Themes by tag: Kyiv

On December 17, Kyiv will host the All-Ukrainian “Veterans Restart” Forum, dedicated to medical and psychological rehabilitation, social integration, employment, and developing veterans’ potential through sports and cross-sectoral cooperation.

The forum will bring together representatives from the Defense Forces, relevant ministries, state authorities, local governments, international organizations, diplomatic missions, businesses, and veteran communities. With over one million veterans, Ukraine recognizes the importance of facilitating their return to active social and economic life, making it one of the key state priorities.

The forum’s program includes four thematic blocks:

• Medicine and sports: Innovations in rehabilitation, post-operative support, mental health, and the role of sports in recovery;
• Family and support: Adaptation and resources for families and resilience during a service member’s return;
• Business and career: Developing veteran potential in companies and creating job opportunities;
• Sports and Inclusion: Accessible sports programs for veterans with diverse needs.

International participation is planned, featuring presentations of successful practices and a special address by Anatolii Yehorov, head of the Militari Sport Municipal Enterprise, on the model of municipal veteran rehabilitation through sports.

Information regarding the forum’s time and location will be communicated to participants separately, taking the security situation into account.

Accreditation for the event is required.

For reference: Organizer: Militari Sport Municipal Enterprise of the Kyiv City State Administration

• Kyiv

“Resilient Innovation: Ukrainian Startups Fighting Today” will be presented at Media Center Ukraine.

Participants:

– Łukasz Wawak, Project Manager of the Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge;

– Yana Hulak, Project Manager of the Ukrainian Startup Fund.

Key topics:

– Results of the research on the state of Ukraine’s innovation support ecosystem;

– How startups can contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and transformation across various sectors;

– Personal stories of entrepreneurs who continue working to support the economy despite today’s hardships and who will take part in rebuilding the country;

– Current needs of local authorities and institutions involved in regional development and recovery.

For reference: 91% of respondents state that they see clear growth potential for their own startup. One-third of the surveyed startups employ military veterans. Over 45% of respondents rate Ukraine’s current support ecosystem as medium-strong with positive prospects. These figures demonstrate the current state of Ukraine’s startup ecosystem and how Ukrainian startups are actively participating in sustaining and developing Ukraine’s economy. They also show how Ukrainian startups can contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and transformation across various sectors, such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and trade. Each respondent also shared advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and recommendations for international partners on providing effective development support.

• Kyiv

The briefing, “Barrier-Free Ukraine: Launch of a National Public Platform,” will take place at Media Center Ukraine.

Participants:

– Tetiana Lomakina, Advisor-Presidential Commissioner for a Barrier-Free Environment (in person);

– Vitalii Pcholkin, Executive Director of the Group for Active Rehabilitation NGO (in person);

– Alina Frolova, Founder of Centre for Strategic Communications StratCom Ukraine, Founder of the Invictus Games in Ukraine (in person);

– Daria Kukurika, Executive Director of the League of the Strong (in person);

– Yulia Sherstneva, Project Manager at the Center for Expert Solutions and Advocacy (in person);

– Representative of the NGO Fight for Rights (in person);

– Anastasia Boichuk, Strategic Lead of the TRUE – Trauma Rehabilitation for Ukraine, Patients of Ukraine Charitable Foundation (online).

Key topics:

– The signing of a memorandum establishing the Public Platform for the Support of a Barrier-Free Society in Ukraine;

– A discussion of the 2025–2026 Action Plan for implementing the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine through 2030;

– An examination of the public institutions’ role in veteran rehabilitation, equitable access to healthcare, inclusive physical infrastructure, and the legal protection of the rights of people with disabilities.

For reference: Against the backdrop of russia’s full-scale war, Ukraine is confronting an unprecedented social challenge. The number of people with disabilities has risen to 3.4 million, up from 2.8 million at the beginning of 2022. The creation of the Public Platform reflects a coordinated response by civil society leaders working in physical accessibility, veteran rehabilitation, health care, and legal advocacy to meet this urgent national need. The platform is designed to serve as a single, effective mechanism for shaping and overseeing systemic change – spanning veteran rehabilitation, including adaptive sports and psychosocial support, improved access to medical care, expanded physical accessibility, and stronger legal safeguards for the rights of people with disabilities.

• Kyiv

On December 13 and 14, the AdoptMe Days adoption festival, where animals from over 40 shelters will be looking for homes, will take place in Kyiv. This is the nineteenth event, and 2,047 cats and dogs have found their families since the festival began.

A five-month-old cat named Izium became the 2,000th animal to find its pet parents at AdoptMe Days. He was evacuated from the Pokrovsk sector. Izium waited for his people for over two months and found them in October when a family took him home directly from the festival.

Those not ready for adoption can become Secret Santas for shelter animals by participating in a fundraiser, the proceeds of which will be distributed among the shelters at the end of the festival.

• animals
• Kyiv

At 18, she has already endured what many adults never face. When russian forces seized Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region in 2022, she was just fourteen. Her family survived the first months of the occupation in the basement of their home – without electricity, gas, or heat.

