Themes by tag: Kyiv
On March 13, an event dedicated to Ukrainian Volunteer Day, which Ukraine celebrates on March 14, will take place in Kyiv. This holiday honors the courage and self-sacrifice of those who consciously stood up to defend their country in the most difficult times. The date was not chosen at random: on this day in 2014, the first 500 volunteers left Independence Square for a training base in Novi Petrivtsi to form the first volunteer battalion. They were not professional soldiers, but they had a common desire — to defend their homeland.
During the meeting, they will talk about the mood and motivation of those who took up arms in 2014 and those who joined the defense of the country in 2022 from the very first days. They will try to understand what motivated people to make this decision then and what supports them today. They will discuss the challenges veterans face after returning to civilian life. Special attention will be paid to the issues of veteran employment and the role of the state and society in shaping a culture of support for people with military experience. They will also talk about the lives of families after the loss of a son or daughter — about memory, pain, and the need for sensitivity and solidarity.
Participants:
Dmytro Kraslyansky — combatant in eastern Ukraine, veteran, founder of the veteran business “Barbecue BBQ`72”;
Marianna Kuzmenko — mother of the deceased volunteer Daniel Kovalchuk “Francuz”;
Serhiy Mokrenyuk — veteran, community activist, representative of the Regional Council of Ukrainians of Crimea, deputy director for development of a Ukrainian UAV manufacturer,
Anastasia Rozlutska — head of the Nazustrich project at Work.ua, expert on veteran employment, head of the Ukrainian World NGO.
Advance registration is required.
For reference: In response to russian aggression in 2014, the volunteer movement quickly gained mass popularity. With the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, territorial battalions began to form, and under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, volunteer units of the National Guard and special police forces were created. In addition, independent volunteer battalions appeared, which became the country’s shield in the first months of the war. Thanks to their dedication, it was possible to gain time for mobilization and save Ukrainian statehood.
In 2014-2015, nearly 40 volunteer battalions took part in combat operations in eastern Ukraine. Subsequently, most of them became units of the security forces, and many volunteers pursued military careers and became experienced commanders.
The volunteer movement was revived with renewed vigor after russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. From the very first hours of the war, thousands of Ukrainians joined the ranks of the Armed Forces, territorial defense, and volunteer formations. Many returned from abroad to defend their homeland.
On March 12, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II will host an event to commemorate Benjamin Asher, a volunteer of Hungarian and Jewish descent who fought and died for Ukraine.
Benjamin was born on May 10, 2004, in Budapest, Hungary. In 2019, he moved with his father to Toronto, Canada, and became a permanent resident of that country.
In 2021, he signed a contract with the Hungarian Armed Forces, where he rose to the rank of sergeant. In March 2023, despite being diagnosed with “high-functioning autism” and serving in the military in another country, he went to Ukraine, where he joined one of the units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In January 2025, he transferred to the Third Army Corps, where he joined the logistics unit of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 3rd OSBr, while also serving as a combat medic and rifleman.
Benjamin quickly made friends and brothers-in-arms in both units where he served. For his silence and concentration, he was given the nickname “Nemo.” He took part in battles in the Donetsk and Kharkiv directions.
He was killed on May 24, 2025, in the Kharkiv direction as a result of an enemy drone attack while helping another wounded foreign volunteer.
Benjamin was buried on November 27, 2025, at the National Military Memorial Cemetery (village of Markhalivka) with full military honors in the presence of representatives of the Hungarian and Jewish communities of Ukraine. The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Reuven Asman, led a prayer over his coffin together with the military chaplain.
Benjamin Asher was posthumously awarded the Iron Cross by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the Order of Courage, 3rd degree. On February 25, 2026, in the hall of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Toronto), Benjamin was also awarded the “For Self-Sacrifice” medal.
Benjamin’s father, Nathan Asher, will be present at the memorial event.
Nazarі Krasovsky signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier encountered a full-scale invasion in Mariupol, defended Azovstal, and, together with his comrades, carried out the command’s order and surrendered in May 2022.
Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep himself going, the soldier wrote poems, scratched lines on a bar of soap, and when the opportunity arose, transferred the texts to scraps of paper. The man was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.
Since then, Nazarі has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center in Lviv. The soldier has a serious spinal injury, which he sustained while in captivity. The soldier said that he had long wanted to sing with Khristina Soloviy. During a gala evening organized by the rehabilitation center, Nazarі managed to fulfill this dream. On stage, they performed the song “Who, if not you?”, and the audience gave them a standing ovation.
You can speak with Nazari Krasovskyi both online and in person in Lviv or Kyiv by prior arrangement.
