Themes by tag: Kyiv

A support center for military families, the “Hub for Families of Ukraine’s Defenders”, has opened in the Kyiv oblast. This space is designed to help military families facing emotional challenges, stress and difficulties caused by the war.

The center provides various forms of support and recreation for military families, including:

• Psychological counseling — individual and group sessions with experienced psychologists to help overcome emotional experiences related to war stress.
• Training and workshops — regular training sessions on topics related to psychological resilience, family relationships, children’s adjustment and other relevant issues.
• Art therapy — sessions of creative activities (drawing, modeling, music, etc.) to help reduce stress, restore inner harmony and find new ways of self-expression.
• Creative classes for children — special programmes for the youngest members of families to help them adapt to new realities and find support among their peers.
• Social integration – events that encourage social interaction and bring families together in an atmosphere of mutual support.

• psychological support
• Kyiv

On 26-27 September, Kyiv will host the forum “All Children Are Ours —  Shared Responsibility for the Future of the Country”.

The main topics of the panel discussions at the event will be:

• The current state of implementation of the reform of the system of care and support for children;

• Inter-agency cooperation for early identification of families at risk and effective collaboration between sector stakeholders to support them;

• Rehabilitation and reintegration of veterans into their families and civilian social roles after military service.

The Forum will also see the opening of a support center for families with children in Boyarka on 27 September.

Journalists are invited to find out more about the full programme of the event. Accreditation is required to attend.

Background: The event is organized by the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada and the Charity Foundation “SOS Children’s Villages“ Ukraine.

• Kyiv

On 29 September, the Hurkit Charity Fund will unite the cycling community to raise funds for the needs of the Kyiv region’s air defense forces at ##BikeAirDefense: Girls’ Bike Parade & True Trail.

The 11th Girls’ Bike Parade is a lively and leisurely bike ride aimed at supporting female cyclists and promoting safe, comfortable and enjoyable urban cycling. According to statistics, women make up no more than 15% of cyclists in Kyiv. The parade promotes the CycleChic street fashion style, which re-imagines the bicycle as an effective and practical mode of transport. The participants of the Girls’ Bike Parade show that cycling is possible on any occasion and in different outfits.

True Trail by Kyivska Sotka is an amateur cross-country cycling race for participants of all ages and fitness levels.

True Trail offers two entry formats: Competitive and Open. The Competitive format has two distances — 10 km and 20 km — with winners in different age categories. In the Open format, there will be no winners and losers, and men, women and children aged 12 and over will be able to participate.

Both events will raise funds for the air defense units of the Kyiv region.

Journalists are welcome to find out more about and cover these events.

Background: The Hurkit Charity Fund regularly supplies air defense units with pickups, turrets, spotlights, thermal imagers, tablets, charging stations — everything soldiers need to protect Ukrainian cities from enemy drones and missiles.

• Kyiv

On October 1, Kyiv will hold the annual “Surma” Military Music Festival, a cultural initiative started by the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in WW2 in 2023 under the recently restored Motherland monument, now featuring the Ukrainian Trident on its shield.

This year’s theme, “Song as a Weapon,” highlights the role of Ukrainian songs tied to the nation’s historic and ongoing fight for independence throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Solo performers and bands will gather under the towering monument to inspire unity among Ukrainians through music.

Due to security concerns, attendance at the festival will be restricted. However, with the help of media partner Suspilne Kultura, audiences will be able to watch the performances via broadcast.

Journalists are encouraged to attend and provide coverage of the event.

• culture
• Kyiv

Liza, 16, has remained in Kyiv since the onset of russia’s full-scale invasion. Recently, she completed the Sound Lab course, a program blending traditional Ukrainian music with art therapy. Drawing from that experience, Liza formed an ensemble composed of teenage girls.

Liza also co-launched an educational project alongside two members of the folk artists Shchuka Ryba. The initiative offers lectures on traditional Ukrainian singing, music, and dance, available to organizations or groups upon request.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Liza in Kyiv by prior appointment.

For reference: The Sound Lab course was organized by the Voices of Children charity foundation for teenagers affected by the war. Over several months, 15 participants from various regions, each with unique experiences of the war, learned traditional and electronic music from Shchuka Ryba band and DJ Chocollab. With support from a foundation psychologist, the teens used music to process their trauma and emotions caused by the war.

