Themes by tag: culture

Anna Kudzia is a Polish specialist in monument restoration. Over the past decade, she and her team have worked to preserve Ukraine’s architectural heritage. In Lviv, the restorers set up a workshop where they repair and restore sculptures.

When the full-scale war began, Anna co-founded the Ukraina Pomagamy initiative with a group of Polish and Ukrainian restorers. They purchase vehicles and medical supplies for the front lines and assemble first-aid kits for soldiers in their own workshop. Anna Kudzia personally delivers these supplies to the front, either alone or alongside her team of women volunteers.

You can speak with Anna Kudzia and her team online or in person in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• volunteers
• Lviv

Anastasiia Ponomarova is originally from Mariupol. She taught geography and biology at a local school while also serving as an ambassador for robotics and programming in the Donetsk oblast. Additionally, she organized educational initiatives, including the “Mariupol Reads to Children” project, which promoted Ukrainian-language books.

When the full-scale invasion began, Anastasiia was in her hometown. She decided to evacuate in the first days, taking her cat and dog with her. However, the cat, frightened by explosions, ran away, forcing Anastasiia to leave without him. She relocated to Drohobych in the Lviv oblast. After evacuation, Anastasiia returned to drawing, creating one sketch a day. These artworks eventually formed a series that inspired the idea of therapeutic fairy tales for children. Writer Halyna Vdovychenko responded to her call for collaboration, and together, they created 12 fairy tales — publishing 24,000 copies, some of which were printed in Braille.

Anastasiia also painted over 40 landmarks of her native city — places destroyed by russian forces. These illustrations were later turned into social media sticker packs. Currently, the artist is working on a new project: therapeutic cards featuring illustrated yoga exercises.

You can speak with Anastasiia Ponomarova online or in person in Drohobych, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Lviv

Before russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine broke out, Ivan Pidhirnyi worked as a voiceover artist and dubbing director. After the invasion began in February 2022, he mobilized and was deployed to the Avdiivka sector. At the time, Mariia, who would later become his wife, relocated to her mother’s home in a village in Donetsk region, where she took a job at a local museum.

One of her first assignments was to curate an exhibition for the Defenders Day. In search of authentic items from the front line, Mariia turned to Tinder, not for romance, but for help sourcing exhibits. Ivan, who had just returned from duty and was eating lunch in Pokrovsk, saw her message and reached out.

That brief exchange led to the museum receiving spent shell casings and a launcher tube from the battlefield. It also marked the beginning of a steady conversation between the two.

Eventually, Ivan was discharged from service due to health reasons. As they adjusted to civilian life, the couple began exploring ways to build a future together. They settled on aquaculture, specifically, raising crayfish. The pair relocated to a village in the Kyiv region, where Ivan’s parents lived, and launched their farm, which they named “House with Arborvitae.” Today, they’re working to expand the venture into an eco-complex. 

Ivan and Mariia are open for interviews by appointment, both online and in person, at their site in the Kyiv region.

• culture
• Kyiv

In Kyiv, two sled hockey teams Sokil and Start have taken shape, each made up of veterans who have undergone lower limb amputations. Every team has eight players, and training sessions are held three times a week.

The teams recently competed in the All-Ukrainian Para Ice Hockey Championship.

Journalists can attend and report on training sessions in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

For reference: Para ice hockey, also referred to as sled or sledge hockey, is an adaptation of the sport for athletes with amputations or limited lower limb function. Players move across the ice on specially designed sleds, using two short sticks fitted with spikes on one end for propulsion and blades on the other for controlling the puck.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

On August 3, the Kyiv oblast will host a pre-premiere screening of the documentary film “Spartan: Limitless”. The film follows Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (GUR MOU) special unit veterans with amputations as they push their physical and mental limits in the grueling Spartan Race in the French Alps. This challenge was part of the Limitless project.

The documentary was filmed by showman Artem Damnytskyi, a member of the comedy team “Veterans of Space Forces”, who ran alongside the veterans and captured their inspiring journey.

The film’s protagonists:

• Taras Prots (special unit “KRAKEN”);
• Serhii Shykun (Department of Active Operations of the Main Intelligence Directorate).

Both became the first Ukrainian soldiers with amputations to complete the Spartan Race.

The documentary “Spartan: Limitless” will be screened outdoors on a large screen. Everyone is welcome to attend and meet the film’s heroes.

