Themes by tag: Kyiv
Pylyp Dukhlii, a military veteran of the russia-Ukraine war, has established a private school where apart from receiving a general education, students also delve into programming, robotics, and 2D and 3D modeling.
Following the events of February 24, 2022, Dukhlii relocated his family to the West and joined the Defense Forces. His responsibilities included coordinating communication between positions. As a multiple life-or-death situations survivor, Dukhlii faced throughout his service, he, in what he describes, have accumulated four new “second birthdays.”
Upon his discharge, Dukhlii returned to Kyiv to continue developing his school. Now, high school students there are engaged in assembling FPV drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This hands-on experience allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical setting. The school boasts a modern workshop equipped with tools for designing, modeling, and soldering, as well as a laser cutter and a 3D printer. The drones built by these students can carry up to two kilograms, travel at least five kilometers, and remain airborne for over twenty minutes.
“Place of Strength,” a free space for supporting children and teenagers who suffered from the war, works in Kyiv. This is a project of the “Dobrodiy Club” charitable foundation.
The space has 3 floors and an equipped shelter. There are separate zones for creative activities, lectures, training and sessions with a psychologist. So, for example, various creative master classes and art therapy classes (ranging from drawing and compositing to creating affirmation paintings) are held in the art zone. Among other things, the space has an interactive theater, a film club, reading and discussion clubs. Famous guests are invited to certain events.
In total, within 5 months of operation, the space opened its doors to 5,400 visitors with more than 600 different events taking place during this time.
By prior agreement, journalists can visit the space and talk with visitors and organizers.
For reference: June 1 marks International Children’s Day in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General’s Office reports that more than 1,899 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of russia’s full-scale armed aggression. According to juvenile prosecutors’ reports, 548 children died and more than 1,351 received injuries of various degrees of severity as of the morning of May 27, 2024.
On May 31, the Center for Civil Liberties and the Kateryna Osadcha Foundation, in collaboration with the XII International Book Arsenal Festival, will host a poetry reading focused on themes of captivity.
“Hold on! I’m holding on!” is more than a slogan—it’s a heartfelt message from prisoners to their families, friends, and the broader community. The poster for the event features an illustration by Serhii Ofitserov, a Kherson resident captured in his parent’s apartment and currently detained at the Lefortovo detention center on false terrorism charges.
The event will showcase works by renowned Ukrainian poets including Serhii Zhadan, Tetiana Vlasova, Tonia Kornuta, Natalka Heiman, Yuliia Musakovska, Anna Malihon, Maryna Ponomarenko, and Oksana Stomina, whose husband remains in captivity. Contributions from prisoners such as Serhii Tsyhipa, founder of the Tavrian Games, Nariman Dzhelialov, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and Andrii Holubiev, a trainer from Melitopol, will also be featured. Their works will be brought to life by actors Akhtem Seitablaev, Kateryna Vyshneva, and Roman Yasinovskyi, along with human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk. The event will be hosted by Kateryna Osadcha.
Journalists wishing to attend must apply for accreditation by May 27.
The “OnTrack” course by “Reskilling Ukraine” is a free course that gives women the opportunity to become a truck driver (with category C driver’s license). The course consists of theoretical and practical parts, as well as an exam.
The priority categories of women considered for this course are veterans and discharged soldiers, women from military families, as well as forcibly displaced persons. Future students must have category B driver’s license and previous driving experience (at least 3 years).
The “OnTrack” course started in February 2024. 38 Ukrainian women have already received category C driver’s licenses.
“Reskilling Ukraine” also launched the “BusDrive” training program, which focuses on training women to become passenger bus drivers (category D license). The first group has already been enrolled.
By prior agreement, journalists have the opportunity to talk with participants of both programs (“OnTrack” and “BusDrive”) and cover practical classes in Kyiv or Ternopil region. Also, media representatives have the opportunity to communicate with Sweden-based organizers of the program online.
For reference: “Reskilling Ukraine” is a project by the Swedish non-profit organization “Beredskapslyftet” working in the field of retraining and employment of women in Ukraine.
On May 28, the Ukrainian Tactical Medicine Forum will be held in Kyiv for the second time. The main theme of this year’s event is “2 Years since the Full-Scale Invasion. What has Changed in the Media. Positive and Negative Experience.” The purpose of the event is to share unique experience and knowledge that helps save the lives of our soldiers at the front.
The reports and discussions at the Forum will feature:
– Experience and practices essential for providing effective care to the wounded at the pre-hospital stage;
– New changes in TCCC protocols;
– Practical cases of training and assistance within individual units;
– Pathways to becoming a combat medic;
– Interaction between combat units and volunteers.
The event is organized by the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation.
Pre-registration is required.
The results of the fourth environmental mission will be published in the coming days. The mission was conducted in March 2024 by “Let’s do it Ukraine” volunteers together with the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea. Water and bottom sediment samples were taken from reservoirs, wells and boreholes in settlements of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions with the goal to analyze how the quality of water changed due to the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP dam.
Research results will also be used in the criminal proceedings conducted by the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine and the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine.
As reported, environmental volunteers and scientists already conducted three such missions in the South of the country. The first water samples were taken in June 2023 in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. The next environmental mission took place in July. The first results yielded disappointing forecasts. Starting from the Dnipro River near Kherson, the content of oil products, toxic metals (zinc, cadmium, arsenic) and organic chlorine compounds exceeded safe concentration levels in the Dnipro-Buh estuary, the Black Sea near Ochakiv, and the Odesa Bay. The third environmental mission didn’t show any significant changes, as the results were just as disappointing.
