Themes by tag: Kyiv

Indira Urusova, a native of Mariupol, has transformed her harrowing experience of living under russian occupation into a force for good. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Indira began her studies at a university in Kyiv, but later switched to distance learning and returned to Mariupol. She was at home with her family when russia launched its full-scale invasion. Initially, they held out hope for a swift ceasefire, but as the conflict dragged on, it became clear that escape was their only option.

Their car was damaged by explosions, but Indira and her parents managed to reach russian-occupied Berdiansk. From there, they made a perilous journey through russian territory, eventually finding refuge in Bulgaria. The family remained in Bulgaria until October 2022, before returning to Kyiv.

Haunted by the devastation in her hometown, Indira sought a way to help her country. She created a drawing of a burning house in Mariupol, captioned: “We will survive, because the sun rises over the free Azov.” This artwork sparked the creation of KRYLATI, a charity project dedicated to raising awareness about Mariupol, Donetsk, and the Pryazovia region.

Alongside a colleague, Indira organizes workshops and lectures for young people, challenging myths and spreading the truth about the region. All proceeds from KRYLATI are donated to support the Ukrainian military.

• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv
• Mariupol

The NGO Vodnyk has launched a new yachting training program in Kyiv, specifically designed for women veterans, the wives of veterans, and internally displaced persons. Participants in the program are learning to sail using RS Tera sports boats, which are designed for single-person use.

Twelve women have enrolled in the program, with training sessions held four times a week. The goal is to prepare these women to compete in various yachting competitions.

Journalists can arrange in advance to cover these training sessions.
In addition to this initiative, Kyiv has also introduced an adaptive yachting project aimed at providing opportunities for people with disabilities, including veterans.

• women
• Kyiv

On August 30, Media Center Ukraine will host an interactive presentation on the process of conducting the survey titled “Satisfaction among Kyiv Residents with Mental Health Issues in regards to Medical, and Social Services Received in the Kyiv Community.”

Currently, the situation with social services for this vulnerable group, as well as their quality, is critical in the Kyiv city community. The availability of medical services is also a big problem, as is confirmed by a study conducted by the Psychability Public Organization within the framework of the Z.N.A.M.I. project.

The positive experience of developed countries in achieving barrier-free access for people with mental disorders suggests that introducing the service “Assistant for a Person with Mental Disorders” could be a successful solution. Such an assistant is a specialist who provides comprehensive individual support to a person with mental disorders, guiding them on the path to recovery or improving their quality of life.

Participants of the event:

• Lidia Martynova, Founder and Chair of the Board of the Psychability Public Organization;
• Kostiantyn Zelenov, Psychiatrist of the Highest Qualification at the Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine in Kyiv, Member of the Board of the Psychability Public Organization;
• Ihor Nazarenko, Clinical Psychologist at the “Psychiatry” Clinical Hospital, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Psychability Public Organization;
• Yevheniia Panichevska, Director of the Research Society of Disabled People “Institute of Social Policy”, Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute;
• Yevhen Bielonozhko, Father of a Person with a Group 2 Disability Due to Mental Disorder, Member of the Psychability Public Organization.

• Kyiv

Every day, hundreds of people with disabilities face obstacles in moving around the city. An ordinary thing, such as a visit to the doctor, can become a real challenge. Save Ukraine charitable organization strives to provide them with more opportunities to fully participate in everyday life, regardless of physical limitations.

Social Taxi is a free transportation service for people with reduced mobility. A specially equipped car will operate between Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel and Kyiv. Currently, the service will run in a test mode. Residents of the territorial communities of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel will be able to use it. The service aims to help adults and children with disabilities, servicemen undergoing rehabilitation and internally displaced persons who are housed in a center for people with reduced mobility and a modular town.

• Kyiv

Another round of military training courses for civilians by the Reservist NGO will start in September. The training will be led by experienced instructors who are war veterans. The course program includes: applying tourniquets, the theory and practice of storming trenches, dugouts, and buildings, engineering training, and the creation of individual trenches that participants will test in a stress test at the end of the course. It also covers the basic rules of handling weapons and much more.

The Reservist NGO also has other courses, in particular, a course for FPV drone pilots and a shooting training course for civilians.

By prior agreement, journalists have the opportunity to cover the training in Kyiv region.

For reference: Reservist NGO has developed intensive training programs that include tactical medicine skills, weapon handling, safety and security protocols, teamwork, assault operations under various conditions, physical training and many other aspects necessary for effective performance of tasks. Their mission is to provide the best possible training and self-confidence. In addition, the organization’s main goal is to provide work to war veterans, who in turn will share valuable knowledge with course participants.

• Kyiv

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is set to host a series of specialized training sessions for journalists covering reparations for victims of the russian invasion and for organizations involved in documenting war crimes. 

Schedule:

– Kyiv (September 12-13): Targeting journalists and organizations from southern and eastern Ukraine;

– Kyiv (September 17): Focused on participants from central and northern Ukraine;

– Lviv (September 19-20): Designed for those based in western Ukraine. 