Background: The Limitless Project aims to raise awareness of the consequences of war and supports those who have sacrificed their health for Independence. The project helps veterans regain physical and psychological health. As part of the project, amputee veterans Oleksandr Dashko and Ivan Tarn of the Main Intelligence Directorate ascended to Everest Base Camp (17,320 feet) in May of this year.

• culture
• Kyiv

Adaptive wakesurfing, a water sport where the rider glides on the wake behind a boat without being directly towed, is helping Ukrainian military veterans stay active despite physical injuries.

Since the initiative launched in the summer of 2024, 25 service members and veterans have tried wakesurfing, with five continuing to train regularly. 

Weekly sessions are held in Kyiv, where experienced coaches and adaptive equipment allow participants, including those who have lost lower limbs, to participate.

For reference: The project is a collaboration between One Team Forces, an NGO supporting service members injured or psychologically affected by the war, and the STAV14 Wake Park team. It is implemented with the support of the BreakWater Club, the official training base for Ukraine’s national wakesurfing team.

One Team Forces works with service members who served before or after russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. STAV14, a network of wakeparks, promotes adaptive wakeboarding not only in Kyiv but across Ukraine.

Journalists can cover the training sessions in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Years ago, Ellie Balika first visited Ukraine as a tourist. The Brit fell in love with the country’s culture, cuisine, and people — so deeply that she eventually relocated permanently.

Later, in Norway, Ellie met a Ukrainian who became her husband. The couple settled in the Odesa oblast. Over seven years of marriage, they had three children, who understand English, Ukrainian, and russian, while Ellie and her husband communicate in Norwegian.

Ellie created a blog about Ukraine, initially for her friends, which later evolved into a full-fledged project for a wider audience.

You can contact Ellie Balika either online or offline in the Odesa oblast by prior agreement.

• culture
• women
• Odesa

Kyiv Hippodrome has pioneered a first-of-its-kind adaptive equestrian discipline for veterans — harness racing in lightweight, two-wheeled carts called “kachalkas.” Launched just over a month ago, this innovative program already has five participants and recently held its first demonstration race. This discipline is not yet officially recognized in Ukraine.

Harness racing sessions for veterans take place three times a week and are free of charge.

Journalists can cover training sessions in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

Background: The Kyiv Hippodrome also offers horseback riding sessions for veterans twice a week.

• animals
• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

VisitKyiv.com — an independent initiative officially launched in late May — aims to showcase Kyiv as locals know and love it while providing practical information for foreigners: journalists, volunteers, travelers, and entrepreneurs.

The website is now live and offers information about English-speaking guides, transportation, accommodations, and museums, as well as gastronomic recommendations, safety tips, and itineraries for one to two days. Created by Kyiv residents and expats who miss their city, the platform answers foreigners’ most-searched questions — like how to navigate daily life amid war.

According to the site’s creators, foreigners most often seek practical safety information. Specifically, they want to know how air raid alerts work, where to find shelters, when curfews are in effect, and which establishments operate during power outages.

Journalists can speak with the initiative’s creators, as well as with foreigners living in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• Kyiv

The NGO “Holosy” (Voices) presents the groundbreaking theatrical production “FOG” in Ukraine — a stage project built on real war testimonies. This is not just a play; it is a living chronicle of modern Ukraine, woven from letters, interviews, monologues, and confessions. The event will take place in Kyiv on July 27.

After its premiere in Berlin, where it moved audiences to tears and solidarity, the performance will be shown to Ukrainian audiences for the first time. The stories of Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Kharkiv, Bakhchysarai, Olenivka, Kolomyia, and Nova Kakhovka resonate in the play — each a painful scar, yet also a guiding light through the darkness.

Genre: 

Multimedia theater in a pseudo-documentary style.

Background. Creative team: Director: Valeriia Demchenko. Producer: Olha Sobko. Writers: Natalia Sukhorukova, Khachatur Vasilian, Tetiana Fedorenko, Valeriia Demchenko, Olha Sobko. Choreographer: Kateryna Pavlova. Cast: L. Somov, R. Miroshnychenko, O. Sobko, D. Korostylov, M. Marchenko, Yu. Onopriiko, A. Tarkanyi, L. Katsion, A. Binieieva.

• culture
• Kyiv