitsni Shary tournament in 2025 brought together dozens of veterans and laid the groundwork for scaling up the initiative.
