Themes by tag: Kharkiv

Currently, several hundred animals are being cared for at the Bat Rehabilitation Center in Kharkiv. However, volunteers explain that this is only the beginning of the winter season, and they expect to take in several thousand bats under their care, as they did last year. The bats are brought to the Center from various Ukrainian cities.

There, specialists help the animals survive the winter, a time when bats become vulnerable and require special conditions. Animals needing extra care are fed and treated.

Due to blackouts, the center purchased a generator and an EcoFlow unit because the refrigerators where the bats are kept require constant power.

Since the full-scale war began, the rehabilitation center has increased its operations. Specialists are now focused on bat conservation and scientific research.

Journalists can speak with the Bat Rehabilitation Center coordinator, biologist Alona Shulenko, online or in person in Kharkiv by prior arrangement.

• animals
• blackout
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Volunteers with the St. Nicholas’s Reindeer project have already received over 1,700 letters. This year, children frequently asked St. Nicholas for power banks so they could charge their phones and stay connected during power outages. The Labubu toy is also among the most popular requests. Children are asking for construction sets, toy cars, books, musical instruments, and balls. Some children have lost their homes due to the war and are asking St. Nicholas for clothes.

Anyone who wishes to can choose a child’s letter and fulfill their wish. Volunteers will deliver the gifts, host a celebration, and provide a photo report. St. Nicholas’s reindeer will visit Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and other regions (the project will cover approximately 50 locations in total).

Many former volunteers have joined the Defense Forces and are now defending Ukraine on the front lines.

Journalists can speak with the campaign organizers in Kharkiv and, if possible, cover the gift distribution process in various regions.

Background: The St. Nicholas’s Reindeer project was founded in Kharkiv in 2016 to support children from communities near the frontlines.

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated in Ukraine on December 6.

• children
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

41-year-old Oleh Semennikov is a Robocut operator for HALO Ukraine and a member of its Gender Working Group. He was born and lives in Kharkiv. He first learned about HALO from a billboard in the metro. Intrigued by the organization’s mission, he joined the team as a deminer in June 2024.

In August of that year, Oleh completed paramedic courses and continued working as a deminer-paramedic. In December, he became a certified Robocut operator and began working with the mechanical demining team.

“The gratitude of the residents near our work sites is very motivating. You realize it’s not abstract—it’s a tangible benefit to the community,” Oleh shared.

Oleh joined the Gender Working Group after attending training sessions conducted by the Divchata NGO.

“I was surprised by how many gender stereotypes still exist in society and in the demining sector. I want to share knowledge about equality and promote tolerance towards everyone,” Oleh notes.

Oleh Semennikov is available for interviews in the Kharkiv oblast, by prior arrangement.

Background: The HALO Trust is the world’s largest non-profit, non-governmental humanitarian demining organization.

The Robocut T800 is a mechanized platform that speeds up the demining of Ukrainian land. Its task is to clear vegetation, level the ground, and prepare the area for manual demining. The Robocut can operate on difficult terrain and in various weather conditions. Most importantly, it reduces risk to people.

• Kharkiv
• demining

Ivan Zabavskyi, 29, was born in Tavilzhanka, a village in the Kharkiv oblast located just 20 kilometers from the russian border. Before the full-scale invasion, he moved to Kharkiv for work.

When russian forces seized part of the Kharkiv oblast, Tavilzhanka, where Ivan’s mother, Maryna, remained, was occupied. In September 2022, Ukrainian troops liberated the Kharkiv oblast, placing the village on the front line. Ivan lost contact with his mother. Despite his relatives’ pleas, he cycled back to Tavilzhanka to rescue her. During the occupation, Maryna was forced to bury her older sister, who was killed by shelling. Just one day before Ivan set out to save her, Maryna moved to another village, causing them to miss each other.

Maryna later learned that russian soldiers had kidnapped her son and taken him to russia. Ivan was accused of spying for Ukraine. In January 2025, a court in St. Petersburg sentenced Ivan to 11 years in a strict-regime penal colony. In June 2025, the Second Court of Appeal in St. Petersburg upheld the sentence, leaving it unchanged.

Ivan’s mother now frequently attends peaceful rallies organized by the NGO “Civilians in Captivity”.

Journalists can speak with Maryna in the Kharkiv oblast, in Kyiv, or online by prior arrangement.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv

On November 12, special open Care Lessons themed “Stop Bullying: Where Did Rudyk Go?” will take place in Kyiv and Kharkiv, focusing on ways to combat bullying behaviors among young children. The events will feature Daria Herasymchuk, Presidential Advisor for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, who will lead the session in Kyiv, and Anastasia Svoboda, founder of the Academy of Care, who will host the class in an underground school in Kharkiv.

The interactive lessons, which begin rolling out in Ukrainian schools on November 10, are designed to provide simple, practical tools that help children aged 5 to 10 recognize and speak up about bullying rather than remain silent.

As Ukrainian children continue to live under conditions of prolonged stress and uncertainty caused by the war, cases of bullying have sharply increased. In the first four months of 2025 alone, police recorded 1.5 times more incidents than during the same period last year. Yet many adults still struggle to respond effectively, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, only 28 percent of teachers can confidently identify bullying.

The Academy of Care offers a systemic approach through its Care Lessons program, an interactive class built around the story of a missing character named Rudyk. Through this narrative, children learn to:

– recognize hidden forms of bullying such as insults and exclusion;

– establish personal boundaries and express emotions safely;

– develop a set of “Good Classroom Rules” to foster a culture of empathy and mutual support.

Media accreditation is required.

