Themes by tag: Kherson

Nataliia Holubieva, a medical doctor by profession, co-founded and leads the Kherson Oblast Medicine charity foundation, which provides humanitarian aid to hospitals and patients. During the russian occupation of Kherson, she remained in the city, continuing her volunteer work, including sourcing scarce medicines from the Ukrainian-controlled areas.

Following the liberation of part of the region, Holubieva turned her focus to helping residents affected by the occupiers’ destruction of the Kakhovka HPP. She coordinated efforts to resettle those displaced, ensuring they received clothing, food, and medical supplies.

Holubieva stayed in Kherson until August 2023, when intensifying russian shelling with guided bombs forced her to leave for Kropyvnytskyi with her child. On the anniversary of Kherson’s liberation, she established the “United by Kherson Region” Humanitarian Aid Center, which now supports over 1,500 people (560 families) displaced from the Kherson region. The Center also aids residents from other hard-hit areas, including Melitopol, Crimea, and Kharkiv, and assists medical and educational institutions by providing medicine and hygiene products.

Holubieva dreams of opening a medical center specifically for displaced persons, where she can offer both psychological and humanitarian assistance. She is currently searching for a location while pursuing a degree in psychology to further help those in need.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Nataliia in Kropyvnytskyi or online by appointment.

Background: Kherson was occupied by russian forces in March 2022, shortly after the invasion began. Ukraine retook the city of Kherson from occupying russian forces on November 11, 2022, though russian shelling continues.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kherson

Before the full-blown war, Olena and Valentyn Bielozorenko dedicated 11 years to developing their eco-farm in Stanislav, Kherson Oblast. The couple cared for 30 goats, 11 dogs, and 10 cats, producing cheese and offering educational excursions for both children and adults. However, when the war erupted, their farm fell under enemy occupation.

For eight and a half months, the Bielozorenkos found themselves surrounded, relying on food exchanges with neighbors to survive. After Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated their village, they continued to endure for another year in the reclaimed territory, facing persistent shelling. The farm suffered damage from enemy strikes, resulting in the loss of one animal, the destruction of feed supplies, and Valentyn sustaining a concussion.

In October 2023, the couple made the difficult decision to evacuate. They found refuge in the Kyiv region, where they were welcomed by displaced individuals from Donetsk, who generously provided them with a farm and a house at no cost. Within a year at their new location, the number of goats doubled. Looking ahead, Olena and Valentyn plan to establish a rehabilitation center for Ukrainian soldiers on their farm.

For those interested, Olena and Valentyn Bielozorenko are available for online conversations.

For reference: November 11, 2024, will mark the two-year anniversary of Ukraine’s retaking of the city of Kherson from occupying russian forces. 

• animals
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kherson

Before the full-scale invasion, Inna Yakovenko ran a successful business selling windows and doors, operating out of two trade pavilions in the village of Novovorontsovka, Kherson region. When war broke out, her village was the only one in the Novovorontsovka community that remained unoccupied, but it endured relentless shelling from russian forces for seven straight months. Throughout August 2022, Inna took refuge in her basement, sheltering from near-constant bombardments that eventually wrecked her business.

After Ukrainian forces liberated the region, Inna decided to shift her focus from retail to reconstruction. Determined to help her community recover, she began producing granite blocks to support the rebuilding of homes in her war-torn village.

For reference: November 11, 2024, will mark the two-year anniversary of Kherson’s liberation from russian occupation.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson

For the past six years, Anton Tenyck has run a farm in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. After the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the right bank of the Kherson region, the farmers decided to return to work. However, this proved to be difficult as most of the fields were mined. In order to continue their work, the farmers had to use hand-held mine detectors themselves. Together with the military, deminers and rescuers, Anton is clearing his territory of dangerous objects left behind by the occupiers. In one year of work, the farmer managed to demine more than 20 percent of his land. 

In addition, Anton tries to employ everyone who returns to the liberated regions of Kherson Oblast.

For reference: November 11, 2024 will be the second anniversary of the liberation of Kherson from the occupiers.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kherson

Folklorist Yaryna Sizyk, animation director Mariia Ozirna, and the Kherson Art Museum named after Oleksii Shovkunenko have launched a project dedicated to the paintings stolen by russians during the occupation of the city. According to the estimates of the museum staff, the occupiers stole about ten thousand works of art.

The goal of the project is to try to recreate what was taken by the russians. So far, the team has “reproduced” Mykhailo Bryansky’s (1830-1908) painting “Portrait of a Girl in an Embroidered Dress.” The painting wasn’t just repainted, it was modernized and animated. Ukrainian model and singer Dariia Astafieva helped bring it to life as the artists transformed her into the girl in the embroidered dress from the stolen canvas. For the animation, the team used a shirt embroidered during the occupation by Inna Mykutska, a Kherson guide.

