Themes by tag: Kyiv

The Committee of the All-Ukrainian “Rushnyk of Hope” campaign invites you to join the final stage of the initiative to support the families of those missing in action and prisoners of war. The event will take place on October 1 in Kyiv.

The campaign has united thousands of women from Ukraine and the diaspora, who have embroidered the “Rushnyk of Hope” as a symbol of love, unity, and prayer for the safe return of our Heroes.

Event program:

• Addresses by defenders’ relatives;
• Greetings from representatives of state authorities;
• Participation of military chaplains, clergy, and choirs.

Registration is required to attend.

Background: The campaign organizers are the NGO “Women’s Family”, which includes the associations “Women of the Territorial Defense”, “Women of the Armed Forces”, and the NGO “Born Free 2024” (93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar”) – communities that have worked for many months to ensure missing and captured soldiers are not forgotten by society.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

On September 27-28, marches will take place across Ukraine to raise awareness and show solidarity with prisoners of war and those missing in action. The events aim to honor the defenders of Azovstal and other Ukrainian soldiers who remain in enemy captivity, offering a peaceful platform for communities to come together in support.

On September 27, gatherings are scheduled in Arbuzynka, Pivdennoukrainsk, Bila Tserkva, Okhtyrka, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Irpin, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Poltava, Pavlohrad, and Chernivtsi.

On September 28, rallies will be held in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Korostyshiv, Cherkasy, Uzhhorod, Dolynska, Berdychiv, Lozova, Kropyvnytskyi, Lviv, Shostka, Ternopil, Odesa, and Chernivtsi.

The initiatives are organized by the families of Mariupol garrison prisoners, together with Ukrainians recently released from captivity, to support ongoing advocacy efforts.

• prisoners
• Kyiv

He once brewed coffee amid the chaos of the sprawling steel factory. Today, he runs his own coffee shop in Kyiv, serving the distinctive “shaman coffee” he perfected while holed up in the Azovstal steel plant, Ukraine’s last stronghold during the siege of Mariupol, alongside hundreds of outnumbered and outgunned soldiers, many wounded and emaciated, as well as more than 1,000 civilians. This is the story of a veteran and former prisoner of war, who goes by the call sign ‘Marquis.’

Marquis joined the Ukrainian army in 2015, when russia first launched its attacks on the country. Before the war, he ran a furniture manufacturing business and worked abroad, but he returned home to volunteer with the Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Right Sector.

On the front lines, he met a medic named Olena, who crafted a unique coffee blend that quickly won his admiration. Inspired, Marquis began making the drink himself, refining it over the years. Soldiers on the front came to know it as “shaman coffee,” a brew he prepared both at military posts and later, during his time as a civilian after the Anti-Terrorist Operation. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, he rejoined the army immediately.

Marquis fought to defend Mariupol and endured the harrowing siege of Azovstal. He recalls having to crush coffee beans with a grenade to make his signature brew. In May 2022, he and his comrades were ordered to surrender, spending over seven months in captivity. Upon returning home, he intended to continue his military service, but lingering health issues forced him to step back.

Determined to bring a piece of his front-line experience to civilian life, Marquis opened Shaman Coffee in Kyiv. His brew is prepared in a cezve over a burner and infused with 15 different spices. He has also developed a portable field version — bags of ready-made coffee and spice blend. Looking ahead, Marquis hopes to expand Shaman Coffee into a chain of shops.

Marquis is available for conversations about his journey, both online and in person in Kyiv, by appointment.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

On September 26, the Media Center Ukraine will host the presentation of a research entitled “The role of adaptive sports in the rehabilitation of service members and veterans”.

Participants:

– Hanna Bielorusova, Director at the Centre for Strategic Communications StratCom Ukraine;

– Iryna Pykalo, researcher;

– Alina Sarnatska, researcher;

– Ihor Salii, Veteran, participant in international adaptive sports competitions;

– Vitalina Pushkar, representative of Lisova Poliana Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center for Veterans;

– Oksana Horbach, Director of Invictus Games Ukraine NGO, officer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (online);

– Oleh Duchyminskyi, archery coach (online);

– Kateryna Zahorodnia, head of the Center for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council Regional Clinical Hospital (online). 

Key topics:

– The research objectives and what makes it unique in Ukraine;

– Challenges of integrating adaptive sports into the state rehabilitation system;

– The effects of adaptive sports on symptoms of PTSD and depression;

– Expanding access to adaptive sports beyond rehabilitation centers;

– Scaling the research findings nationwide. 

Background: This is Ukraine’s first scientific research examining how adaptive sports combined with rehabilitation can help veterans restore physical health, reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD, improve social integration, and return to active daily life.

Adaptive sports offer veterans new opportunities for recovery by combining physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation. The research shows that sports are an effective tool for helping military personnel transition back to civilian life.

Registration is required to attend the event.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

On September 26, the Media Center Ukraine will host the presentation of an analytical report: “How russia is erasing Ukrainian identity under the guise of fighting extremism”.