This week, Liza boarded a plane for the first time and traveled to the Netherlands to address the 24th session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). She spoke about what it means to grow up under russian control and the toll the war continues to take on children in occupied areas.

“I am not standing here today to elicit sympathy,” she said in her remarks. “I am here to be heard, so that people know what is happening to children in the occupied territories right now.”

Liza now lives in Kyiv, where she is studying psychology and working to help support her mother and younger sister. Still, her thoughts often drift back to Oleshky. She dreams of her neighborhood almost every night. Specialists from the Voices of Children Foundation are working with her to help her process those memories and begin to heal.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Liza in Kyiv by prior request.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Media are invited to attend the presentation of the National Psychological Association’s Helpline activity results on December 11. The helpline has been operating for three and a half years and has become one of the key crisis support services during the full-scale war. The event will take place in Kyiv.

During the event, the NPA will present:

• Statistical data on the total number of inquiries over 3.5 years;
• Information on the types of inquiries and the most common issues raised by callers;
• Analysis of changes in demand during different periods of the war;
• The role of the helpline in supporting vulnerable population groups.

Participants:

• Valeriia Palii, Co-founder of the NPA Helpline, Vice President of the NPA, Academic Director of the Psychology program at KSE, practicing psychologist;
• Diana Shkarpitko, psychologist and trauma therapist at the NPA Helpline, facilitator of support groups for military families and training sessions for specialists;
• Svitlana Iliashenko, psychiatrist at the NPA Helpline with over 20 years of experience, child psychiatrist, member of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association and the International Association of Psychologists.

Journalists must register for the event.

• psychological support
• Kyiv

The project is aimed at military personnel in Kyiv for rotation or recovering from injuries. The project’s goal is to help servicemembers who have just returned from the front line recover psychologically and physically, relieve stress, improve their mood, and boost morale.

The methodology, developed by Hanna Buraho, a Gestalt therapist and the founder of the Spirit Rehabilitation Center, is based on interacting with animals (horses, dogs, and cats).

Group sessions in hippotherapy, canine therapy, and psychotherapy are conducted with groups of 12 military personnel. The sessions consist of several stages. First, participants gather in a circle and work with a psychotherapist. Then, they move to the stable where they get acquainted with the horses, groom them, and treat them with snacks under the supervision of a hippotherapist. Finally, they ride the horses and perform exercises with them.

Since its inception in the summer of 2022, the project has attracted approximately 5,000 participants.

Journalists may cover the Spirit Warrior project by prior arrangement.

• animals
• culture
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Vadym Shevchenko was living with his parents in Polohy, a city in the Zaporizhia region, when russian forces seized it in early March 2022. As explosions shook their neighborhood, the family sheltered in the basement of their home, hoping the fighting would pass.

Just two weeks later, on March 15, 2022, the 25-year-old and a neighbor attempted to flee the occupied city. According to the woman who was with him, armed men in uniforms of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic stopped their car at the final checkpoint and pulled Vadym out. His mother, Olena, believes his lifelong burn scars on his hands led the occupiers to mistakenly suspect he was a soldier.

He was first detained in Melitopol and later transferred to facilities in Donetsk and Olenivka. Today, he is being held in a penal colony in Mordovia, russia. Olena sends letters through the International Committee of the Red Cross and has received two replies from her son. 

She has also learned that he has lost about 30 kilograms during his imprisonment.

Determined to help others facing hardship, Olena now volunteers with the charity “World. Ukraine. Polohy,” supporting families in frontline communities with food assistance.

Interviews with Olena can be arranged in Zaporizhia, in Kyiv, or remotely.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Zaporizhzhia

Johan, a former Danish service member with experience in international missions, aviation, and medical work, first arrived in Ukraine five years ago and launched an ambulance initiative aimed at raising care standards and strengthening community response, a project put on hold when russia’s full-scale invasion broke out. He soon joined the Hospitallers medical battalion, where he continues to assist on the front line. 

A documentary following Johan’s work in Ukraine is set to premiere next spring on a Danish TV channel. 

Interviews with Johan in Kyiv are available by prior appointment. 

For reference: The Hospitallers’ medical battalion has been operating on the front lines since 2014. Its teams conduct dozens of evacuations each day across wide stretches of the battlefield. Since 2015, the organization has trained volunteers in tactical medicine and later expanded into pre-medical care courses in 2018. Its instructors hold certifications from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy, and other recognized institutions.

• doctors
• Kyiv

Prolonged blackouts have become an everyday reality for residents of frontline areas. That is why it is now especially crucial to have autonomous power sources that enable staying connected and operating vital devices, such as oxygen concentrators or anti-decubitus mattresses. Fight For Right helps people with disabilities obtain autonomous power sources. The organization constantly seeks resources to provide as many people as possible with essential equipment.

Journalists may arrange to speak with Fight For Right representatives in Kyiv and, if possible, individuals seeking alternative power sources.

Background: Fight For Right advocates for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the organization has opened a hotline: 0 800 30 66 33. The organization is involved in evacuating people with disabilities and provides targeted aid, psychological support, and legal consultations.

• blackout
• Kyiv