Journalists have the opportunity to learn more about the findings of the previous and latest missions as well as talk with representatives of the “Let’s do it Ukraine ” movement in Kyiv. Media representatives will also have the opportunity to talk with representatives of the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of Sea in Odesa.
In addition, it is possible to obtain photos and video materials from environmental missions.
For reference: on June 6, 2023, the russian military blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam in Kherson region. This caused Ukraine losses estimated at USD 14 billion, states the report “Post Disaster Needs Assessment report of the Kakhovka Dam Disaster” by the UN and the Ukrainian government.
Throughout 2023-2024, the analytical publication Texty.org.ua examined numerous rehabilitation centers, including public, private, and volunteer-run facilities. While some have been aiding soldiers since 2014, others began operations in 2022. Despite their varied beginnings, all share a common goal: to restore the physical and mental well-being of military personnel affected by the war.
During the roundtable, Texty.org.ua journalists, who have extensively researched this topic, along with officials and public members, will discuss the priorities for state policy in military rehabilitation over the next five years and explore the contributions that private and volunteer initiatives can make in this effort.
Speakers:
- Natalia Kalmykova, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Social Development;
- Vasyl Strilka, Director of the Department of High-Tech Medical Care and Innovations at the Ministry of Health;
- Kseniia Voznitsyna, Chief Doctor of Lisova Poliana Veterans Mental Health and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine;
- Valeriia Pavlenko, journalist at Texty.org.ua, author of multiple series publications relating to the Anastasios and challenges the military faces during rehabilitation;
- Anastasiia Pampukha, Strategic Advisor on Policy Development and Legal Support of the Rehabilitation of War Trauma Initiative;
- Ihor Chernetskyi, head of the Center for Anti-Terrorist Operation Participants and Their Families “Bandera Skhron” (Bandera’s Cache);
- Uliana Bakh – Project Director at IREX.
Kateryna met her husband Volodymyr at KPI University. When the Maidan protests began, he felt compelled to join. In 2015, he volunteered for the front lines. A year later, during a combat mission, Volodymyr was hit by an enemy mine, losing both his legs.
The family was in Bucha at the start of the full-scale invasion. Volodymyr moved Kateryna and their 5-year-old son from their apartment to a private house. Despite his prosthetics, he eagerly joined the local defense forces, determined to protect his country.
Volodymyr died on Vokzalna Street in Bucha, a site later infamous for photos of destroyed Russian equipment. He was among the first to engage in the battle and was killed.
Kateryna and her son endured two weeks in a basement, suffering from constant darkness and running out of food and water. Finally, they ventured outside to find a car to escape the city. After hours of wandering outside in the cold temps, an elderly man picked them up. They traveled under fire for six hours in a frigid car, eventually reaching a village near Kyiv where Kateryna’s brother lived.
Journalists can arrange to speak with Kateryna in the Kyiv region for more details.
For reference: A street in Bucha has been renamed in honor of Volodymyr Kovalskyi. After his exhumation, he was reburied on the Walk of Fame and posthumously awarded the title of “Honorary Citizen of the City.”
The family is now supported by the Children of Heroes charity foundation, which aids Ukrainian children who have lost parents to the war.
On May 21, Kyiv will see the launch of the Intercity Information Train, designed to highlight real stories of human exploitation and trafficking. The initiative aims to educate the public on self-protection measures and available resources for assistance. Volunteers will be present at the station during the event to engage with passengers and passersby about modern slavery, distributing leaflets containing hotline numbers.
Even speakers:
- Alessia Schiavon, Chief of Mission at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ukraine;
- Theodora Dell, Deputy Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
- Nils Dahlquist, Senior Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine;
- Valerii Tantsiura, Head of the Service for Children and Family Affairs of the Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration);
- Oleksii Liashenko, Deputy Head of the Migration Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine.
The station event marks the start of a widespread information blitz set to roll out across public transit in 10 Ukrainian cities and aboard the Intercity train. The campaign will feature external branding on trolleybuses, trams, buses, and the Intercity locomotive, showcasing narratives on prevalent forms of exploitation, including labor, armed conflict, sexual abuse, forced begging, and survival sex.
Accreditation is mandatory! The deadline to apply for media accreditation is on May 20, 5:30 PM.
This initiative is spearheaded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Counter-Trafficking NGO Coalition. Funding is provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Justice of Sweden.
In 2023, the IOM in Ukraine identified and aided 374 victims of human trafficking, with 23% being internally displaced persons. Additionally, 663 individuals were found to be victims of labor exploitation, lacking signs of human trafficking.
“Ukrainian Puzzles” is a social enterprise born from the idea of creating puzzles depicting objects destroyed or damaged in the war, such as the Chernihiv Youth Library, the An-225 Mriya, the Mariupol Drama Theater, and Karazin University. Symbolically piecing these puzzles together contributes to the real-life reconstruction efforts, as the net profits from Ukrainian Puzzles are allocated to restore these destroyed cultural monuments.
Founded in April 2022 by Vita Vorobchuk and Yaryna Zhurba, the company operates under the slogan “A puzzle to rebuild Ukraine.” The founders believe these puzzles offer a unique way for people worldwide to participate in Ukraine’s restoration. Additionally, the initiative aims to showcase Ukrainian culture and highlight the devastation inflicted by Russia on Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
Among the best-selling puzzles is the An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest airplane. Even President Volodymyr Zelenskyy owns one. Beyond the initial collection focused on destroyed landmarks, new series are in development, including Ukrainian Art, Discover Ukraine, and Glory to Ukraine.
Journalists interested in the initiative can arrange interviews with the founders in Lutsk, Lviv, Kyiv, or via online communication.