Participants:

– Mariia Krasnenko, report author, expert at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;

– Tetiana Lychko, documentarian at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;

– Valentina Potapova, head of Direction of National Advocacy at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;

Key topics:

– How anti-extremism laws are being used to suppress Ukrainian culture and enforce a “all-russian identity”;

– Pressure tactics targeting teachers, students, and school communities in occupied territories under the pretext of “countering extremism”;

– Measures needed at the national and international levels to protect the Ukrainian identity of children in occupied territories;

– Examples of successful strategies already in place to counter russian ideological influence on Ukrainian children’s worldview through education.

Background: Since 2014, russia has not only conducted military aggression but also pursued a systematic campaign of ideological control in occupied territories. Under the pretext of “fighting extremism”, moscow has used legislation to target anyone preserving Ukrainian language, culture, and identity, with children and schools among the primary targets.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On October 2 in Kyiv, as part of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival, the documentary Children in the Fire (Ukraine, USA, and the Czech Republic; directed by Evgeny Afineevsky) will premiere. The film documents crimes committed against Ukrainian children during the war, including abduction, deportation, and attempts at forced assimilation.

Subjects include Valeriia Sydorova, from Nova Kakhovka, who survived russian occupation and deportation to Crimea; Yana Stepanenko, who lost her legs in a russian missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station; and Vladislav Buryak, who endured russian captivity. You can read the children’s detailed stories here.

Despite their traumatic experiences, the eight young protagonists continue to believe in the future and are pursuing careers as athletes, artists, and civil servants.

The film has already been screened at festivals in Monte Carlo, Raindance, and Documentaries Without Borders.

Journalists will have the opportunity to speak with the children featured in the film and the creative team. Registration is required to attend the event.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In January 2018, Ona Uzoma Asompta, who was born in Nigeria, moved to Ukraine to pursue a medical education. She fell in love with Ukrainian culture, however, and after completing her studies, she decided to stay in Kyiv. After the full-scale invasion began, she evacuated to Portugal, but later chose to return to Kyiv despite the dangers.

Today, Ona does not work in the medical field. Instead, she works as a model and runs a social media blog where she shares insights about her life in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, she has also begun learning Ukrainian.

Ona Uzoma Asompta is available for interviews, both online and in person in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

An open training session titled “A Run with the Strong” will be held in Kyiv on September 27. All are invited to join veterans from the “Strong 300” running club for a community run. This event brings veterans and civilians together to run at the same pace.

There will be a distance suitable for any fitness level. Participants can also look forward to making new connections and hearing inspiring stories of resilience from people who have persevered after the war.

Background:

Organizer: Union of Wounded Military of Ukraine “Strong 300”.

Partner: The Ukrainian Athletic Federation.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

On September 25, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) will host an event where experts will analyze the current challenges of information warfare through the lens of international experience. What approaches to countering disinformation are being applied in Ukraine, the EU, the US, and Taiwan? How can threats from information attacks be detected and neutralized?

The discussion will examine specific cases, ranging from anti-Ukrainian propaganda on Chinese social media to halted U.S.-EU cooperation in countering disinformation from russia, China, and Iran.

Speakers:

• Ivana Stradner, Special Correspondent, KyivPost; Research Fellow, Barish Center for Media Integrity, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Min Hsuan Wu, Co-founder, Doublethink Lab (Taiwan)
• Yurii Poita, Head of the Asia-Pacific Section, Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies; Visiting Researcher, Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Research
• Yevhen Slavnyi, Editor-in-Chief and News Director, UNITED24 Media
• Tetiana Nikolaienko, Member of the Supervisory Board of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine; Senior Researcher, NAKO; Journalist
• Tetiana Chabaniuk, Head of Education Projects, Molfar Intelligence Institute

The event will take place in Kyiv. Moderator: Olena Tregub, Executive Director of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission.

Participation requires prior registration. The exact address will be provided after accreditation is confirmed. Registration is open until September 24, 7:00 PM.

Background: The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience against internal and external threats in areas critical to national security. This is achieved through independent research, effective advocacy, and raising public awareness.

• Kyiv

The swim was part of the annual international project Neda el Món, which brings together athletes from around the world.

The Ukrainian team, consisting of Ihor Oliinyk, Demian Dudlia, and Maksym Hrinchenko, joined 24 other swimmers in conquering one of the most challenging and unpredictable routes. Despite squalling rain, thunder, and rough waves at dawn, the team persevered. They covered 12.8 kilometers in an impressive 4 hours and 50 minutes.

The veterans are returning to Ukraine on September 26. Journalists can meet with them in Kyiv to hear their thoughts upon arrival. Separate interviews with the participants can be arranged in Kyiv, Dnipro, or online.

Journalists can request photo and video materials of the swim. 

More information about the participants is available here.

Background: The Ukrainian team’s preparation was facilitated by the public organization “One Team Force” – a community dedicated to finding effective ways to provide personalized support for the comprehensive recovery of injured soldiers, from initial rehabilitation to long-term social integration.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv