Themes by tag: Kyiv

Participants:

– Viktor Vitovetskyi, Director of the Department for Organization of Civil Protection Measures, State Emergency Service of Ukraine;

– Anastasiia Kuchynska, Head of the Psychological Service, State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Key topics:

– How to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning;

– Rules for using alternative power sources;

– Operation of heating points: Where to find them and what assistance is available;

– Psychological support during emergency heat and power outages.

• Kyiv

Amid relentless russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure and a biting winter chill, staff at Kyiv Zoo are going to extraordinary lengths to keep the animals from freezing — with special care reserved for Tony, the country’s only gorilla and one of Europe’s oldest.

Five times a day, keepers load wood into slow-burning Bullerjan stoves to maintain a steady 20°C (68°F) in the 51-year-old western lowland gorilla’s enclosure. The massive primate, who cannot tolerate the cold like his African origins demand, requires constant warmth to stay comfortable.

Generators also hum in the background, supplying backup power and heat across the facility. A wide range of other species depend on these efforts too: hippos, flamingos, capybaras, parrots, aquarium inhabitants, and numerous others from warmer climates all need protection from the outages and subzero temperatures.

Journalists can arrange visits in advance to observe and report on the zookeepers’ work firsthand.

For reference: Founded in 1907, Kyiv Zoo has served as a vital sanctuary since russia’s full-scale invasion began, taking in hundreds of animals evacuated from war zones across the country. The rescued creatures have received expert veterinary treatment and rehabilitation under the zoo’s care.

• animals
• blackout
• Kyiv

Participants:

– Hanna Bokova, Head of the Bakhmut Fortress NGO (online); 

– Oleksiy Orlovsky, Director of the Democracy and Good Governance Programme of the International Renaissance Foundation;

– Nataliia Chukova, Head of the Department for Interaction with Local Self-Government Bodies of the Donetsk Oblast State Administration; 

– Oleksandr Marchenko, Deputy Head of the Bakhmut City Military Administration.

Key topics:

– Ongoing housing challenges facing IDPs from Bakhmut;

– Findings from a recent study on potential solutions to meet the housing needs of Bakhmut’s internally displaced people;

– Expert dialogue with representatives from government authorities and local communities.

• Kyiv

russia’s share of the global GDP is only about 3.6%, yet it has been waging a war of attrition against Ukraine for over four years due in large part to systematic support from China, Iran, North Korea, and and a host of third countries. These nations fuel the russian war machine with weapons, ammunition, dual-use technologies and components, intelligence data, and sanctions evasion channels, while broadly sustaining the russian economy and providing diplomatic cover.

A new study by the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) titled “War network: The military-political accomplices of russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the West” explores the deepening cooperation among the “axis of authoritarianism” and its allies. While not yet a formal alliance or “friendship without limits”, this cooperation poses a real threat to Ukraine and the West. Each delay in providing Ukraine with aid gives this bloc more time to study, adapt, and increase the scale of the kinetic and hybrid/shadow warfare methods russia has tested, as well as its sanctions evasion and mass military production methods.

The presentation will discuss how cooperation among these challengers to the West has evolved (before 2014 and after 2022) and who could be Ukraine’s partners in countering authoritarian regimes.

Speakers:

• Olena Davlykanova, researcher and editor-in-chief of the study, Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO);
• Anton Hanotskyi, Asia-Pacific region expert, AdAstra Analytical Center (online);
• Hanna Hopko, former Ukrainian MP (8th convocation) and Chairwoman of the Board of the National Interest Advocacy Network;
• Andrii Teteruk, veteran and former commander of the Myrotvorets volunteer battalion; former member of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense;
• Viktoriia Vyshnevska, senior researcher, Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), expert in international partnerships and sanctions policy.

Moderator:

Yuliia Biehlietsova, communications specialist at NAKO

Location: Kyiv (with safety protocols observed).

The event will be held within the “Defense Talks” format with support from the Prague Civil Society Centre.

Media accreditation is required. The deadline to apply is 7 PM on January 28.

Background: NAKO (the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission) is a non-governmental organization that aims to minimize opportunities for corruption in Ukraine’s defense sector through in-depth research, effective advocacy, and raising public awareness. Following russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NAKO launched a project dedicated to monitoring and strengthening sanctions against russia’s defense industry.

• Kyiv

Saba Yamani was born in Saudi Arabia. Her father is Saudi, and her biological mother is Syrian. She first came to Ukraine at the age of three when her father married a Ukrainian woman, who became Saba’s real mother.

When Saba turned 16, her father wanted to take her back to Saudi Arabia to arrange a marriage for her. However, she defied him and refused to leave Ukraine.

In Kyiv, Saba was baptized in the Orthodox Church and came out as LGBTQ+. Currently, Saba does not have a Ukrainian passport; she only has an expired Saudi document. To resolve this issue, she applied to the State Migration Service of Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion. There, she was ordered to surrender the Ukrainian documents she had obtained and to leave the country within two weeks. Had she been deported to Saudi Arabia, Saba would have faced arrest and possible execution due to her tattoos, Christian faith, and LGBTQ+ identity. After appealing again to the SMS, Saba finally received a certificate confirming her application for protection.

