Themes by tag: Kyiv

The “Come Back Alive” Center for Initiatives invites journalists to cover Ukraine’s second national sitting volleyball championship. The event will feature two days of competitions and a variety of festival activities. The final matches between the top teams are scheduled for July 6.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to attend educational lectures on adaptive sports and veteran rehabilitation after injury. Organizers will give visitors the opportunity to try various adaptive sports, such as archery, table tennis, golf, rowing machines, and wakeboarding.

Prior registration is mandatory for all attendees.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

Anna Kosykh, a native of Dnipro now living in the Kyiv oblast, has been passionate about Petrykivka decorative painting since childhood. After earning a degree in education, she began teaching children this traditional Ukrainian art form.

When the full-scale invasion began, Anna chose to stay in Ukraine. Though her art school closed, leaving her unemployed, she soon found a new purpose: transforming spent ammunition casings into works of art that volunteers could sell at auctions.

Anna’s first “canvas” was a used Javelin missile tube, and one of her latest pieces was a transport tube from a Javelin missile. She paints anything sent to her from the frontlines. Anna auctions off the finished pieces and donates the proceeds to support the Ukrainian army.

Journalists can connect with Anna Kosykh online or meet her in Irpin by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

Originally from the Luhansk oblast, Eduard and Maryna Bykov met as students, got married, and later moved to Kyiv, where they had two daughters.

On February 24, 2022, Eduard woke Maryna with the news that war had begun. He decided to join the military and insisted that his wife and daughters evacuate abroad, where they lived for over two years.

On April 17, 2024, near Chasiv Yar, Eduard was severely wounded when a russian guided aerial bomb struck near their position. A phone call from Maryna likely saved his life – he stepped outside to talk while those who remained inside did not survive.

Eduard spent 15 days in a coma and lost an arm and a leg. Doctors are still trying to restore his sight. He faces multiple surgeries, prolonged rehabilitation, and prosthetic adaptation. Throughout this ordeal, Maryna has been his pillar of strength, supporting him every step of the way.

The Bykov family is available for online or offline meetings in Kyiv or Lviv by prior arrangement.

• military
• Kyiv

Kyiv will host the third annual Protasiv Yar Festival from July 4 to 6, bringing together civic, cultural, and artistic communities in a three-day program of educational panels, live music, and public initiatives.

The festival is dedicated to the memory of Roman Ratushnyi, a prominent civic activist and soldier, whose life and work have become symbols of resistance and community solidarity. The event also aims to spotlight contemporary and traditional Ukrainian art, human rights, civic engagement, and the country’s historical legacy.

This year’s festival will include a special tribute to Roman’s brother, Vasyl Ratushnyi, who was killed in action in February 2025.

For reference: Roman Ratushnyi rose to national prominence as a grassroots organizer, leading efforts to protect Kyiv’s historic green zone in the Protasiv Yar area. He later joined the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar” as an intelligence officer and was killed in combat on June 8, 2022.

• culture
• Kyiv

Reconstruction has begun on a building at Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, nearly a year after it was hit in a russian missile strike that killed three people and wounded dozens more.

On June 6, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital signed agreements to begin restoration work on its medical and diagnostic building, which was damaged in the July 2024 attack. The project, including construction and technical oversight, is expected to cost 295 million hryvnias (about USD 7.2 million) and will be funded by the Okhmatdyt – Healthy Childhood Foundation.

For reference: On July 8, 2024, a russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck the hospital while 627 children were inside. A doctor and a patient’s relative were killed at the scene, and 35 others were injured, including nine children. Two days later, a critically injured boy who had been in intensive care died in a Kyiv hospital. Five hospital buildings were destroyed or damaged in the strike, and medical equipment worth an estimated 338 million hryvnias was lost.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On June 27, the Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing “The Middle East and the great game – How global conflicts are reshaping the war in Ukraine“.

Participants:

– Vadym Denysenko, head of the Dilova Stolytsia  (Business Capital) analytical center.

Key topics:

– Uranium, arms, and oil: How is the crisis in the Middle East influencing the trajectory of the russia-Ukraine war?

– Washington-Moscow dynamics: Will U.S.-russia relations shift following strikes on Iran?

– Diplomatic alignments: As the U.S. leads a complex international coalition involving the EU, NATO, and China, where does Ukraine stand?