The NGO “Civilians in Captivity” invites the public to a peaceful action titled “We Are Not Waiting for Flowers — We Are Waiting for Our Own,” dedicated to supporting Ukrainian civilians who remain in captivity. The event will take place on March 7 in Kyiv.
The program includes speeches by government officials and civil society representatives, performances, a minute of silence, statistics on civilian detainees, and calls to action.
The purpose of the event is to draw public and governmental attention to the tragedy of civilian captivity and to demand urgent measures for the return of unlawfully detained Ukrainians.
Yuriy Shapovalov is 61 years old. He is a neurophysiologist from Donetsk with 30 years of experience. He was also the head of a local cactus club and had a large collection of these plants.
After the russian occupation began in 2014, Yuriy did not leave the city and, under the pseudonym “Zalyshenets Donetskyi,” reported on Twitter about how Donetsk was changing. In January 2018, when he was returning home from work, he was detained by security forces of the so-called “Ministry of State Security of the DPR.” Yuriy was accused of “spying” for Ukraine and ‘sentenced’ to 13 years in prison.
In particular, he spent 100 days in the “Izolyatsia” prison in occupied Donetsk, where he was beaten, intimidated, and tortured.
In total, he spent 7 years, 7 months, and 3 days in enemy captivity and was released on August 14, 2025, during a prisoner exchange.
By prior arrangement, journalists can talk to Yuriy in Kyiv.
On March 6, the exhibition project “Cultural Suitcase” opens at Kyiv’s Central Railway Station, offering visitors a chance to explore Ukrainian culture through personal belongings, archives, and stories of prominent Ukrainian figures.
The project is a way to preserve memory, identity, and meaning amid the constant movement the country is experiencing during the war. It also brings remarkable artifacts of the past out of archives — stories worth sharing with the world and remembering ourselves.
Forced displacement — abroad, to the front line, or back home — has become part of a shared experience. “Cultural Suitcase” speaks directly to this state of being on the road: to people in transit, to each and every individual. In motion, culture becomes a way to maintain a connection to one’s roots, to the country, to what cannot be left behind. At the same time, the exhibition engages with archives — presenting extraordinary artifacts from the past that are returning to the public space.
Among the artifacts gathered by the project team are the travel bag of composer Stanislav Liudkevych, original song lyrics by Andriy Kuzmenko (Kuzma), notebooks containing well-known poems by Serhiy Zhadan, and the 1936 score of “Carol of the Bells” by Mykola Leontovych. Visitors will also see the original facade design sketch of Kyiv’s railway station by architect Oleksandr Verbytskyi — an important cultural and transportation symbol of the capital.
Through these and other objects, the exhibition tells the story of literature, music, cinema, architecture, and art as a living experience that shapes the world’s perception of Ukraine. The project also has an educational dimension: independent experts contributed to its creation, shedding light both on the stories of individual artifacts and on broader phenomena within Ukrainian culture.
The exhibition invites every visitor to remember at least one story about Ukraine — and to pass it on.
Background: The project is implemented by Bolt Ukraine in cooperation with Port of Culture, in partnership with Visa, Ukrainian Railways, and Ajax Systems.
On March 8, the Center for Civil Liberties will join the Women’s Rights March in Kyiv.
“We stand up for women who are currently serving on the front lines and fighting alongside men. Female military personnel must be provided with everything necessary for service and safety, have equal access to positions and opportunities, and be protected from discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence.
We stand up for women—military and civilian—who are in russian captivity. For those who are tortured, raped, starved, kept in complete isolation—without communication, without information, without the right to a voice,” say representatives of the Women’s March.
Violence against women in this war is a weapon that russia deliberately uses to humiliate, intimidate, destroy human dignity, and silence.
That is why the Center for Civil Liberties is marching with the following demands:
- to take immediate and systematic action to return women from russian captivity;
- to increase international pressure on the aggressor state;
- to provide full support for those who have returned — psychological, medical, social, and legal.
Women should not disappear behind prison walls, in statistics, or in public silence. Our task is to talk about them and together demand justice.
A separate set of demands of the March concerns legislative changes. These are drafts of the new Civil Code, which contain provisions that could narrow women’s rights and contradict the principle of equality.
Nadiya Zharkikh is a coffee art teacher. She moved to Kherson with her family from Mykolaiv. This happened two months before the start of the full-scale russian invasion. Nadiya wanted to open a barista school in the city. The official opening was scheduled for February 26, 2022, but the war changed everything.