• children
• culture
• Kyiv

On September 24, at the Media Center Ukraine the Ministry of Veterans Affairs will announce the composition of the national team of Ukraine to participate in the international sports competition Arnold Classic Europe, which will take place on October 11-13, 2024 in Madrid (Spain). During the presentation, the 50 athletes who will represent Ukraine will be named.

Participants:

• Ruslana Velychko-Tryfoniuk, Deputy Minister of Veterans’ Affairs of Ukraine for European Integration;
• Serhii Koniushok, President of the NGO “Federation of Strongmen of Ukraine”;
• Vasyl Virastyuk, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine.

For reference: Arnold Classic Europe is an international sports festival founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011. Each year, thousands of athletes from more than 50 countries participate in the competition. The Strong Spirit’s Games, an international competition for war veterans, is held as part of the sports festival. Participants include military personnel who have been involved in combat operations, as well as those who have been injured or disabled in the line of duty.

• Kyiv

Leda Kosmachevska lived in Crimea until 2014. After the russian occupation of the peninsula, she moved to the capital. Today, Leda is a leading communications specialist at the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, living in Kyiv and raising her three-month-old daughter, Radoslava. She is fighting to have her daughter bear the surname of her missing father, Valentyn Dobryi.

Leda’s partner, Valentyn Dobryi, volunteered for military service in September 2022. He did so of his own free will, despite having undergone heart surgery as a child. Leda told Valentyn that he would become a father two weeks before he went missing.

On October 21, 2023, Valentyn Dobryi went missing during an attack between Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. His comrades told Leda that they had seen Valentyn’s body, but due to heavy shelling they were unable to recover it. Now the area is occupied, and Leda is fighting to give her daughter the Dobra surname. To do so, she must prove paternity in court, as she and Valentyn were not officially married. Leda is raising her three-month-old daughter with the help of Valentyn’s mother, Svitlana Dobra.

Leda Kosmachevska is in Kyiv. She is ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• children
• military
• women
• Kyiv

On September 22, a charity soccer match will be held in Kyiv to raise funds for the 1st Separate Assault Battalion, named in honor of the late Ukrainian hero, Dmytro “Da Vinci” Kotsiubailo. The match, timed to coincide with the International Day of Peace, will feature a friendly game between Ukraine’s national team of artists and soldiers from the “Da Vinci” battalion. Proceeds from the event will go toward the rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers.

Oleksandra Kotsiubailo, Dmytro’s younger sister, will kick off the match, while Ukrainian singer Artem Nikitin is set to perform the national anthem.

• Kyiv

The Veteranka movement has launched the “Plan B Center of Strength” project, spearheaded by Tetiana Borys, whose husband, a soldier with the 58th Mechanized Brigade, was killed in action in February 2023. The initiative aims to reshape how Ukraine supports families of fallen soldiers, addressing their grief and guiding them toward healing.

The project’s key goal is to study the experiences of those coping with loss and use that insight to reform how government agencies work with bereaved families. As part of the initiative, families will receive a bereavement guide designed to help them re-engage with society and rebuild their lives.

Tetiana Borys also plans to share her personal story of loss in a series of articles that highlight the emotional journey of losing a loved one in war.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Tetiana in Kyiv to learn more about the “Plan B Center of Strength” project.

• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

On September 20, the Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing “Incredible success in Paris: Results of the 2024 Paralympics”.

Participants: 

– Valeriy Sushkevych, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine;

– Ihor Tsvietov, two-time Paralympic champion in para athletics, 2024 Paralympic Games;

– Yaroslav Denysenko, two-time gold medalist and bronze medalist in para swimming, 2024 Paralympic Games;

– Iryna Poida, two-time gold medalist and two-time silver medalist in para swimming, 2024 Paralympic Games;

– Danylo Chufarov, two-time silver medalist and bronze medalist in para swimming, 2024 Paralympic Games;

– Marina Mazhula, silver medalist in para canoe, 2024 Paralympic Games. 

The event will focus on the following topics: in which sports Ukrainian Paralympic athletes achieved the best results; achievements of Ukrainian Paralimpians at the Paris Paralympics; challenges of training and preparation for the Paralympic Games 2024.

• Kyiv