The training is free of charge, with all travel, accommodation, and meal expenses covered by the organizers. Registration is mandatory.

Important dates for registration:

– For the September 12-13 session in Kyiv: Apply by August 30;

– For the September 17 session in Kyiv: Apply by September 2;

– For the September 19-20 session in Lviv: Apply by September 4.

Selected participants will be notified ahead of the training dates.

This initiative is organized with the support of Media Center Ukraine.

• Kyiv

This August 30, the Center for Civil Liberties, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization, will host an evocative evening of poetry and solidarity in Kyiv to honor the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The event, titled “Hold on! I’m Holding On!”, aims to bring together human rights activists, artists, and families of those imprisoned by russian forces, creating a poignant space for reflection and resistance.

In this intimate gathering, participants will read aloud poems written from and about captivity, sharing the pain and resilience of those who have been forcibly disappeared. The event seeks to amplify these voices, highlighting the importance of speaking out against such injustices.

The evening’s participants include:

– Akhtem Seitablaev, soldier, actor, and director;

– Tetiana Vlasova, poet;

– Iya Kiva, poet;

– Olena Tsyhipa, wife of political prisoner Serhii Tsyhipa;

– Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties.

Attendance is by accreditation only.

For reference: “Hold on! I’m Holding On!” is a poetry initiative launched by the Center for Civil Liberties. The project showcases the writings of renowned Ukrainian poets alongside the poignant verses of individuals currently enduring captivity in russia. Its goal is to shed light on the suffering and unyielding spirit of Ukrainians who have been detained during the conflict.

According to the Center for Civil Liberties, at least 7,000 civilians are currently held in prisons across russia and its temporarily occupied territories. The exact number of prisoners of war remains unknown. Both civilians and soldiers suffer egregious violations of international law, enduring torture and being kept in a chilling information void.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On August 30, Kyiv will host an event marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

• The Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) will present PSAs about the communities of families of prisoners of war and missing persons. Through the stories of servicemen’s wives, mothers and sisters, the MIHR will tell the story of the grief that unites thousands of families and their struggle to bring their loved ones home.
• This will be followed by a premiere of the documentary film “Waiting for Contact” featuring the stories of families who lost contact with their loved ones during the war in Ukraine.

This event is an opportunity to honor the memory of the disappeared, support the families and come together in common hope and struggle.

• Kyiv

On August 29, Kyiv will open a photo exhibition “Days of Remembrance of the Heroes of the Battle of Ilovaisk (2014)” to commemorate the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine. This year marks 10 years since one of the most tragic events in our fight against russia. The photo exhibition is a reminder of those events and a tribute to all those who were the first to defend our country in 2014.

Photos that have already become historic and were taken by photographers who worked in the area of ​​the fiercest fighting near Ilovaisk, Donetsk region, in August 2014, in the deployment area of “Donbas” Special Purpose Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine will be presented in the capitol’s downtown. A kind of photo anthology of those events was created by Maxim Dondyuk, Oleksandr Glyadyelov, Markiian Lyseiko and Maksym Levin, who managed to get out of the Ilovaisk encirclement alive.

Maksym Levin died in occupied Kyiv region during the full-scale invasion in the spring of 2022, when he was documenting the crimes of the russians.

These more than fifty photos are just part of a large collection, which represents facts about the battle of Ilovaisk from August 10 to the “green corridor of death” on August 29, 2014.

 At the opening of the exhibition, the Ilovaisk events will be told by:

• Nataliia Kharchenko, mother of Yevhen “Red” Kharchenko, a participant in the Revolution of Dignity and the russo-Ukrainian war, who died in the battles for Ilovaisk;
• photographers Oleksandr Glyadyelov and Markiian Lyseiko;
• Roman Zinenko, soldier, participant in the battles for Ilovaisk;

A representative of the organizers of the photo exhibition will also speak at the event, mainly Olha Salo, Deputy Director General for Development, Cultural and Educational Work of the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.

For reference: Organizers of the event are “’Sarmat’ Military-Patriotic Association of Combatant” NGO, “Invincible Mothers of Ukraine” NGO, Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine and the National Memorial Complex of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred – Museum of the Revolution of Dignity.

• culture
• military
• Kyiv

On Thursday, August 29, military personnel who sustained injuries will swim 1,000 meters in Kyiv. The participants include defenders with upper and lower limb amputations. The event will take place in one of the capital’s swimming pools.

The event takes place within the “Swimming from 0 to 1000 m” project. This is a swimming initiative for military personnel recovering from injuries. Its goal is to help fighters regain confidence in themselves and their bodies. During training in the pool, participants learn to swim, develop strength and endurance.

Training takes place three times a week, twice a week massage therapists attend to the injured military. In total, since October 2023, more than 150 people have attended the training.

For reference: The project was created by “ONE TEAM FORCES” NGO. It is a community that strives to implement a comprehensive approach to open up personalized opportunities for the comprehensive recovery of the wounded military. It helps combatants who were in service BEFORE and/or AFTER February 24, 2022 and were injured or psychologically traumatized as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv