Themes by tag: Kyiv

Oleh Horbachov, the lawyer of Stanislav Asieiev, a former prisoner of the “Insulation” concentration camp, said that during the court session on December 22, the defendant is to present the closing statement. Then the judges will go to the conference room to agree on the sentence. Stanislav Avsieiev’s defense attorney said that he would ask the court to let the journalists be present in the court when the verdict is announced.

For reference: Denys “Palych” Kulykovskyi is charged with five counts, including human trafficking and violation of the laws and customs of war. The prosecutor’s office demands 15 years behind bars for the accused man.

“Insulation” is the term referring to the territory of the former insulation material factory in Donetsk. In June 2014, it was captured by the occupiers and turned into a military base and a prison for the captives. “Insulation” prison was repeatedly called “Europe’s last concentration camp” in the media.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Kyiv Regional Center for Mental Health was captured by the occupiers at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The russian military settled in the facility. They stole valuable equipment from there. The center itself was badly damaged.

After the de-occupation, the restoration works began in the medical facility: in particular, the medical and psychological rehabilitation department was recently opened. It was created on the basis of one of the Center’s branches, which suffered the most during the full-scale invasion. Here the specialists will help military personnel, their relatives and civilians who suffered from the russian federation’s aggression. In total, more than 20 types of rehabilitation services will be provided to patients. Among other things, VR glasses will be used for recovery.

Journalists can learn more about the center’s operation and restoration efforts, interview the management of the facility, talk to doctors and, if possible, patients.

For reference: the Kyiv Regional Center for Mental Health is a specialized medical facility providing qualified inpatient medical examination, care and both social and vocational rehabilitation of patients with mental disorders.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Kyiv will honor the memory of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and defenders of Ukraine during the traditional pre-Christmas event “Tree for Heroes” on December 22. 

Families and friends of the fallen Ukraine defenders, along with school students and common citizens, will decorate the Christmas tree with patriotic angel ornaments and handmade toys.

The event has taken place for eight years in a row. During the “Christmas Tree for Heroes”, citizens pay tribute to those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom, and schoolchildren learn more about the Ukrainian heroes in today’s world. The Bell of Dignity will be rung in memory of the fallen.

During the event, members of the Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine will hand over the Peace Light of Bethlehem to the ministers of the church on the alley of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes.

Event prior accreditation is required. 

For reference: The Revolution of Dignity of 2013-2014 protesters, who died in the Kyiv city center at the hands of security forces and their mercenaries, became known as the Heavenly Hundred and officially included 107 people. 

• dead
• Kyiv

The Dobrodiy Club Charitable Foundation invites news publishers to the opening ceremony of the ‘Place of Power’ free space that supports war-affected children and teenagers. The event will take place in Kyiv on December 21.

The space is a 240 m², three-story facility with a shelter. There are separate creativity zones, lectures and training, counseling, and interaction with a psychologist (for a child to learn to work through stress and transitions, communicate in a community, and develop resilience mechanisms). Place of Power space is committed to open its doors to 75,000 teenagers annually. 

The event will feature “(Already) adult discussion: What keeps your mentality alive?” – a dialogue with Ukrainian teenagers, and “My Identity” art collage workshop. 

The first visitors to the space will share their own stories of finding support and encouragement, as well as advice and life hacks for their peers.

Prior event accreditation is required. 

• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On December 18, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will host the press conference entitled Persecution and humiliation: the reality of being a lawyer in occupied Crimea”

Participants:

• Daria Svyrydova, Ukraine 5AM Coalition expert, Law Firm AZONES partner;
• Roman Martynovskyy, lawyer, who left Sevastopol after the start of occupation, Lead Expert at Regional Center for Human Rights NGO;
• Vitaliy Sekretar, First Deputy Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol;
• Illya Kostin, lawyer, Head of the Department of Military Justice Development and Interaction with Law Enforcement Agencies of the Main Military Justice Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Member of the Ukrainian Bar Association Board;

Topics of focus:

• What are the risks, the Crimean lawyers who continued working, acting in good faith as the occupation dragged on, handle?
• What are the strategies of the occupation authorities to put pressure on independent lawyers?
• What are the stigma-associated risk factors of indiscriminately labeling all lawyers who pursue a career under occupation as “collaborators”?