– Defense support: Can Ukraine count on long-term backing from the American military-industrial complex?

• Kyiv

YOUkraine Hub is a support space for military personnel released from captivity, initiated by former prisoners of war themselves. It hosts meetings and peer-to-peer support sessions built on trust and mutual understanding. The goal is to create a safe environment and assist our Heroes in adapting to civilian life.

The hub provides free services, including medical, legal, social, and psychological support, as well as organizing off-site events.

YOUkraine Hub invites foreign media to collaborate in order to draw the international community’s attention to the severe physical and psychological consequences of captivity, and the need for systemic support for soldiers who have already been liberated. The hub also aims to raise global awareness of the ongoing situation and help free those still held captive.

Journalists can arrange to speak with hub representatives in Kyiv and, when possible, with defenders who have returned from captivity.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

A pre-premiere screening of the documentary People of Freedom’s Color will take place on June 30 in Kyiv, followed by a discussion.

The film chronicles the non-violent resistance of Ukrainians living under russian occupation, tracing events from 2014 to the present day. It highlights the personal stories of those who stood their ground in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Novoazovsk, Melitopol, and Kherson.

The documentary features accounts from participants in the Yellow Ribbon and Zla Mavka grassroots movements, as well as testimonies from individuals still living in occupied cities who continue to resist. Despite the risks, they paint Ukrainian flags, hang yellow and blue ribbons, distribute posters with national symbols, uphold cultural traditions, and teach others the Ukrainian language.

Following the screening, a discussion will be held with members of the creative team, individuals featured in the film, human rights advocates, and representatives of government institutions and civil society organizations.

Pre-registration is required to attend.

For reference: People of Freedom’s Color was produced by the creative team at The Locals (Tuteshni) NGO, with support from Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and the International Renaissance Foundation.

• culture
• occupation
• Kyiv

Born in Mariupol, 22-year-old Illia Iliashenko graduated from a nautical lyceum and enlisted in the 23rd Marine Guard Detachment of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. From the earliest days of russia’s full-scale invasion, Illia and his comrades worked to repel enemy forces from the sea.

When his ship docked in Mariupol and the commander called for volunteers to reinforce ground positions, Illia stepped forward. He transitioned from a naval gunner to a machine gunner on land. Later, he was ordered to move to Azovstal in what became a special operation, his unit was already encircled. Illia recalls enduring “hell” on the way to the steel plant.

In May 2022, alongside other defenders of Azovstal, he was captured by russian forces after the Ukrainian military command ordered a surrender. Initially, he was held in the notorious Olenivka prison in the occupied Donetsk region and later transferred to Taganrog, russia. It was there that Illia “celebrated” his birthday, in captivity.

He spent 10 months as a prisoner of war. Illia only realized he was being exchanged when he heard Ukrainian spoken on the bus transporting him. The date was February 16, 2023.

After his release, he underwent rehabilitation and began writing a book about the defense of Mariupol. Due to health reasons, Illia was discharged from military service. He now works at the YOUkraine Hub, a support center for former POWs, where he helps fellow soldiers navigate their recovery.

Illia Iliashenko is based in Kyiv and available for interviews, online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

On June 22, Kyiv will host the “Match for Heroes 2.0” charity amputee football tournament. The event will bring together veterans, Ukrainian celebrities, and business leaders to raise awareness for adaptive sports development in Ukraine and support fundraising for the Ukrainian Football Association’s “Liga Duzhykh” (League of the Strong) social project, which helps military amputees reintegrate into active life.

This year’s event will be held in the format of a tournament according to amputee football (football on crutches) rules. Four teams will compete in two semifinals, a third-place match, and a final. Each match will consist of two 20-minute halves with a 10-minute halftime break.

Over 50 amputee football players from across Ukraine will take to the field for the tournament. Ukrainian celebrities will join as goalkeepers, including Yevhen Klopotenko, Oleksandr Sydorenko (Fozzy), and others. According to amputee football rules, the goalkeeper can only play with one arm, so the other will be secured under a special corset to maintain fair play conditions.

Background: The event is co-organized by Mastercard and Oschadbank in partnership with the Ukrainian Football Association. “Match for Heroes 2.0” builds on last year’s successful initiative where amputee veterans on prosthetics first played alongside Ukrainian stars. That inaugural event raised 7.7 million UAH for sports prosthetics at Superhumans Center.

• culture
• Kyiv