• children
• culture
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv

For more than three years, history teacher Oksana Struk has been living in anticipation of her husband, Kostiantyn, to come home from russian captivity. The couple, both teachers, have been together for over two decades and lived in the border village of Mala Vovcha in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, just three kilometers from the russian border. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, the village was among the first to fall under occupation.

Oksana and the couple’s son managed to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory in August 2022. Kostiantyn, a physical educator, stayed behind. Soon after, Oksana learned that russian forces were targeting teachers who refused to cooperate with occupation authorities. One day, they came for her husband – he was arrested, and their home was searched.

According to Oksana, a colleague who was made principal of their school under the occupation denounced her husband to the russians. When Ukrainian forces liberated the village in September 2022, the collaborator fled to russia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross later confirmed that Kostiantyn is being held in russia. In all the time since his abduction, Oksana has received only one letter from him.

Today, she joins peaceful rallies alongside other families whose loved ones remain imprisoned in russia, demanding their release and urging international attention.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Oksana in Kharkiv or online by prior appointment.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kharkiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Ihor Yefimenko’s Kharkiv-based company was engaged in vehicle repair. However, after February 24, 2022, his team pivoted and began producing Level 5 body armor for the military. After a relative lost toes due to an explosion caused by a landmine, Yefimenko realized that his team needed to develop protective gear for sappers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians.

They used a Canadian model as a base, adapted it to the needs of Ukrainian soldiers and rescuers, and began production. In 2025, the manufacturers obtained a patent for a system that protects legs from anti-personnel blast mines. The product now holds all NATO standard certifications and has intellectual property protection. Yefimenko assures that the Canadian prototype was further refined and that the Kharkiv version differs in design elements and materials.

Each boot weighs four kilograms, and the team uses 3D printers to manufacture the components. Yefimenko explains that the boots are not a panacea; they cannot prevent injury entirely, but they help users avoid traumatic amputation.

Ihor Yefimenko is available for interviews online or in person in Kharkiv, by prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• Kharkiv
• demining

Kateryna Sadurska, a native of Kharkiv, is a champion athlete who has won gold medals at the World Championships and set world records in freediving. Throughout her life, she searched for the perfect swimsuit that could withstand chlorinated water without deteriorating.

Eventually, she decided to create such a suit herself. She chose nylon made from discarded fishing nets recovered from the sea as the material. This fabric is resistant to saltwater and chlorine, and it offers UV protection. It can also be recycled multiple times. Kateryna designed the swimsuits and found a manufacturer in Kharkiv to produce her first collection. The project’s scaling plans were disrupted by the full-scale russian invasion, and Kateryna considered closing production. However, loyal customers kept asking if more swimsuits would be available, so she decided to keep the business going.

Kateryna Sadurska is available for interviews online and in person in Kharkiv from October 7-9 by prior arrangement.

Background: Kateryna Sadurska won first place in the Constant Weight Bifins (CWTB) discipline at the 2025 World Championship, which was held under the auspices of the International Association for the Development of Freediving (AIDA). The Ukrainian athlete dove to a depth of 97 meters, setting a new national record for Ukraine. This marks her second gold medal at this tournament. Sadurska’s collection now includes nine World Championship gold medals.

• culture
• women
• Kharkiv

Kharkiv welcomed a unique new addition to its cultural landscape this week as the Kharkiv Korolenko State Scientific Library unveiled a library bus arriving from Tallinn, Estonia, just ahead of All-Ukrainian Library Day.

The 12-meter Volvo vehicle, a gift from colleagues at the Tallinn Central Library, arrived as part of humanitarian aid. The city administration of Estonia’s capital also financed the delivery of the mobile library to Kharkiv. 

Designed to bring books and resources to communities without access to stationary libraries, the bookmobile is outfitted with shelves holding up to 4,000 books, computer stations, and workspaces for both librarians and visitors. In Estonia, it previously served readers in remote areas, bridging gaps in access to literature and information.

Now, the mobile library will travel throughout the Kharkiv region, where more than 50 public libraries have been utterly demolished and an additional 180 damaged since the onset of full-scale russian aggression. The Kharkiv Korolenko State Scientific Library, one of Ukraine’s oldest and largest libraries with a collection exceeding seven million items, has also suffered significant damage from shelling.

Journalists are welcome to cover the bookmobile by prior arrangement, as it is still being equipped for its new role serving local communities.

• culture
• Kharkiv

With support from partners, the savED Charity Foundation has set up two underground educational spaces in the de-occupied city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv oblast. These spaces will enable hundreds of local children to participate offline in extracurricular activities within their community.

The first learning center, which spans over 110 square meters, is located in the bomb shelter of a lyceum in Balakliia. Since the start of the full-scale war, students at this institution have only been able to learn online. In spring 2025, russian UAVs struck the lyceum twice, damaging the roof and one wing of the building.

In 2023, the savED Charity Foundation, supported by U-Lead, created the Vulyk (Beehive) Educational Center to restore access to in-person after-school classes at the lyceum. There, students could participate in extracurricular activities with teachers. Thanks to KFC Ukraine’s charitable “Star Donation” campaign this year, the foundation was able to equip an additional underground space for lyceum students. The shelter now contains six classrooms and areas for sports, reading, dining, and relaxation. The project cost over 2.8 million hryvnia.

The SavED Foundation established a second underground educational space in Balakliia, in another city lyceum. The institution was damaged by russian airstrikes at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and looted by russian troops during the occupation. With the help of partners from tsukat IT company and Adobe, SavED was able to furnish a learning space in the lyceum’s shelter that can hold over a hundred students at once. The project cost over 390,000 hryvnia.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kharkiv