Since the age of 15, Saba has helped her mother at a dental clinic. After high school, she attended medical university and started working part-time by the end of her first year. She currently works at a private dental clinic in Kyiv and plans to take the Ukrainian citizenship exam this May.

Saba Yamani is available for interviews online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• women
• Kyiv
• LGBT

A memorial march honoring Mikhail Zhiznevsky, a Belarusian who became one of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred during Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, and more than 80 Belarusian warriors killed in russia’s war against Ukraine is set for January 26 in the capital.

The annual event will retrace the route used in 2014 to accompany Zhiznevsky’s body after he was fatally shot by security forces on Instytutska Street during the Maidan protests.

The procession will begin at St. Michael’s Square.

• dead
• Kyiv

The B50 community, a grassroots volunteer network born in the opening days of russia’s full-scale invasion, has evolved from post-liberation cleanup efforts to producing critical military supplies for Ukrainian troops.

The group took its name from the code-name “B50,” the clandestine designation for a Territorial Defense Forces headquarters in Kyiv where its founders first connected in the chaotic early weeks of the war.

After Ukrainian forces pushed russian troops out of the Kyiv region, B50 volunteers were among the first on the ground in Bucha, Irpin, Vorzel, and Hostomel, helping clear rubble and debris from devastated areas.

In the war’s initial phase, the community concentrated on humanitarian work: traveling to recently deoccupied towns and villages around Kyiv to remove wreckage, repair shelters, and even brighten children’s bomb shelters with decorations.

As the conflict wore on, B50 redirected its efforts toward direct support for the armed forces. Today, volunteers repair specialized equipment before it’s delivered to frontline units, assemble batteries for drones, weave camouflage nets, and address a range of other urgent needs expressed by the Ukrainian military.

Those wishing to connect with the B50 team, whether online or in person in Kyiv, can do so by prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

Adaptive cross-country skiing training sessions for military veterans are taking place in the Ukrainian capital, led by Oleksii Prokopenko, head coach of Ukraine’s national cross-country skiing team for the 2025 Invictus Games and founder of the Endurance School.

The free year-round sessions, held in both summer and winter, make use of specialized adaptive ski gear, including chair for seated skiing along with tailored cross-country skis. These tools, part of established techniques for handicapped skiing, enable people with reduced mobility to participate fully in the sport.

Prokopenko has recently introduced adaptive ski touring, a hybrid of cross-country and downhill skiing, to the program. Veterans with amputations are among the participants training with this equipment.

Journalists wishing to cover the sessions can arrange access in Kyiv by prior appointment.

• culture
• Kyiv

Khrystyna Drahomaretska, a 28-year-old trained architect, has stepped away from her profession to rescue animals amid Ukraine’s war, where she works as a stray animal catcher and evacuates pets from active combat areas.

She carries on despite constant danger from enemy shelling. In Toretsk in the Donetsk region, three russian guided aerial bombs detonated near her. In Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, she sustained shrapnel wounds while rescuing animals as russian forces hammered the area with mortar fire.

Originally focused on sterilization missions, Khrystyna has spent the past year leading evacuation efforts, pulling abandoned and stray animals out of frontline zones and finding them foster or permanent homes.

She also founded a shelter in the Odesa region, where many of the evacuated animals are taken for treatment, socialization, and rehoming, about 70 percent eventually find adoptive families abroad. The facility currently houses around 250 dogs.

Journalists interested in learning more about her work or arranging an interview can reach out to speak with her online or in person in Odesa, Kyiv, or Kharkiv, by appointment.

For reference: Khrystyna Drahomaretska conducts her rescue operations in partnership with the 12 Vartovykh Charitable Foundation and Animal Rescue Kharkiv. She is also part of the UAnimals rescue mission.

• animals
• casualties
• women
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Odesa
• evacuation

On January 22, Unity Day, the Khartiia Patronage Service will open the photo exhibition “The Path to Healing”, dedicated to wounded soldiers, in cooperation with the Kyiv Khartiia Hub, the cultural space KultMotyv, and the Pryncyp Legal Aid Center for Military Personnel.

Event participants:

• Mariia Kobzaruk, Deputy Head of the Khartiia Patronage Service;
• Oksana Yavorska, lawyer at the Pryncyp Legal Aid Center for Military Personnel;
• Khartiia servicemembers;
• Alina Karban, Head of the Khartiia Hub in Kyiv.

The exhibition, which runs from January 22 to February 5, features eight portraits by Roman Pashkovskyi, a portrait photographer and Khartiia serviceman. Each photograph tells the story of soldiers’ courage and resilience at various stages of their journeys from injury through rehabilitation and back to service or civilian life. Each photograph is accompanied by the soldier’s recorded story, covering their motivation to serve, their injury, the challenges of treatment and rehabilitation, their dreams and plans, and the support and strength that help them overcome these challenges.

This photo project aims to highlight the dignity, strength, and invincibility of our defenders and to raise funds for the Khartiia Patronage Service.

Background: This initiative supports the Patronage Service of the 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The Patronage Service’s goal is to support soldiers in difficult situations, help them recover from injuries, assist their families, and honor fallen heroes.

• culture
• Kyiv