Themes by tag: Kyiv

The theme of the event is: “Ukraine 2035 — A Country Where People Want to Live.”

The discussions will focus on the draft National Human Rights Strategy through 2035, Ukraine’s European integration, and the future of human rights in Ukraine during and after the war.

The event will take place in Kyiv on May 27–28. The location will be disclosed to registered participants. The format is offline only.

Over the course of two days, participants will discuss:

— human rights as part of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations;

— restrictions on human rights during wartime;

— the National Human Rights Strategy through 2035;

— civil law reform;

— freedom of peaceful assembly during wartime;

— personal data protection;

— the rights of foreigners, migrants, and refugees.

Participants will also discuss whether Ukrainian legislation meets EU standards, how to reconcile the logic of war with democratic principles, and what reforms Ukraine is realistically expected to implement on its path toward EU membership.

Journalists must obtain accreditation to attend the event.

• Kyiv

A public event titled “To Lay Down One’s Life for One’s Friends” will take place at the War Museum in Kyiv on May 24 in memory of Ukrainian defenders Liubomyr Sochenko and Anton Balanchuk.

Brothers-in-arms Sgt. Liubomyr Sochenko and Pvt. Anton Balanchuk served as part of a strike drone crew operating Vampire unmanned aerial systems within the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. While carrying out combat missions in the Zaporizhzhia direction, they destroyed enemy assault groups, military equipment, and fortifications. The soldiers continued combat operations even after sustaining injuries.

During their service, the crew destroyed more than 20 armored and military vehicles, eliminated 72 russian troops, and disabled or destroyed nearly 500 enemy fortifications.

Liubomyr Sochenko and Anton Balanchuk were killed on Sept. 16, 2025, near the village of Novodanylivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast as a result of an enemy drone strike.

The event will focus on the defenders’ personal stories, memories shared by their relatives, and discussions on remembrance as a way of preserving human lives in national history.

As part of the event, Marina Sochenko — an artist, volunteer, and mother of Liubomyr Sochenko — and Yuliia Balanchuk, Anton Balanchuk’s wife, will speak with attendees. The families will also donate personal belongings and archival materials of the fallen defenders to the War Museum’s collection.

The event will feature photo and video materials, as well as paintings by Marina Sochenko related to the war.

The discussion will be moderated by Liubov Krupnyk, senior research fellow at the War Museum

• dead
• military
• Kyiv

The presentation of the project “Made in russia. Delivered Into Captivity” will take place in Kyiv on May 22 with the participation of Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

The project was developed by the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders in cooperation with the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Registration is required to attend the event. The venue will be disclosed to accredited journalists.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Luhansk Regional Museum of Local History, together with the NGO “KLIO HUB,” will present the results of the “Museum in an Emergency Suitcase” project.

“Museum in an Emergency Suitcase” is part of a large international initiative continuing the cooperation launched in 2023 within the exhibition project “Renaître dans la guerre. Louhansk. Un musée déplacé. | Revival in the Times of War. Luhansk. A Displaced Museum. | Revival During the Time of War. Luhansk. A Displaced Museum,” created in partnership between the Luhansk Museum, Geneva Heritage Lab (University of Geneva), and the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

The project continues the international dialogue between Ukraine and Switzerland on preserving cultural heritage during wartime, strengthening cultural diplomacy and partnerships between European institutions.

The final event of the “Museum in an Emergency Suitcase” project will summarize the museum team’s long-term work dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Luhansk region, rethinking museum work during wartime, and searching for new ways to engage with memory, local identity, and community. The event will feature exhibition and digital projects created as an attempt to document the experience of loss, displacement, and cultural continuity.

The central part of the event will be the exhibition “Museum in an Emergency Suitcase,” which tells the story of the museum from its founding to the present day. The exhibition highlights the institution’s path through two relocations, the loss of museum premises, evacuation of collections, and the resumption of its work during the full-scale war. Special attention is paid to the museum staff — people who continue preserving the cultural heritage of the Luhansk region despite constant danger, forced displacement, and uncertainty. The exhibition raises the issue of the vulnerability of researchers and cultural workers during war, when along with threats to life comes the risk of losing memory, archives, collections, and entire cultural layers.

Background: Organizers and partners include the Luhansk Regional Museum of Local History; NGO “KLIO HUB”; the State Polytechnic Museum of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute; the Center for Culture and Arts of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute; and the Sloviansk Museum of Local History. The project was created with the support of Switzerland.

• culture
• Kyiv

On May 21, a closed meeting for member companies of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC) will take place in Kyiv, focusing on the long-term employment of veterans with amputations.

The discussion will address a question increasingly relevant for Ukrainian businesses: what happens after a veteran receives a prosthetic limb and returns to work.

The organizers aim to highlight that employment for a person with limb loss is not the final stage of recovery.

For many former military personnel, it marks the beginning of a new phase of life involving physical and psychological adaptation, changes in functionality, prosthetic adjustments, and ongoing medical consultations.

