Themes by tag: Kyiv

In a landmark initiative spanning April to July 2024, Ukraine has established its inaugural Team of Cultural First Aiders under the flagship project “Enhancing Capacities in Ukraine for Cultural Heritage First Aid and Recovery Planning.” This team comprises 23 specialized professionals who underwent intensive training.

Throughout the comprehensive program, Ukrainian experts including museum curators, monument conservators, architects, engineers, legal advisors, restorers, and managers engaged in both online and in-person sessions. They drew insights from international and domestic mentors, examining strategies for safeguarding cultural assets during crises. 

Practical exercises, such as assessing the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Viazivka, Zhytomyr region—damaged during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022—underscored their training. Participants learned to apply international standards in risk management, document damage, evaluate threats, and execute protective measures for endangered cultural sites.

Journalists seeking further details, including visual documentation from the Viazivka training, can obtain additional information about this pioneering effort.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 16, Media Center Ukraine will host a presentation of the analytical report: “Ukraine’s Efforts in Searching for Missing Persons and Family Support.”

Participants:

– Aliona Luniova, Advocacy Manager at ZMINA Human Rights Center;

– Artur Dobroserdov, Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances;

– Olena Bieliachkova, Coordinator for Groups of Families of Prisoners of War at Media Initiative for Human Rights;

– Liubov Tkachenko, mother of Roman Tkachenko, a missing soldier of the military unit A7376. 

Topics of discussion:

– Has the government adequately safeguarded the rights of missing persons?

– How well are the needs of affected families met by state assurances?

– What improvements are necessary to enhance support for missing persons and their families?

Pre-registration is required.

• Kyiv

On July 18, the family of the fallen hero (the Berezov family) in Kyiv region will receive Ukraine’s first residential house, built using 3D construction technology. A house with an area of ​​130 m² was printed in 58 hours using a 3D printer of 3D UTU company.

On March 6, 2022, the Berezov family lost their home due to the russian aggression during the occupation of Irpin. And on November 6, 2022, the father of the family, Yaroslav, died in the battles for Bakhmut. This house will become a symbol of a new beginning for them as well as commemorate the fallen hero.

The special feature of this house is a dual-purpose room with an increased level of security, in which the Berezov family will be able to wait out air alarms.

Journalists will have the opportunity to talk with the Berezov family, Inna Furman, Head of the Hold the Nation Charity Foundation, and representatives of the authorities and partners.

The event requires accreditation. Accreditation will be open until 6:00 PM on July 17, 2024.

For reference: The house for the Berezovs was built as part of the “United for Help” project. This is an initiative of the Hold the Nation Charity Foundation, implemented with the support of the Irpin City Council and over 70 partners.

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

Iryna Vlasenko is a doctor specializing in dermatology and venereology who survived the russian occupation in Melitopol (Zaporizhia region). She knows the feeling when it seems that everyone has forgotten about you. These memories motivate her to volunteer at FRIDA (the Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission). Together with other doctors, Iryna attends to patients both in the front-line regions and in the borderlands, and shows by her example that people who live there are remembered.

The trips also help her deal with her fears about her husband, who is now on the front lines. While her husband has operated a Mavic drone on over 100 missions, Iryna has gone on more than 40 trips to the front-line territories.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Iryna in Kyiv. There is also an opportunity to cover the volunteer trips made by FRIDA Ukraine.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission that aims to help the civilian population. Volunteer doctors provide Ukrainians affected by hostilities with high-quality healthcare.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

Peaceful gatherings are planned in at least 16 Ukrainian cities to highlight the plight of Azovstal defenders and other military personnel still in enemy captivity. 

On July 13, rallies will occur in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Pavlohrad, and Irpin. 

The following day, July 14, demonstrations are scheduled in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kremenchuk, Krolevets, Ovruch, Kropyvnytskyi, Trostianets, Kryvyi Rih, and Chernivtsi. 

These events are organized by the families of POWs from the Mariupol garrison.

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv
• Odesa

On July 15, the ENDLESS HOPE photo exhibition by Nataliia Nesterkina will begin in Kyiv. It is dedicated to the families of Ukrainian soldiers from the 30th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who went missing during the battles with the Wagnerites along the Bakhmut axis. There are over 300 fighters from this brigade.

The photo project features wives, sisters, mothers and children of the missing soldiers.

For reference: Nataliia Nesterkina is a member of the National Society of Photo Artists of Ukraine. She has been accredited for photography by the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2022. She has been documenting the crimes committed by the aggressor in de-occupied territories.

• Kyiv

On July 11, the training began for guides, who will work at memorial sites of the russo-Ukrainian war in Kyiv region. Their goal is to train qualified specialists who will be able to provide meaningful, reliable information about the tragic events of the war in Kyiv region.

The courses will consist of online and offline classes, trainings, educational and methodological excursions and will culminate in thematic exams. The program is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The training will last 4 weeks.

At the first stage, the organizers selected 29 applicants, including representatives from tourism industry and museum institutions.

Journalists are welcome to cover the training process.

For reference: Guide training takes place within the framework of the project “Kyiv region. Memorial Sites” of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Svitlana Solonska worked as a kindergarten teacher in Zaporizhia region. Her husband, Vladyslav, was a teacher by education. At one time, he graduated from the Zaporizhia Police School. After the Revolution of Dignity, he joined the ranks of the Azov volunteer formation. Vladyslav was very happy when the unit later became part of the National Guard of Ukraine (now it is the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine). Having started as a driver, Vladyslav was promoted to the position of company commander, and then to the position of logistics officer.

On February 22, 2022, Vladyslav came home and told his wife that they were being sent to Mariupol. It was the last time Svitlana saw her husband.

Svitlana and her 13-year-old daughter were in Zaporizhia region when the full-scale invasion began. During the first days, their settlement was occupied by the russians. The woman saw enemy tanks driving through her village in the direction of Mariupol. Later, her husband called and said that Svitlana and her daughter needed to leave urgently, as the invaders would come to their home. On March 19, they were able to leave for Ukraine-controlled territory.

Vladyslav was at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Despite the blockade of the city and constant shelling, he was assigned the task of delivering products and supporting the rear. He delivered food and water to the field hospital under the shelling. A “Starlink” allowed him to keep in touch with his wife.

In May 2022, Vladyslav together with other defenders followed the order of the high command and surrendered. On the night of July 29, 2022, Vladyslav was injured during an explosion in the barracks in Olenivka, he did not receive proper medical care. There was no information about his condition for a long time. Later, Svitlana found out that her husband had died: they could find him only by DNA matching.

Journalists are welcome to learn more and talk with Svitlana in Kyiv.

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka, which housed Ukrainian prisoners of war. At least 50 defenders of Azovstal were killed in the attack.

• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

On July 11, the Media Center Ukraine will hold a briefing with the Head of the Press Service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, focusing on the consequences of the russian missile attack on Ukraine on July 8.

For reference: On July 8, russia launched a powerful missile attack on Ukraine. The missiles caused significant destruction to residential buildings and civilian structures, including a strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. The attack targeted Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, and other Ukrainian cities, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Dozens of volunteers, including members of the Los Solomas community, are currently working in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, where a kindergarten and nearby houses were damaged by the missile hit on July 8.

Volunteers are engaged in tasks such as clearing construction debris and covering shattered windows with plastic.

Journalists are welcome to report on the volunteers’ efforts.

For reference: On July 8, russian forces launched a missile attack on Kyiv, damaging 129 buildings in the city. The attack resulted in 34 fatalities. As of the morning of July 10, 38 people injured in the attack remain hospitalized, with 6 in serious condition.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv