Themes by tag: 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 museum staff estimates, the occupiers looted approximately ten thousand works of art.

The project’s goal is to attempt to recreate what the Russians took away. To date, the team has managed to “reproduce” a painting by Mykhailo Bryansky (1830-1908), “Portrait of a Girl in an Embroidered Dress”. The painting was not simply repainted but was modernized and animated. Ukrainian model and singer Daria Astafieva helped “bring it to life”; the artists transformed her into the girl in the embroidered dress from the stolen canvas. For the animation, the team used a shirt that Inna Mykutska, a tour guide from Kherson, embroidered during the occupation.

The team has also recreated the oil painting “Cossacks in the Steppe” by Serhii Vasylkivsky (1854-1917). Servicemen Roman “Dobriak” Kolesnyk and Stanislav “Ref” Zorii of the Armed Forces of Ukraine participated in the reproduction of this artwork. Yaryna and Mariia added the Ukrainian folk song “Oh, There Beyond the Seas…” performed by the band Shchuka-Ryba to this animation.

The project founders are currently working on further recreations.

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

Background: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to shell the city regularly.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Olena and Valentyn Bielozorenko had spent 11 years building their Lymanska Koza eco-farm in Stanislav, a village in the Kherson region. The couple raised 30 goats, 11 dogs, and 10 cats, made artisanal cheese, and hosted tours for children and adults. But when the war began, their thriving farm suddenly found itself under occupation.

For eight and a half months, Olena and Valentyn lived surrounded by russian forces, surviving by bartering food with neighbors. When Ukrainian troops liberated the village, they stayed on for another year, enduring relentless shelling. Several strikes hit their property, killing one animal, burning their feed, and leaving Valentyn with a concussion.

By October 2023, the couple decided they could no longer stay. They evacuated to the Kyiv region, where fellow displaced Ukrainians from Donetsk welcomed them and offered a farmhouse and land free of charge. Within a year, their herd had doubled in size, and life began to take root again.

Now, the Bielozorenkos are planning to open a rehabilitation center for Ukrainian soldiers on their new farm, hoping to turn a place once marked by survival into one of healing and recovery.

Olena and Valentyn Bielozorenko are available for online interviews.

For reference: russian forces occupied Kherson early in the full-scale invasion, on March 1, 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated the city on November 11, 2022, but russian troops continue to shell the region regularly.

• animals
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• evacuation

Pastry chef Anna Voskoboinyk and her husband first discovered their passion for desserts while living in Italy. After returning to Kherson, they opened an ice cream stand that gradually expanded into a small chain. In 2019, Anna entered a competition to create a dessert that would embody the spirit of her hometown.

She spent months experimenting, drawing on childhood memories and personal associations with Kherson, until she finally crafted a cake that captured the city’s essence. The creation, aptly named the “Kherson” cake, brought Anna widespread recognition and put her confectionery on the map.

The outbreak of war, however, forced her to leave her hometown. The couple chose to rebuild their business in Vinnytsia, bringing the Kherson cake with them. Today, it is a beloved dessert across Ukraine and has even gained popularity abroad, often purchased as a gift to carry a piece of home.

Anna Voskoboinyk is available to meet and discuss her creations, either online or in person in Vinnytsia, by prior arrangement.

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.

• culture
• women
• Kherson
• Vinnytsia

Oleksii Sivak, a 42-year-old former sailor from Kherson, saw his life upended by russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Remaining in the city with his wife and disabled mother-in-law, he engaged in acts of peaceful resistance, posting anti-russian leaflets and creating effigies of “dead russians” with like-minded people to make the occupiers feel unwelcome on Ukrainian soil.

On August 24, 2022 — Ukraine’s Independence Day — Oleksii and a fellow resident displayed a Ukrainian flag in the city. The next day, Russian forces captured them both. Oleksii was beaten in front of his wife and held captive for 59 days, during which he was tortured and sexually assaulted (CRSV — conflict-related sexual violence).

After being released, Oleksii started looking for his former cellmates. This effort evolved into the creation of the Alumni Network, which unites men who have survived captivity and torture. He now heads the Alumni NGO, which was established to support Ukrainians affected by russian aggression, including torture and CRSV. The organization provides legal and psychological aid and organizes retreats for its several hundred members, ranging in age from 20 to 76.

Journalists can speak with Oleksii in Kyiv, Kherson, or online by prior arrangement.

Background: russian forces occupied Kherson at the start of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. The Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city on November 11, 2022. However, it continues to endure regular shelling by russian forces.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Artem Yakovlev is both a serviceman and president of the Kherson regional club of traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu karate-do.

He signed a contract with the Defense Forces even before the full-scale invasion, inspired after one of his students enlisted. 

Artem first saw combat in Donetsk oblast. Meanwhile, his karate club became a shelter for locals during occupation. Among those hiding there were eight conscripts from the Skadovsk garrison. Artem’s wife convinced russian occupiers they were merely athletes.

After Kherson’s liberation in fall 2023, Artem resumed training. He now teaches 18 students, holding sessions twice weekly – though he always confirms availability, as military duty sometimes interrupts.

You can contact Artem Yakovlev online or in-person in Kherson by prior arrangement.