When Kherson was occupied by russia, Nadiya started working at her friend’s coffee shop and volunteered, in particular, preparing food. When threats from the occupiers began to pour in, she decided to flee. She had to pass through 70 checkpoints. From Zaporizhzhia, she went to Kyiv, where she started all over again. On August 7, 2023, on the anniversary of her departure from the occupation, she was able to open a coffee shop near Kyiv with the help of a state grant.
Today, the Navzayem coffee shop continues to operate and develop, despite all the challenges of full-scale war. As a result of the russian attack on September 28, 2025, the windows of the establishment were blown out. The coffee shop team supported the residents by treating the people who had suffered. They also provided a place to stay overnight. During power outages, the establishment operates with the help of a generator.
In general, Navzayem operates in several areas:
- as a coffee shop that supports the local community;
- as a barista school — teaching adults and children the art of coffee and the basics of entrepreneurship;
- as a social support space for IDPs, military families, children, and people in need;
- as a platform for master classes in the Kyiv region (including mobile ones), in cooperation with inclusive branches, schools, orphanages, and community initiatives.
On March 9, the coffee shop will host a master class called “Little Barista” for children with special educational needs.
In addition, Nadiya and her close circle have created a charitable foundation in Mykolaiv called “Welcome to Ukraine,” which supports military personnel and civilians. It currently operates throughout Ukraine. In particular, it helps with the reconstruction of damaged and destroyed housing.
By prior arrangement, journalists can talk to Nadiya in the Kyiv region.
For reference: On the night of September 28, 2025, russia launched a massive strike on the Kyiv region (three dozen victims) and Kyiv (four people were killed, including a child. More than 10 people were injured. One woman also died of stress in a shelter).
The russians occupied Kherson 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.
The Academy of Care, in partnership with Daria Gerasymchuk, the President of Ukraine’s Advisor on Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, presents the fifth interactive Care Lesson for elementary school and preschool students. The theme for February is “I am NOT perfect!” — dedicated to accepting mistakes as superpowers and forming a healthy self-esteem in children. (Journalists are invited to an open Lesson of Care with the artist, which will take place on March 5 in Kyiv).
In wartime, children often experience excessive pressure and fear of failure, which increases anxiety. The lesson aims to shift the focus: to teach children to separate their value from the result and to perceive mistakes not as a reason for shame, but as an important cue for growth.
The plot centers on children’s favorite character Pascal the Cat and a new heroine, Milka-Pomilka from the city of Khalepyansk. Together, they will prove that even the most resounding failure can be the beginning of an amazing experience.
What awaits participants:
- Watching the cartoon “Pascal and Milka-Pomilka”: a story about how the main character was ashamed of his mistake until he realized that it came to his aid.
- Crossword presentation “The Benefits of Mistakes”: an exercise that transforms negative associations (fear, shame) into positive assets: experience, knowledge, and creativity.
- Exercise “Normal or Weird”: a quick game where children learn to distinguish between a healthy reaction to a mistake and self-flagellation.
- Game “Harmful Poems”: practical training in “the ability to make mistakes,” where children and the teacher deliberately make funny mistakes in rhymes to relieve tension and fear of failure.
- Failure celebration: a final exercise where students and the teacher share their mistakes, and the whole class supports them with the exclamation “That’s cool!”.
For reference: The initiative is implemented by the NGO “Opportunities. Motivation. Media.” (Academy of Care) in cooperation with MaPanda and in partnership with Daria Gerasymchuk, Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, as part of the project “Gender Sensitive Approaches to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Ukraine,” which is being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with funding from the German government.
The Defense Procurement Agency DOT is launching the “Preparing for Battle” project, which will compile a collection of recipes for the military. The recipes can be prepared regardless of kitchen equipment and the level of training of the cooks.
The social project CultFood, led by chef and restaurateur Yevhen Klopotenko, has joined the initiative. As noted by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, CultFood helps to collect the best recipes, create technology cards, and adapt them to different cooking conditions. This is a volunteer initiative that CultFood carries out free of charge.
According to Yevhen Klopotenko himself, this initiative was born out of a real request from the military. Delicious food depends not only on the availability of quality products. It also depends on the conditions, equipment, and experience of the people who prepare it. The military themselves often say that many units lack professional chefs, so without the appropriate knowledge and skills, it is difficult to maintain a stable and balanced diet.
The collection will be adapted to the real conditions of service — both in the field and in stationary locations. It will contain simple recipes with calorie counts, divided by meal times, and clear instructions that do not require professional training or additional resources.
By prior arrangement, journalists will have the opportunity to talk to Yevhen Klopotenko in Kyiv.
For reference: CultFood is a social project aimed at improving food culture in Ukraine. The initiative brings together experts from various fields to act as effectively and comprehensively as possible and create practical solutions that really work.