Participants of the event will include:
• CEOs and business executives
• HR directors
• CSR / ESG managers
• Diversity & Inclusion leaders
• Companies that already employ veterans or are planning to do so

MCOP Ukraine will share not only its clinical expertise in prosthetics and rehabilitation based on American standards, but also practical experience integrating former military personnel with limb loss into its own team.

Special attention will be paid to how Ukrainian businesses can adapt workplace processes and corporate culture to a new reality in which the number of veterans with amputations continues to grow.

The event format includes a moderated panel discussion and a closed Q&A session with business representatives.

Journalists must register in advance to attend the event. The exact location will be shared with registered participants.

• Kyiv

The goal of the event is to remind society about those who remain in russian captivity and to support the families of prisoners of war.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

To mark Vyshyvanka Day, a special blood donation event combining Ukrainian tradition, care, and a real opportunity to save lives will take place in Kyiv. On May 21, the mobile blood donation hub “Teplokrovni” will stop near the Ivan Honchar National Center of Folk Culture.

Symbolically, the donation event will take place on the holiday itself. One of the main symbols of Ukrainian embroidery is the Tree of Life — a sign of continuity, the connection between generations, and strength passed on to descendants. This connection is also reflected in blood donation: when one person shares their blood, they give another person a chance to continue living.

“Teplokrovni” is a 13-meter double-decker bus converted into a modern mobile donation center. During the operation of the “Teplokrovni” mobile hub, more than 1,000 liters of blood have already been collected, helping save thousands of wounded military personnel and civilians.

What visitors to the “Teplokrovni” hub can expect on May 21:

1st floor — an interactive exhibition about blood and its life-giving power. Free admission;
2nd floor — a comfortable and safe donation area staffed by a professional medical team.

Participation in the donation requires prior registration.

• culture
• Kyiv

A petition regarding the draft Civil Code of Ukraine gathered the required 25,000 signatures in a record 13 hours. This demonstrates Ukrainians’ attitude toward lawmakers’ attempts to excessively regulate private life and human rights through a return to soviet-style patriarchal norms and other archaic terminology.

In particular, a coalition of civil society organizations prepared 95 pages of amendments to the draft new Civil Code, which contains systemic risks to fundamental rights and freedoms. The amendments address, among other things, legal uncertainty caused by vague terminology, expanded judicial discretion, threats to freedom of expression and access to information, restrictions on privacy rights and the media sphere, narrowing of rights in guardianship and custody matters, risks to family and reproductive rights, as well as potential threats to public property, state registers, and a radical revision of the foundations of civil law. These amendments were prepared by professional lawyers specializing in various branches of law.

During the press conference, participants will provide a detailed analysis of the submitted amendments, explain through which lawmakers they were introduced, and why these changes go far beyond a narrow circle of interested individuals and concern every citizen. The discussion will also focus on further steps and possible scenarios, from optimistic to the most risky.

The event will take place in Kyiv on May 20.

Speakers:

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of Parliament of Ukraine;
Oksana Romaniuk, Head of the NGO “Institute of Mass Information”;
Tetiana Ostrikova-Chmeruk, Member of the Board of the Ukrainian Bar Association;
Oleksandr Demenko, Head of the NGO “LGBT Military for Equal Rights,” defender of Mariupol and Azovstal;
Oleh Maksymiak, Advocacy Manager at the NGO “Tochka Opory UA”.

The event will be moderated by Alona Lunova, Advocacy Director at the ZMINA Human Rights Centre.

• Kyiv

In Lviv, Poltava, and Kyiv, from May 28 to 30, a presentation of the new artillery brigade “Hregit” within the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Khartiia” will take place, focusing on high-precision strikes against russian occupying forces.

During the event, participants will learn how artillery operates today and how the new Ukrainian military force is being formed. Brigade representatives will speak about personnel training, command work, military service, and opportunities for people with different backgrounds and civilian professions.

Registration is required to attend the event.

• Kyiv
• Lviv
• Poltava

Participants:

– Nataliia Yepifanova, Head of the NGO Warriors Liberation;

– Nataliia Kravtsova, mother of a captured “Azov” fighter, defender of Mariupol;

– Dmytro “Diplomat”, defender of Mariupol, veteran of the “Azov” brigade, former prisoner of war;

– Bohdan Okhrymenko, representative of the Coordination Headquarters — Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters.

Topics for discussion:

– systemic issues in returning “Azov” fighters from captivity;

– persecution of “Azov” members in captivity: the Olenivka terrorist attack, intensified torture, mass criminal prosecution, and illegal verdicts by russian courts;

– the role of the international community and the state in returning the defenders of Mariupol.

The press conference will take place on the fourth anniversary of the final end of the defense of Mariupol and the surrender of the Mariupol garrison.

Speakers will address the issue of the prolonged captivity of servicemen of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov,” who defended Mariupol and went into captivity in May 2022. More than 700 fighters remain in captivity.

How did it happen that soldiers who became a national and international symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to russian aggression in the early months of the full-scale invasion are often left out of prisoner exchanges?

The purpose of the press conference is also to discuss possible mechanisms to strengthen efforts to secure the release of “Azov” fighters from captivity.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv