Themes by tag: culture

The production, which combines Ivan Kotliarevsky’s literary work with elements of physical and performative theatre, has been in development for over a year.

All roles are performed by active service members and veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war who have amputations or severe injuries. Despite their physical trauma, they demonstrate remarkable strength and resilience on stage.

The core idea of the project is to use movement, spoken word, and music to open a path toward inner healing and self-expression through the art of theatre. “Eneida” is not just another premiere by the Veterans’ Theater; it is a project designed to support Ukrainian veterans through creativity, help them reinterpret their wartime experiences, and facilitate their reintegration into society.

The long-term goal is to establish a nationwide network of veteran theatres united under the Veterans’ Theater. The flagship production “Eneida” aims to demonstrate to veteran enthusiasts in the regions that, with minimal props, determination, and inspiration, such a performance can be created even by a small community in the smallest town or village.

By prior arrangement, journalists are welcome to cover the event.

For reference: The Veterans’ Theater is a unique project initiated by the Communications Department of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in partnership with the Theater of Playwrights. It combines psychological rehabilitation with creative realization for veterans who have experienced trauma. The Veterans’ Theater teaches veterans to professionally write plays and share their own stories through theatre, while also supporting their reintegration into society.

• culture
• Kyiv

Golosiyv Ski Park is providing free rehabilitation sessions for military personnel using specialized adaptive ski chairs. Since the beginning of the season, more than 15 training sessions have been held, each involving at least six participants.

By prior arrangement, journalists can attend and cover the next training session.

• culture
• Kyiv

The Veterans Theatre has announced its third course in the fundamentals of playwriting. The program is intended for veterans of russia’s war against Ukraine and will last four months.

Each participant will write at least one play (a theatrical script) and will see it performed by professional actors at the Third Festival of First Plays, which will take place in June–July 2026.

Classes will be held in Kyiv three times a week. Veterans will work with theatre and film professionals, including playwrights, screenwriters, directors, producers, actors, and cultural scholars.

The training will begin in late February. By prior arrangement, journalists will have the opportunity to cover the classes in Kyiv.

• culture
• Kyiv

russians damaged the Hall of Glory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War near the base of the “Motherland” monument. It is a monument of science and technology of local significance.

After inspections by specialized services are completed, the scope of restoration works will become known. This is already the second case of damage to the museum as a result of russian attacks.

By prior arrangement, journalists may visit the museum.

For context: According to Ukraine’s Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna, since the start of the full-scale invasion, russia has damaged or destroyed more than 1,680 cultural heritage sites and thousands of cultural infrastructure facilities.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 1, Valentyn Oleksiienko, a 29-year-old veteran and patient at the UNBROKEN Center, will take to the floor in a wheelchair to perform at the UKR DANCE CUP sports ballroom dancing competition.

A frontline defender who suffered a complete spinal cord injury in an accident at the front, leaving him with no feeling in 70% of his body, Oleksiienko continues to push boundaries despite the permanent nature of his injury. He has already made headlines by learning to paint from his wheelchair, a technique that earned him a place in the Ukrainian Book of Records as the first artist to work that way. He later mastered driving an adapted vehicle. Now he’s embracing dance as his latest challenge.

Oleksiienko will perform an exhibition piece alongside his partner, Daria Bilous. Their routine is one of three special performances featuring Ukrainian war veterans who have sustained amputations or other severe physical disabilities.

The veterans’ appearances are part of a charity initiative organized by the UKR DANCE CUP organizers in partnership with the UNBROKEN charity fund. Proceeds will support the rehabilitation of children treated at Unbroken KIDS, the pediatric department of St. Nicholas Hospital who have been affected by the war.

For reference: The UKR DANCE CUP, a prominent sports ballroom dancing tournament, was originally launched in Kharkiv in 2014. After a three-year suspension due to russia’s full-scale invasion, the event has resumed in Lviv.

Journalists wishing to cover the competition must be accredited in advance.

• culture
• Lviv

Adaptive cross-country skiing training sessions for military veterans are taking place in the Ukrainian capital, led by Oleksii Prokopenko, head coach of Ukraine’s national cross-country skiing team for the 2025 Invictus Games and founder of the Endurance School.

The free year-round sessions, held in both summer and winter, make use of specialized adaptive ski gear, including chair for seated skiing along with tailored cross-country skis. These tools, part of established techniques for handicapped skiing, enable people with reduced mobility to participate fully in the sport.

Prokopenko has recently introduced adaptive ski touring, a hybrid of cross-country and downhill skiing, to the program. Veterans with amputations are among the participants training with this equipment.

Journalists wishing to cover the sessions can arrange access in Kyiv by prior appointment.

• culture
• Kyiv

On January 22, Unity Day, the Khartiia Patronage Service will open the photo exhibition “The Path to Healing”, dedicated to wounded soldiers, in cooperation with the Kyiv Khartiia Hub, the cultural space KultMotyv, and the Pryncyp Legal Aid Center for Military Personnel.