They also recreated the oil painting by Serhii Vasylkivsky (1854-1917) “Cossacks in the Steppe.” Ukrainian soldiers Roman “Dobryak” Kolesnyk and Stanislav “Ref” Zorii took part in the reproduction of this painting. Yaryna and Mariia added the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, There Beyond the Seas…” performed by the band Shchuka-Ryba to this animation.

The founders of the project are now preparing the next restorations and are in talks with Ukrainian influencers.

Yaryna Sizyk and Mariia Ozirna are available for interviews with journalists in Kyiv.

For reference: The russians occupied Kherson at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). Ukrainian forces liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to shell the city on a regular basis.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Before facing the brunt of russia’s invasion, The Jin Roh Circus Studio & Entertainment has been running in Kherson for 15 years. The war caught its members in their hometown. In the chaos, they sought basic necessities like food and medicine, often taking refuge in makeshift shelters. Remarkably, one of the studio’s halls transformed into a bomb shelter, providing safety to around 40 individuals during the tumultuous early weeks. As russian forces tightened their grip on Kherson, civilians faced escalating repression, prompting many, including Jin Roh’s students, to flee. Even the studio’s founder and director, Roman Vashchenko, was compelled to leave to evade capture.

Since the city’s liberation in November 2022, Vashchenko has returned, dedicating himself to rebuilding the studio’s activities. However, the journey back to normalcy is fraught with challenges. Once bustling with 300 students, Jin Roh now sees a fraction of that number attending classes to 2-8, with safety concerns looming large amidst continued shelling by occupying forces.

For reference: Kherson fell under russian occupation at the onset of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. It wasn’t until November 11, 2022, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city from russian control. Despite this liberation, the occupiers persist in regularly shelling the city.

• occupation
• Kherson

Heorhii and Olha Chervienkov established a cannery in Posad-Pokrovske, Kherson region, nine years ago. Prior to russia’s full-scale invasion, the facility was producing over 100 tons of goods monthly. But in 2022, as russian forces occupied the Kherson region and fierce fighting turned the area into a frontline, the factory and much of the village were decimated.

The Chervienkovs discovered the extent of the damage only after the area was liberated and they returned home. Undeterred, the couple immediately began rebuilding, and just six months after the de-occupation, they succeeded in getting their first production line back up and running. Initially, operations relied entirely on generators, and labor shortages posed a serious challenge, as many of their former employees had either joined the military or left the community.

Today, Heorhii and Olha Chervienkov are working to restore the plant to its pre-war capacity. They’ve taken innovative steps to overcome staffing gaps, including training local women to take on traditionally male gender roles in the production process.

For reference: November 11, 2024, will mark two years since Ukraine retook the city of Kherson from occupying russian forces.

• casualties
• reconstruction
• Kherson

In a move widely condemned as illegal, russia has sentenced Ukrainian activist Irina Horobtsova to 10 years and 6 months in prison on charges of “espionage.” 

Horobtsova, a resident of Kherson and an employee of a Ukrainian IT company, gained attention in the spring of 2022 for her outspoken posts on social media about life under russian occupation. She shared images featuring Ukrainian symbols and referred to her apartment as the “home base of the resistance.” However, on May 13, 2022, russian forces abducted her from her home. She was subsequently held in a pre-trial detention center in occupied Crimea, where she was kept in isolation with no access to the outside world or visits from family.

Horobtsova’s parents have expressed their willingness to speak with the media about her situation.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson

Serhii Krasnov, a master of sports in cycling from Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, has embarked on a 3,500-kilometer charity bike ride across Ukraine. His hometown has been under russian occupation since the full-scale invasion began, and some of his relatives and friends remain there.

Serhii’s ride aims to raise funds to support displaced people from the Kherson region. He plans to complete the journey in 23 days.

Starting his route in Odesa on June 29, the cyclist will arrive in the capital on July 14, passing through Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih, Zhytomyr, Uman, and Cherkasy. Serhii plans to conclude his ride in Odesa on July 21.

Serhii Krasnov is available for interviews with journalists, both online and offline.

• casualties
• occupation
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Folklorist Yaryna Sizyk, animation director Maria Ozirna, and the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Art Museum have launched a project focused on restoring paintings seized by russians during the city’s occupation. Museum staff estimate that about ten thousand artworks were taken. The project’s goal is to recreate these stolen pieces.

The team has successfully reproduced Mykhailo Bryansky’s painting “Portrait of a Girl in an Embroidered Dress.” Yaryna and Maria spent a month preparing this first piece, which was not only repainted but also modernized and animated. Ukrainian model and singer Daria Astafieva helped bring the painting to life, transforming herself into the girl in an embroidered dress made from the stolen canvas. During the animation, they used a shirt embroidered by Inna Mykutska, a Kherson guide, during the occupation.

The project founders are now preparing for their next restoration and are in discussions with Ukrainian influencers. 

Yaryna Sizyk and Maria Ozirna are available for interviews with journalists in Kyiv.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• Kyiv