• children
• military
• occupation
• Kherson

In 2019, Yevheniia Virlych became the head of Kavun.City, a Kherson-based media outlet covering local news. She developed the platform, secured grant funding, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, launched a project to debunk myths about the disease and vaccination.

After russian forces occupied Kherson, the publication refused to shut down. Kavun.City reported on everything happening in the city, from russian raids to bread distribution for residents.

The occupiers hunted for Yevheniia, forcing her into hiding. She frequently changed locations and even dyed her hair. She stayed in occupied Kherson for four months before finally deciding to escape. Once in Kyiv, Yevheniia immediately looked for ways to revive Kavun.City. The team began working on projects exposing local government operations and documenting russian war crimes.

On June 17, 2025, Yevheniia’s apartment was damaged during a russian missile attack on the capital. The blast wave shattered her windows and wounded her with glass shards. She suffered a mild concussion. Currently, Yevheniia and her family are staying with friends. Despite everything, Kavun.City continues to operate, with correspondents still reporting from Kherson.

You can connect with Yevheniia Virlych online or in person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Kherson
• Kyiv

Svitlana Matsiuta is an artist from Kherson. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an assistant set designer in a theater.

She experienced the full-scale invasion in her hometown. During the occupation, Svitlana and her son avoided leaving home out of fear of russian soldiers. Despite financial hardship, she rejected all offers to work in the theater under russian control. In March 2022, reports began circulating in media and social networks claiming that wild geese had “downed” an enemy military plane. Inspired by this story, Svitlana created her own toy battle geese.

These toys symbolize Kherson’s unbreakable spirit and resistance. Svitlana says the battle geese are especially popular among Kherson residents who have relocated to other parts of Ukraine or abroad. She has received orders from the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.

In addition to geese, the artist makes roosters inspired by the folk art of Maria Prymachenko and Polina Raiko. Creating these toys helps Svitlana distract herself from the shelling and keeps her dream of victory and the liberation of the rest of the Kherson oblast alive.

Svitlana Matsiuta is available for interviews online or in person in Kherson, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• occupation
• women
• Kherson

Ukrainian activist Iryna Horobtsova is being transferred to women’s penal colony No.2 in the Yavas settlement of russia’s Republic of Mordovia. Yavas is located approximately 1,700 kilometers from Kherson, Horobtsova’s hometown. Her father, Volodymyr, says that the transfer is likely underway, with Iryna’s last letter dated June 10 originating from Ryazan.

According to her father, Iryna’s sentence has already taken effect, so the only remaining legal recourse is a petition for clemency.  

Iryna Horobtsova’s parents are available for interviews in Kherson or online, pending prior coordination.

Background: In August 2024, russia illegally sentenced Ukrainian citizen Iryna Horobtsova to 10 years and six months in prison. She was accused of “espionage”.

Horobtsova, a Kherson resident, worked for a Ukrainian IT company. After russian forces occupied Kherson in spring 2022, Horobtsova gained attention for social media posts documenting life under occupation, including photos with Ukrainian symbols. She dubbed her apartment a “home resistance headquarters”. On May 13, 2022, russians abducted her from her home and held her in a detention center in occupied Crimea, denying all external contact.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson

Is humanitarian mine action possible in winter? How do snow and freezing temperatures affect the painstaking work of removing deadly explosives? These are the questions many are asking as winter sets in.  

Deminers face extreme challenges in cold weather, but the work doesn’t stop when the first snow falls. Can mines be detected beneath a blanket of snow? How do teams stay warm during long hours in the field? And is it true that some even heat the frozen ground to continue clearing land?  

Journalists now have the chance to witness these operations firsthand. Media visits can be arranged to key regions where HALO Ukraine is actively working, including Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.  

For context: HALO Ukraine is part of The HALO Trust, the world’s largest non-governmental organization dedicated to humanitarian demining. Since russia’s full-scale invasion, they’ve cleared over 6 million square meters of land, ensuring safer ground for thousands of Ukrainians.

• Chernihiv
• Kharkiv
• Kherson
• Kyiv
• Mykolaiv
• demining

Oksana Pohomii, a dedicated volunteer and member of the Kherson City Council, remained steadfast in her commitment to her community during the relentless occupation by russian forces. Throughout this challenging period, she awaited the city’s liberation while providing crucial support to those in need, even managing to share videos documenting life under occupation. Oksana was present in Kherson during the catastrophic explosion of the Kakhovka HPP in June 2023.

As the head of the Kherson Solidarna Sprava Hromad NGO (Solidarity Cause of the Communities in Kherson), Oksana recently oversaw the establishment of the Kherson Ukrainian Cultural Center, named after Oleksandr Menshov, a renowned Ukrainian writer from Kherson who lost his life at the front last year. This center serves as a refuge and hosts various cultural events, welcoming participation from all members of the community.

Following the city’s liberation, Oksana’s organization launched a volunteer bakery, providing freshly baked bread for both local residents and military personnel. On the second anniversary of Kherson’s liberation, November 11, the bakery is set to celebrate a significant milestone: the production of its three hundred thousandth loaf of bread.

Journalists interested in learning more about Oksana’s inspiring efforts can engage with her in Kherson or connect online.

For context: Kherson fell under russian occupation on March 1, 2022, at the onset of the full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully liberated the city on November 11, 2022, but the threat remains, with regular shelling continuing to affect the area.

• culture
• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kherson