Themes by tag: Kyiv
Oleksandr Yarovyi, 22, worked as a salesman at a hardware store in Dymer, near the village of Kozarovychi. [Kozarovychi, located in the Kyiv oblast, was occupied by russian forces at the start of the full-scale invasion.] The young man lived with his grandparents. When the war began, Oleksandr used a work vehicle to evacuate construction and hardware goods from the store. He also delivered food and transported medicine to the hospital.
On March 2, 2022, Oleksandr was on a Viber call with his mother. According to her, Oleksandr was at home with friends. The next morning, a neighbor called the woman and reported that russian soldiers had arrived. The soldiers interrogated the young men, simulated executions, threw Oleksandr into a basement, and beat him in an attempt to extract a confession. They later took everyone’s phones and left. Fifteen minutes later, they returned, ordered Oleksandr to raise his hands. They took the young man with them and ransacked the house.
Oleksandr’s mother conducted her own investigation to find out where her son was taken. She discovered that he was first held in a warehouse in Kozarovychi and then in Dymer, where the russians held everyone they kidnapped from the surrounding villages. On March 10, Oleksandr was taken to Belarus and then to russia, specifically the city of Novozybkov. In 2023, he was transferred to the russian settlement of Pakino, where he remains detained to this day.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed that Oleksandr is being held captive. In total, the young man has been held for three years and eight months. During this time, he has only received one short letter: “I am alive, healthy, and fine.” His mother now participates in peaceful rallies with other families whose loved ones are in russian captivity.
By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Oleksandr’s mother, Inna, in Kyiv or the Kyiv oblast.
On November 4, Kyiv will host a meeting with Swedish volunteers Caroline Nordengrip and Christopher Forsback, who took up arms to defend Ukraine against russia’s full-scale invasion. Caroline Nordengrip, a former member of the Swedish Parliament with a 15-year career in politics, joined Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Magura.” Serving under the call sign “Alex,” she not only defended the country but also trained members of the Ukrainian Forces of Ukraine.
Christopher Forsback, who goes by the call sign “Chris,” previously worked in forestry before volunteering to fight with the same brigade. He took part in combat operations against russian forces, helped clear mines from Ukrainian territory, and sustained serious injuries during his service.
During the event, the two volunteers will share their stories, from their peaceful lives in Sweden to the realities of war on Ukraine’s front lines, and present several personal items to the War Museum’s collection.
For reference: The meeting is part of the For Freedom project, a joint initiative of the Kyiv War Museum and the Romulus T. Weatherman Foundation. The project honors international volunteers who have stood up alongside Ukrainians for the defense of the country’s independence and global freedom. It highlights the scope of international solidarity with Ukraine, from military and humanitarian support to the personal decisions of foreign citizens to join its armed forces.
Journalists are required to register to attend the event.
Is the Army ready for winter? In September, the supply of winter jackets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine was at risk. Manufacturers produced about 25,000 jackets from a new fabric that the Ministry of Defense did not approve due to a lack of feedback from the military. Fortunately, the army was not left without clothing; there was a stock of jackets in warehouses, and production of the old fabric resumed. This case, however, demonstrated the many logistical challenges the Ministry of Defense faces.
In the format of Defence Talks, the discussion will address seasonal difficulties in defense procurements and the pace of supplying the military with everything necessary for winter. The event will be held on November 3 in Kyiv.
Participants:
- Mykola Shevtsov, Deputy Minister of Defense;
- Oleh Blinov, Defense Procurement Expert at the Office for Support of Changes at the Ministry of Defense;
- Nikita Nikitenko, Director of Operations at the Defense Procurement Agency;
- Nadiia Bihun, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the State Logistics Operator;
- Yurii Hudymenko, Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense;
- Nelli Stelmakh, Defense Procurement Reform Project Expert.
Moderator: Tetiana Nikolaienko, Senior Researcher at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO); Deputy Head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense.
Registration is required to receive accreditation and the event address. The accreditation period ends on November 2 at 9:00 PM.
Background: “Defense Talks” are meetings organized by the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) that bring together Ukrainian government officials, high-ranking representatives, civil society members, diplomats, and members of the media to discuss key trends and challenges in the security and defense sector.
NAKO is a civil society organization whose mission is to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience against internal and external threats in areas critical to national security through independent research, effective advocacy, and raising public awareness. NAKO provides institutional, legal, analytical, and communications support to the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the Ministry of Defense.