Event participants:

• Mariia Kobzaruk, Deputy Head of the Khartiia Patronage Service;
• Oksana Yavorska, lawyer at the Pryncyp Legal Aid Center for Military Personnel;
• Khartiia servicemembers;
• Alina Karban, Head of the Khartiia Hub in Kyiv.

The exhibition, which runs from January 22 to February 5, features eight portraits by Roman Pashkovskyi, a portrait photographer and Khartiia serviceman. Each photograph tells the story of soldiers’ courage and resilience at various stages of their journeys from injury through rehabilitation and back to service or civilian life. Each photograph is accompanied by the soldier’s recorded story, covering their motivation to serve, their injury, the challenges of treatment and rehabilitation, their dreams and plans, and the support and strength that help them overcome these challenges.

This photo project aims to highlight the dignity, strength, and invincibility of our defenders and to raise funds for the Khartiia Patronage Service.

Background: This initiative supports the Patronage Service of the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The Patronage Service’s goal is to support soldiers in difficult situations, help them recover from injuries, assist their families, and honor fallen heroes.

• culture
• Kyiv

The VETERANKA movement is set to host a large-scale forum on the culture of memory, dubbed “Polis of Memory,” in collaboration with the Kyiv School of Economics. 

On January 23, the VETERANKA movement, a united community of women with combat experience will convene Ukraine’s largest forum dedicated to the culture of memory, titled “Polis of Memory.” The event aims to foster a space for connections and candid discussions on how remembrance culture is taking shape today: from the roles of the state and communities, to interactions among diverse groups and institutions, as well as how varied wartime experiences share the public sphere and what emerging practices in remembrance look like.

“Polis of Memory” is a one-day gathering for experts, initiative representatives, activists, researchers, and anyone invested in how contemporary war remembrance is evolving. The name draws deliberately from the ancient Greek city-states, or polis, evoking collaborative creation and shared decision-making.

The forum will tackle the challenges and responsibilities confronting central and local authorities in preserving memory, along with memory conflicts and problematic memorialization practices. Representatives from various initiatives will share their forward-looking visions and approaches to community engagement, while experts offer deeper insights into the trajectory of Ukraine’s remembrance culture.

Speakers include: 

– Nataliia Kryvda, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF), Academic Director of the Edinburgh Business School in Kyiv; 

– Yuliia Hnatiuk, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance; 

– Iryna Hoi, 12th Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”, Head of Azov Patronage Medical Service;

– Anton Drobovych, Philosopher, Lawyer, Public and State Figure, Head of the Center for Human Rights and War Memorialization at the Kyiv School of Economics; 

– Kateryna Semeniuk, Cultural Manager, Curator, Co-founder of the Past/Future/Art cultural Memory Platform, Head of the Cultural Practices NGO; 

– Hanna Bondar, Architect, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament; 

– Katia Datsenko, Co-founder of the NGO “Moment of Honor”; 

– Gandzia Morozova, Executive Director of the Maksym Kryvtsov Foundation, Military Officer, Sister of the VETERANKA Movement; 

– Mykhailo Alekseenko, Artist, Curator.

Journalists can review the detailed program for the event. Registration is required to attend.

For reference: The event is organized by the VETERANKA movement in partnership with the Center for Human Rights and War Memorialization; the Master’s program “Memory Studies and Public History” at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Kyiv School of Economics. The forum is being held with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation as part of the joint initiative “Joining the EU Together.”

• culture

The documentary “CAPTAIN. STORIES OF THE ‘AZOV’ TANK CREWS” will premiere in the capital on January 21. The event will include appearances by the creative team and the heroes featured in the film.

The film aims to showcase the characters and humanity of the men who honorably defended their country. It chronicles pivotal moments in the brigade’s history, including the Pavlopil-Shyrokyne operation, the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal, captivity, the return to service, and battles on the war’s most critical fronts. The story is told from the perspective of the tank crews who experienced it firsthand.

Directed and written by Kostiantyn Konovalov, director of the films Dovzhenko, The Story of Two Photographs, The Last Fortress: Hacibey, and screenwriter of Kruty 1918, and Firecrosser.

Produced by Maksym Movchan, producer of Blood Brothers and Operative on Call.

Background: The film was created with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.

• culture
• Kyiv

On January 14, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, working closely with the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine and the national mine action platform Demine Ukraine, will launch a countrywide public information campaign to highlight humanitarian demining as a key national priority.

The campaign opens with the debut of an interactive installation titled “The Earth – a Carrier of Memory,” featuring audiovisual narratives that symbolize the safe return of cleared lands to communities. The installation will be unveiled at the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, renowned for its production of “The Land,” adapted from Olha Kobylianska’s novel and directed by David Petrosyan.

Invited speakers at the launch event include:

– Auke Lootsma, UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine. 

– Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine;

– Yevhen Nyshchuk, General Director and Artistic Director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater. 

Journalists wishing to attend must complete accreditation by 4 p.m. on January 13, and should bring a passport or national ID along with an editorial certificate from their outlet.

For reference: The initiative is carried out by the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine in partnership with the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, with financial backing from the Ukraine Community Recovery Fund. More details on the effort are available on the UNDP website.

• culture
• Kyiv
• demining