Themes by tag: Kyiv

A jiu-jitsu memorial tournament will be held in Kyiv on June 13, supported by the Forces Support Battalion and the Medical Service of the “Azov” Regiment, whose ranks included fighters who practiced the martial art.

The tournament is dedicated to the students of the Rocket jiu-jitsu school who lost their lives defending Ukraine. Through sport, competition, community, and mutual support, the participants and organizers aim to honor their memory.

Registration is required to attend the event.

• dead
• Kyiv

The research presentation “After Captivity: What Released Civilians Face” will take place in Kyiv on June 9.

The study was prepared by the Civil Society Protection Foundation “Civis Fortis” in cooperation with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation.

Finding housing, medical treatment, and restoring identity documents are just some of the challenges awaiting Ukrainian civilians upon their release from russian captivity. How do former hostages navigate this journey? Is there comprehensive state support available for them? What changes need to be implemented in the fields of medical, social, and legal assistance?

Speakers:

• Anastasiia Odintsova, Legal Analyst at Civis Fortis;
• Maxym Parashchevin, Expert at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation;
• Kostiantyn Davydenko, survivor of russian captivity;
• Olena Yahupova, survivor of russian captivity and forced labor;
• Tetiana Katrychenko, Head of the Media Initiative for Human Rights.

Media accreditation is required to attend.

• prisoners
• Kyiv

Five Ukrainian veterans with amputations and severe combat injuries will compete in the international Oceanman Lago d’Orta swimming event in Italy. On June 13 and 14, they will take on 2-kilometer and 5.5-kilometer open-water distances alongside participants from around the world, without a separate category or special conditions. An open-water training session will take place in Kyiv region on June 6.

The team’s preparation for the competition is led by Serhii Kostenko, founder and head coach of the K-TEAM Swimming Club and co-founder of the NGO Impossible Is Possible, which promotes adaptive and veteran sports in Ukraine. According to the coach, open-water swimming presents a completely different challenge from training in a pool.

The training program focuses on balance, stroke technique, breathing, navigation, and interaction with the water environment. In addition to physical preparation, psychological adaptation is a key component.

During training sessions, the veterans learn to work as a team, navigate using buoys, manage their energy, and cope with the stress factors typical of open-water competitions.

Journalists can attend and cover the open-water training session by prior arrangement.

Background: The IRON WARRIORS project is implemented by the YANKO Fund charitable foundation in partnership with IRON WARRIORS SPORT HUB and FlyPoint, which also serves as the project’s logistics partner.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

A charity event dedicated to Journalists’ Day, titled “Stop the Bleed. Start the Party,” will take place in Kyiv on June 6. The event is organized by former U.S. military medic and philanthropist David Plaster.

The organizer invites journalists and members of the public to attend. Media professionals will be offered a free first-aid training course, followed by a charity party.

Advance registration is required.

• culture
• Kyiv

The NGO Military LGBT+ is organizing a five-day intensive training program to help veterans acquire a new profession as tattoo artists. The course is being held as part of a grant-funded program. The NGO team, together with the Strum tattoo studio, will select nine participants for the training, which is scheduled to take place in June.

The course will cover not only tattooing techniques but also safety procedures, hygiene standards, equipment handling, sketch creation, linework and shading, and communication with clients. Participants will also practice on artificial skin. Following the completion of the course, a graduation charity event will be held, where newly trained artists will be able to tattoo guests in exchange for donations.

The training will be free of charge for veterans.

Media representatives can speak with the organizers and participants both online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• military
• Kyiv
• LGBT

A memorial event dedicated to the anniversary of the deaths of State Emergency Service of Ukraine personnel Pavlo Yezhor, Andrii Remennyi and Danylo Skadin will take place at the War Museum on June 7.

On June 6, 2025, russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukraine. At the time, it was one of the most extensive assaults of the full-scale war: the enemy deployed 407 drones of various types and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles. Kyiv and the Kyiv region, as well as the Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Volyn, Lviv and Ternopil regions, came under attack.

In the capital, up to 30 people were injured, including nine State Emergency Service employees. Three firefighters from Kyiv’s 18th State Fire and Rescue Unit, who were responding to the aftermath of the strikes, were killed when a russian drone carried out a secondary strike at 4:35 a.m.

Family members, friends and colleagues will remember Pavlo, Andrii and Danylo, who, despite the danger, were always among the first to come to the aid of others.

The discussion will be moderated by Hanna Lehkokonets, head of a museum sector department.