On November 6, 2025, the Museum of War will host an event dedicated to honoring the contribution of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada to the Allied victory in World War II and to the defense of Ukraine against the ongoing full-scale russian aggression.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian War Veterans Association will posthumously present the Ukrainian Canadian Sacrifice Medal to the family of Hryhorii Tsekhmistrenko, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent who joined the Defense Forces of Ukraine and, while serving as a soldier of the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, heroically gave his life rescuing his comrades in the battles for Bakhmut on January 15, 2023.
The Ukrainian Canadian Sacrifice Medal was established by a resolution of the XXVII Triennial Congress of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Winnipeg in the fall of 2022. It honors Canadian citizens who were killed or wounded in combat while serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and defending the freedom of our nation during the ongoing russian-Ukrainian war.
A screening of the documentary film “A Canadian War Story”, created by the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, will take place. Spanning continents and generations, the film weaves together first-person testimonies and archival materials, telling the story of the Ukrainian Canadian diaspora on the frontlines of the Second World War. The screening is held with the support of the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine.
Journalists are required to register for the event.
Participants:
– Ihor Hetalo, Head of the Department for the Organization of Work and Use of Unmanned Systems and Robotics, State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Key topics:
– The arsenal of SES unmanned complexes, from demining to search and rescue – where and how they are deployed;
– The effectiveness of technology during mass enemy shelling;
– Personnel training;
– The future of robotic complexes in the emergency service.
Three years and seven months of waiting: The story of Iryna Shvets, whose fiancé was abducted by russian forces during the occupation of Bucha
For more than three and a half years, Iryna Shvets has been waiting for the return of her fiancé, Oleksandr Kurdin, who was abducted by russian troops during the occupation of Bucha in 2022. Today, she is one of the organizers and hosts of peaceful gatherings held by the NGO Civilians in Captivity, which brings together families of those illegally detained by russia.
Oleksandr, a private entrepreneur, left Kyiv for his apartment in Bucha on February 21, 2022 – just days before russian forces invaded the region. When the city came under occupation, Iryna pleaded with him to flee through a humanitarian corridor. But Oleksandr refused to abandon his neighbors. He told her that many women and children were hiding in basements, and he was bringing them bread and water.
russian soldiers visited Oleksandr’s home twice to check his documents. On March 22, they returned and abducted him near his building. Iryna learned of his disappearance nearly two weeks later, on April 3, when a friend who had witnessed the incident called to tell her what happened.
Months later, in January 2023, Iryna found a photograph of Oleksandr in prison clothing. She discovered that he had been taken first to Belarus, then transferred to a detention center in Novozybkov, russia. He is now being held in a penal colony in the city of Donskoy, Tula Oblast.
Oleksandr has been in captivity for three years and seven months. He has lost 30 kilograms, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has officially recognized him as an illegally detained civilian. In all this time, Iryna has received only two letters from him.
The couple had planned to marry in June 2022, but the war tore those plans apart. Since they were never legally married, Iryna filed a lawsuit in 2023 to have their long-term cohabitation officially recognized. She needed this status to act as Oleksandr’s legal representative in communications with international organizations. The court ruled in her favor in 2024.
By prior arrangement, journalists can meet with Iryna Shvets in Kyiv.
Bioengineer and veteran Oleksandr Zozuliak began defending Ukraine in 2014. He served in the artillery unit of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ground Forces, then known as the Mountain Infantry. His brigade fought in the Zolote area of Luhansk Oblast and later in Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, where Zozuliak commanded a mortar battery platoon.
On January 25, 2015, during fierce fighting near Debaltseve, a russian tank drove directly into Zozuliak’s trench. He tried to dodge the vehicle, hoping to destroy it with a hand-held grenade launcher. His quick reaction caused the tank to get stuck in the trench, allowing his comrades to hit it. The damaged vehicle was later towed away with a cable to free him from underneath.
Zozuliak suffered severe injuries: multiple broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, damaged right arm and left leg, torn muscles, chest and abdominal trauma, head contusions, and burns. His left arm was the most badly injured and had to be amputated. Doctors told him he would never walk again. Yet, within a year, he was back on his feet, and soon after, back at work, this time in the police force.
Refusing to give up an active life, Zozuliak discovered archery. Working with a prosthetist, he designed a custom prosthesis for shooting, later improving it himself. The modified device includes a special clamp that lets him draw the bowstring. In 2023, he became Ukraine’s national archery champion among athletes with disabilities. He also represented Ukraine at the Invictus Games in 2017 and 2018, competing in cycling, swimming, and archery.
