Themes by tag: Kyiv

The international organization “The Halo Trust” had been helping to demine the territory of Ukraine even before the start of the full-scale invasion. Currently, 800 Ukrainians are involved in mine clearing efforts in 5 regions: Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv and Chernihiv. “The Halo Trust” also works at the sites of flooding caused by the breach of the Kakhovka Dam. In the last eight weeks alone, sappers discovered more than 5,000 mines in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions.

The international organization “The Halo Trust” surveys recently liberated Ukrainian lands, using the methodology tested in more than 30 countries of the world.

For reference: According to the State Emergency Service, 30% of the territory of Ukraine is mined. According to some assessments, it may take more than 10 years to clear the land.

• russian crimes
• Chernihiv
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Mykolaiv
• Sumy
• demining

Chi came from Hong Kong to help Ukrainians affected by the full-scale war. A 53-year-old accountant joined the volunteers of the “Brave to Rebuild” project two weeks ago. Now he spends his weekends dismantling the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Kyiv region.

The foreign volunteer will be available for journalists to talk to after July 10.

For reference: Brave to Rebuild is a volunteer project aimed at helping residents of the de-occupied territories of Ukraine restore housing and social institutions damaged due to Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.  

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On June 30, at 11:00 AM, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will host a presentation of the “Guide for Veterans and Their Family Members” (within the system of providing psychological, medical-psychological, and psychiatric care in Ukraine).

This guide is a collection of work and adapted materials based on the experience of the crisis support hotline of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation (UVF) of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. It was prepared by expert psychologists who work as UVF Hotline Counselors. The guide contains a “Road Map” to the system of psychological, medical and psychiatric care, as well as recommendations for veterans and their family members.

The participants of the event will include:

Svitlana Kashenets — Deputy Minister for Veteran Affairs

Natalia Kalmykova — Executive Director of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation

Oleksandr Chamorsov — veteran, UVF Crisis Hotline Counselor, crisis psychologist, trauma therapist

Olena Lashko — UVF Crisis Hotline Counselor

Oksana Zbitnieva — Head of Barrier-Free NGO, Head of the Coordination Center for Mental Health under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Training for 20 participants of the “Sports Ambassadors” project by the “Come Back Alive” Foundation will start in July. These are 20 active veterans who have gone through their own recovery journeys after being injured on the front line. Now they will help others to go through the same.

Over three months, the ambassadors will be trained in adaptive sports, coaching, mentoring, and leadership to help their brothers and sisters in arms restore their faith in themselves and their abilities after an injury.

Journalists will be able to attend the training of the Sports Ambassadors in the Kyiv region.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

On June 28, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform news agency will host a press conference entitled “Missing Ukrainians: presentation of the report on people abducted by russia in the occupied territories,” during which human rights defenders will present data on enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions of active citizens since the beginning of the full-scale war. The participants of the press conference will include:

• Natalia Okhotnikova, Human Rights Adviser at ZMINA
• Maryia Kvitsinskaya, Expert on Europe and Central Asia at the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
• Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (participation to be confirmed)
• Anna, a friend of the kidnapped volunteer, an active parishioner of one of Marharyta Kharenko’s churches
• Oleksandra Stoliar, the mother of kidnapped Iryna Navalna, an active citizen who was accused of planning sabotage in Mariupol
• Anhelina, the sister of the wife of the kidnapped volunteer Yaroslav Zhuk

For reference: russia has been abducting Ukrainians since 2014 in the occupied territories, but after the full-scale invasion, there have been many more cases of disappearances. The russian federation is doing this deliberately in order to suppress the active Ukrainian resistance in the occupation. ZMINA Human Rights Center collected data on enforced disappearances during the full-scale war.  

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Kyrylo Barashkov has built a modern bunker in the Kyiv region: equipped with sofas, a fireplace for heating, double flow ventilation, a dry closet, and even a utility room, and the Internet is provided. The bunker is located at a depth of 4.8 meters, with reinforced concrete on top. The construction of this shelter took two months, costing about 18 thousand dollars. Apart from the family, Kyrylo lets neighbors hide in the shelter during air raids.

• Kyiv

Before the start of the full-scale war, Kyiv-based organization CRAF was engaged in car tuning and preparing them for races. But after February 24, 2022, the team promptly changed the format of their work, and now they help the military camouflage everything: from cars and armored vehicles to helmets and assault rifles. CRAF paints each car according to their own methodology to hide it either in the field or in the forest. For more than a year of work, at least 900 cars were painted for Ukrainian defenders.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

Experts from the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) will present their analysis of the places where Ukrainian prisoners of war are being held in Russia at a briefing in Kyiv. The event will also be attended by relatives of the prisoners.

Speakers:

– Tetyana Katrychenko, the MIHR coordinator 

– Maria Klymyk, investigative journalist at the MIHR

– Andriy Yakovlev, lawyer, and expert with the MIHR

– Iryna Latysh, a prisoner of war relative

– Nataliia Yepifanova, head of the “Warrior’s Liberation” public organization, a relative of a prisoner of war

For reference: Based on interviews with service members released from captivity, the Media Initiative for Human Rights identified and mapped 42 places of detention of prisoners of war on the territory of Russia. These are pre-trial detention centers and penal colonies. The public organization describes ten of them in detail in new analytical material. These are the places where the highest number of prisoners of war are held and where a large number of war crimes are committed.

• prisoners
• Kyiv

Mykola Mohylevskyi, a 24-year-old volunteer from Fastiv, has been to the most dangerous places on the frontline during the full-scale invasion: Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Lyman, Soledar and Siversk. He took everyone he could persuade to evacuate to safe places. In addition to people, Mohylevskyi had to take out animals: dogs and even cows. Mykola goes to the front line every month. Now journalists can visit him in Fastiv, Kyiv region for conversation.

• animals
• casualties
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• evacuation

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representative in Ukraine, Caroline Lindholm Billing, will give a briefing in Kyiv on the occasion of World Refugee Day. The topic of the exact number of Ukrainian refugees in the world and assistance to Ukraine in addressing the issue of housing recovery and reconstruction is among the issues to be discussed.

• casualties
• reconstruction
• Kyiv