• dead
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Museum of the History of Kyiv will host the opening of the exhibition “Your Favorite Dish,” created by the Memorial Memory Platform. The exhibition features mothers of fallen Ukrainian servicemen and servicewomen preparing their children’s favorite meals and sharing memories of them. The opening will take place on June 6.

“Your Favorite Dish” is a quiet exhibition about memory, which often begins not with grand words but with simple things: the smell of pancakes, salad, fried potatoes, pies and other dishes once prepared at home by the mothers of Ukrainian defenders.

The exhibition will present the stories behind the favorite dishes of Andrii “Juice” Pilshchykov, Oleksandr “Hrian” Hrianyk, Ruslan “Varyah” Piskovyi, Valentyna “Romashka” Pushych, Leonid “Lys” Dolhov, Vitalii “Okhotnik” Chernukha, Ihor “Slon” Utiuzh, Yehor “Izzi” Lubashev, Vitalii “Khirurh” Kharchuk and Stepan Chubenko.

Mothers of the fallen heroes will take part in the opening event.

In the exhibition space, curated by Anastasiia Haidukevych-Kachuro, visitors will be able to view photographs, video stories and recipes connected to the featured heroes, as well as leave their own memories of a loved one and that person’s favorite dish.

Admission is free with prior registration.

Background: The exhibition was created by the Memorial Memory Platform in partnership with the Museum of the History of Kyiv and with the support of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine programme, funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Estonia, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.

• culture
• Kyiv

The project “OMEGA: IN THE SKY, ON THE GROUND, IN(ON) THE WATER” will open in Kyiv on June 5. The exhibition was created by the team of the War Museum in cooperation with the Omega Special Purpose Center.

Omega is an elite special unit of the National Guard of Ukraine whose servicemembers carry out missions in the field of national security and defense. The unit was established in 2003 as a separate special-purpose brigade within the Interior Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to address threats to the state’s internal security and counter terrorism.

Today, Omega consists of eight detachments united under the motto “The Last Word Is Ours.” As part of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, they are helping repel russia’s armed aggression. It is one of the most combat-capable formations in the country, continuously improving its training, tactics and technical capabilities. Highly trained and versatile personnel — snipers, sappers, drone operators, combat divers, assault troops and reconnaissance specialists — operate at the limits of human endurance. In the sky, on the ground and on the water — three domains in which Omega operates with equal confidence and professionalism, remaining equally elusive and dangerous to the enemy.

The exhibition presents the history of Omega’s development, its special operations and participation in the largest battles of the russian-Ukrainian war, as well as unique artifacts and personal stories.

Musical accompaniment for the event will be provided by Ukrainian performer Okhtyrchanka.

Journalists are required to register in advance to attend the event.

• culture
• Kyiv

Ivan Moisiienko, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor at the Department of Botany of Kherson State University, and board member of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, has conducted nine expeditions with fellow experts across the territory of the former Kakhovka Reservoir following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam by russian forces in 2023.

Researchers have documented protected plant species, including those listed in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species. A unique ecosystem of willow and poplar forests is rapidly developing on the former reservoir bed. This habitat type is protected across Europe under Resolution No. 4 of the Bern Convention.

Experts have also recorded unprecedented tree growth rates. Trees now reach an average height of more than five metres, with some exceeding seven metres. During the most recent expedition, scientists completed 47 geobotanical surveys.

Immediately after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, researchers identified only 11 plant species in the area. By autumn 2023, that number had risen to 69. Today, more than 350 species have been recorded.

Conservationists are proposing the creation of a biosphere reserve on the site.

By prior arrangement, journalists can interview Ivan Moisiienko either in the Kyiv region or online.

Background: On June 6, 2023, russian forces destroyed the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Ukraine’s Kherson region. According to the report Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment Following the Kakhovka Dam Disaster, prepared by the United Nations and the Ukrainian government, the disaster caused nearly $14 billion in damages to Ukraine.

• ecology
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On June 13, a peaceful rally titled “Civilians Are Waiting. The World Must Act” will be held in Kyiv. The NGO “Civilians in Captivity” is inviting international media, diplomats, and representatives of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend an event dedicated to Ukrainian civilians who have been held in captivity for more than five years without the possibility of exchange, access to normal life, or basic human rights.

The event highlights serious violations of international law by russia, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which guarantee the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Organizers are calling on world leaders, international organizations, and human rights institutions to take immediate action to secure the return of Ukrainian civilians.

Representatives of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as families of civilian hostages, are expected to attend.

• prisoners
• Kyiv