• occupation
• Kyiv

On December 16-17, the Superhumans Center team, an ultra-modern rehabilitation and prosthetics center for war victims) will attend the Christmas Courage charity fair. The Center’s patients will show them making great strides in adapting to life with a prosthetic limb. For example, Vadym with a prosthetic arm, and Serhii with two prosthetic legs used to be bartenders before the war. At the Courage charity fair, the guys will treat visitors with Christmas tea and cocoa. And Serhii, who has bilateral upper-limb loss resulting in double amputation, will treat the fair guests with homemade waffle cakes.

The “supers” are also preparing self-made Christmas decorations for all comers. Also, the Group for Active Rehabilitation, headed by Uliana Pcholkina, will hold wheelchair relay races for all visitors and, together with the Superhumans team, will organize a Christmas caroling party. 

• Kyiv

Journalists are welcome to visit shelters for the unhoused elderly people (including those with disabilities) in Prybirsk and Hornostaipil in Kyiv Oblast together with the Yulyni Babusi (Yulia’s Grandmothers) charity foundation. To get seniors into the New Year’s Eve spirit, they will be given gifts: candy, cookies, tea, coffee, warm socks, blankets, knitting and embroidery kits. They will also receive greeting cards and letters written by caring Ukrainians.

Anyone willing could join the charity event and make a gift pack for the elderly in the shelters run by the foundation.

For reference: Yulia Karpova, a morning show radio host, founded the Yulyni Babusi charity foundation, which benefits senior citizens. The foundation’s slogan is: “There are no cooler grandchildren for older people than you and me.” Currently, they run 7 shelters in the Kyiv region (including in settlements affected by the occupation), Zhytomyr, and Dnipro regions. In total, the benefactors have more than five hundred children in need of care.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

The ShchukaRyba band, DJ Chocollab, and children will host a charity concert featuring Ukrainian traditional songs and Christmas Carols in Kyiv on December 14. 

All funds raised will be used to provide psychological assistance to children affected by the war. The concert will showcase compositions created by teenagers in collaboration with the musicians.

This charitable event will serve as the culmination of the “Sound Lab” course conducted by the “Voices of Children” Foundation for teenagers. For several months, 15 teenagers from different regions, each with different war experiences, participated in a course covering traditional singing and electronic music, led by the folk group “ShchukaRyba” and DJ Chocollab. Together with the foundation’s psychologist, the children used music to live through their war experiences, traumatic memories, emotions, and feelings. Music can have a powerful therapeutic effect during times of war. 

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On December 14, a ceremonial handover of chaplain backpacks to military chaplains of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take place in Kyiv. For the first time, volunteers will give each military chaplain a special backpack for the needs of chaplains serving at the frontlines.

The organizers of the event are convinced that volunteer support for chaplaincy service is extremely important, because chaplains take care of the spirit of Ukrainian soldiers.

The participants of the event will include:

• Nadiia Vovk – a Ukrainian volunteer, the initiator of the campaign to support and provide for chaplains in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• Colonel Oleksii Tereshchuk – Head of the Military Chaplaincy Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• Military chaplains of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of various denominations.

The event requires accreditation.

• religion
• Kyiv

Volunteers of “Brave to Rebuild” project created a wall calendar for the year 2024 with the participation of men who actively volunteered in community work in Kyiv region. (In particular, they cleared the rubble, laid communication lines, repaired houses damaged as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion). The calendar will also include photos of foreign volunteers.

According to the organizers’ design, this calendar is a reminder that it is still important to work hard to volunteer and help each other in 2024.

Pre-orders for “Brave Calendar” are already open (at the cost of a donation of UAH 300). Proceeds will go towards the purchase of tools and materials that volunteers will use for community work in 2024.

Journalists can talk to people involved in making the calendar and to volunteers who took part in the photo shoot. Currently, the calendar is in the production stage.

• volunteers
• Kyiv