Zozuliak was among the first in Ukraine to receive a cutting-edge bionic prosthesis. Today, he works as a prosthetist-orthotist technician, manufacturing and fitting advanced prosthetic limbs for veterans who lost theirs in the war. These modern prostheses feature multi-sensor systems, and Zozuliak personally tests new designs on himself before adapting them for others.
By prior arrangement, journalists can meet with Oleksandr Zozuliak in Kyiv.
A peaceful march titled “Our People Are Not Home Yet” will take place in Kyiv on November 8. The march is organized by the families of missing and captured military personnel from the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The march aims to draw attention to the fate of Ukrainian defenders in captivity or missing in action, and to raise awareness among society, state institutions, and the international community.
Approximately 500 participants, including relatives of the missing and captured, representatives of state bodies, fellow soldiers, volunteers, civil activists, and concerned citizens, will march through central Kyiv to remind everyone that the fight for freedom continues not only on the front lines, but also in the hearts of those waiting for their loved ones.
Objectives of the event:
- To publicly acknowledge that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are still in captivity and that tens of thousands are missing.
- To support families who have lived in uncertainty for years while waiting.
- To call for active state and international efforts to bring every defender home.
- The event will demonstrate society’s unity around the common goal that no hero should be forgotten.
The organizers invite representatives of Ukrainian and international media outlets to cover the “Our People Are Not Home Yet” march.
The Center for Civil Liberties invites you to the presentation of its study, “How to Improve the System for Searching for Missing Persons?”. The study assesses the effectiveness of the current system, examines international best practices, and develops concrete proposals for reform. The event will take place on November 4 in Kyiv. The exact location will be provided to confirmed participants the day before the event. The working language of the event is Ukrainian.
In the context of the ongoing full-scale war, the issue of locating missing persons, both military and civilian, has reached an unprecedented scale. As of August 2025, the Unified Register of Persons Missing under Special Circumstances lists over 70,000 individuals. The current search mechanism, designed for peacetime, cannot cope with this immense workload.
The study is an analytical document with recommendations for changes that the Center for Civil Liberties will submit to state authorities. It will be presented by Volodymyr Yavorskyy, Program Director of the Center for Civil Liberties; Nataliia Yashchuk, Senior Manager for Countering the Consequences of War; Valentyn Serdiuk, Legal Analyst. Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, will deliver the opening address.
Afterwards, there will be a discussion with family members of missing persons and Artur Dobroserdov, the Commissioner for Persons Missing under Special Circumstances.
Key discussion topics:
- What changes does the current mechanism for searching for missing persons require?
- Which practices from other countries (e.g., the USA or Colombia) could be useful for Ukraine?
- How can a “single window” system be created for families of missing persons?
Media, relevant state authorities, human rights organizations, international organizations, and families of missing persons are welcome to attend the event.
Registration is required to attend.
Serhii Ofitserov was born in Kherson, Ukraine, but his parents took him to russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula as a child. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, his father, Hennadii, returned to Ukraine, and Serhii followed in 1998. While in russia, Serhii received a russian passport and lived in Kherson with a residence permit. He had applied to renounce his russian citizenship to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, but he was unable to complete the process due to the start of the full-scale invasion.
russian forces kidnapped Serhii on August 3, 2022, while Kherson was under occupation. That autumn, his father, Hennadii, learned of his son’s fate: first, a former detainee who had been released from a torture chamber in Kherson reported seeing Serhii there. Later, Ofitserov appeared in a video filmed by russian propagandists about the detention of people allegedly “part of a terrorist group”.
Serhii is currently being held in a pretrial detention center (SIZO) in Rostov. He is one of nine Kherson residents kidnapped by the russians who have been accused of international terrorism under three articles of the criminal code. The trial is ongoing. According to his father, Serhii was held in a Kherson torture chamber for two or three months, where he was tortured and forced to sign everything demanded of him. Consequently, the fabricated case against Serhii is riddled with inconsistencies.
While in captivity, Serhii began drawing with simple pencils. His drawings depict Kherson landscapes, portraits, fantasy scenes, and life as a prisoner, including barred windows. Some of these drawings have been smuggled to Ukraine and are kept by his father who only receives about half of the letters his son sends.
By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Serhii’s father, Hennadii Ofitserov, in Kyiv, Kherson, or online.
Background: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to shell the city regularly.
