Themes by tag: Kyiv

On February 18, Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing on military recruitment, focusing on how the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade attracts new enlistee and prepares them for service.

Participants:

– Dmytro Kukharchuk, head of recruitment for the 3rd Assault Brigade;

– Oleksandr Borodin, press officer of the 3rd Assault Brigade;

– Call sign “Student”, chief sergeant of the Test Week project. 

Topics of focus:

– The effectiveness of recruitment campaigns and the most successful strategies;

– The role of specialized projects in recruitment—how they work and their benefits;

– Raising public awareness about recruitment initiatives and available opportunities. 

Those interested in joining the 3rd Brigade can visit recruitment centers in Odesa, Dnipro, Lviv, and Kyiv.

Recruits undergo intensive training under the guidance of experienced combat instructors. Before taking up arms, they complete a rigorous program covering tactical operations, medical preparedness, and firearms training.

For reference: The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade was established on March 9, 2022, from the Kyiv-based Azov Army’s Territorial Defense Battalion. On January 26, 2023, it was restructured into a separate assault brigade within the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• military
• Kyiv

Media Center Ukraine to host a briefing on February 17 about russia’s drone attack hitting radiation shelter over the damaged reactor at the Chornobyl NPP 

Participants:

– Oleh Korikov, Head of Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and Chief State Inspector for Nuclear and Radiation Safety

Topics of focus:

– russian drone attack on the Chornobyl shelter: what is known about the consequences and what is the current situation at the plant?

– Delays in IAEA staff rotation at the Zaporizhia NPP: possible consequences and further action;

– Security situation at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants amid ongoing attacks.

For reference: On the night of February 14, a russian attack drone with an explosive warhead hit a shelter at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. This occurred near the New Safe Confinement, which protects the destroyed fourth reactor at the Chornobyl NPP. The drone hit the roof of the isolation structure.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Repair Together volunteer community is joining forces with the Gurtum Charitable Foundation’s Save Mala Opera project. On February 16, they will hold a restoration event at Kyiv’s Mala Opera—an initiative known as the “Rave Toloka.”

Built in 1902, the Mala Opera is a historic architectural landmark in Kyiv. The building sustained damage from enemy shelling, with its walls, ceiling, and decorative elements suffering significant harm.

During the cleanup, volunteers will work to the rhythm of music. And, as organizers note, “there will be a little dancing” at the end of the day.

Journalists will have the opportunity to cover the volunteers’ efforts on-site.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Your Support family center for mental health was established last year in Ukraine’s Kyiv region with a mission to help children and their families cope with the psychological effects of war. The center focuses on strengthening emotional resilience and ensuring the healthy development of each child.

A team of psychologists, special education experts, neuropsychologists, lawyers, and employment specialists provides all services free of charge. In just over a year, the center’s experts have offered more than 6,000 consultations. Among those they have helped is a 6-year-old boy who stopped speaking after experiencing shell shock, and a mother raising her 7-year-old son alone, whose child, under immense stress, lost control of his body.

Support is available both online and in person by appointment, allowing families to connect with specialists and others who have benefited from the center’s assistance.

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

The Maidan Museum together with its partners has prepared a program for the Day of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.

On February 18, a memorial event in honor of those who died on February 18, 2014 will be held in Mariinsky Park. The event will include a memorial service for the Heavenly Hundred and a Memorial March to pay tribute to the fallen heroes.

On February 20, a ceremony will be held to honor the memory of the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and the participants of the Revolution of Dignity. The annual Angels of Memory event will also take place, a global moment of silence in memory of those who died during the Revolution of Dignity. In Kyiv, it takes place annually on the Alley of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, where dozens of paper angels are placed on the branches of trees — silent witnesses to the shooting of unarmed protesters.

Opening of the exhibition “Heroes: Maidan, War, Memory…”. The exhibition is dedicated to the Maidan activists who later died in the russian-Ukrainian war. It tells the stories of those who changed Ukraine and the world and later became the first defenders of Ukraine’s freedom, sacrificing their lives.

Journalists can access the full program of events for the Day of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.

Background: On February 20, 2014, 48 people lost their lives in the center of Kyiv, the highest number of casualties in a single day during the Revolution of Dignity. Together with 54 other participants of peaceful protests who were killed or fatally wounded in the winter of 2013-2014, and five Maidan activists who died in the spring of 2014 while defending democratic values and territorial integrity of Ukraine, they are called the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.

• dead
• Kyiv

Ivan Soroka joined the ranks of the defense forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. On February 24, the military draft office was recruiting soldiers for the 72nd separate mechanized brigade, named after the Black Zaporozhians — and Ivan joined them. He defended the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv oblast, and later his unit was sent to the East. In August 2022, an enemy mine exploded just a few steps away from him.

His comrade was killed instantly, while Ivan lost his sight. “Who would ever need me blind?” was the first thought that crossed his mind when he regained consciousness. His fiancée, Vladyslava, whom he met online in April 2022, answered that question for him. She visited him in the hospital during his recovery, hoping along with Ivan that his sight would return, but it never did. In September 2023, Ivan and Vladyslava got married.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Ivan Soroka online or in person in Kyiv.

• casualties
• military
• women
• Kyiv

Viktoriia Synytska-Kutsenko has been behind the wheel for years. Before the full-scale invasion, she participated in rally racing and drifting. In 2024, she graduated from the “Reskilling Ukraine” program, which offered women the opportunity to train as professional truck drivers. Today, Viktoriia is already working in her new field.

She recalls that during one of her trips, Polish border guards were surprised to see a woman driving a truck and asked her if she wasn’t afraid to handle such a massive vehicle.

Journalists can speak with Viktoriia in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

Background: Reskilling Ukraine is a project of the Swedish non-profit organization Beredskapslyftet, implemented in Ukraine. It focuses on free training programs for women and veterans, helping them to start new careers in different fields.

• women
• Kyiv

Liudmyla is 77 years old, a trained anesthetist and resuscitator. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, she stepped in to help treat wounded civilians in occupied Hostomel, Kyiv oblast (two people had shrapnel wounds). With no medical instruments available at the local clinic, she had to sew up wounds with an ordinary sewing needle and thread.

Today, Liudmyla continues to support Ukraine’s defense by weaving camouflage nets with a group of local women volunteers known as “Chervona Kalyna”. She dedicates herself to volunteering almost every day.

Journalists can speak with Liudmyla in the Kyiv oblast.

Background: February 24, 2025 will mark the third anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• casualties
• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

On February 23, an international charity race will take place to mark the third anniversary of the full-blown war and raise funds for the children who lost one or both parents due to the russian invasion of Ukraine. The goal is to raise 50,000 EUR to provide psychological support for children who have lost their parents to the war.

The event will be held in several cities, including Kyiv, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Krakow, Porto, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Funchal.

For reference: The event is organized by the Ukrainian Running Club and the Children of Heroes Foundation.

• children
• Kyiv

The Doctors for Heroes charity project is dedicated to helping both military personnel and civilians by performing facial and head reconstructive surgeries following severe injuries. To date, the initiative has enrolled 240 soldiers and two civilians in its program.

Through a collaboration of surgeons and bioengineers, all medical services are provided free of charge to patients. However, the reconstruction of lost skull bones requires the creation of specialized implants. The Doctors for Heroes Charity Foundation funds the production of these implants for each participant. It raises donations from philanthropists, organizes case support throughout treatment, and ensures that funds are used responsibly and effectively.

The project is also expanding into the field of eye prosthetics and ecto prosthetics.

By prior arrangement, journalists are welcome to speak with the project’s organizers, doctors, and patients in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Kyiv