Themes by tag: Lviv

On June 28, the Lviv oblast will host an adaptive CrossFit competition for wounded soldiers, veterans, amputees, and people with disabilities in wheelchairs. These competitions have become a crucial step in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of our heroes.

The competition will be attended by 25 adaptive athletes from all over Ukraine – veterans and active military personnel who were injured while defending their homeland, underwent treatment and continue their rehabilitation.

Registration is required (the exact location will be shared after sign-up). Registered media representatives will be provided with transportation from Lviv.

Background: The event is organized by the ‘Games of Heroes’ NGO and the Charitable Foundation ‘Kharkiv with You’ with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium).

The competition’s history dates back to 2015, when the psychological rehabilitation of severely wounded soldiers first became a pressing issue following russia’s aggression in 2014. The growing number of wounded required not only medical and psychological support but also active efforts to help them reintegrate into society and return to an active life.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Lviv

Danish manufacturer Levitate, a producer of active and sports prosthetics founded by Lasse Werner Madsen — an amputee himself — continues its mission in Ukraine. On June 25, the company will hold a landmark sports event in collaboration with the UNBROKEN Foundation, during which 30 Ukrainian defenders who have undergone amputations will receive high-quality active and/or sports prosthetics.

The event will bring together prosthetics specialists, physical therapists, a coach from the PROBIG running club, and patients who already have experience using sports prosthetics. Participants will play basketball and run together.

The event’s mentors will include:
– Yana Stepanenko
– Volodymyr Rudkovskyi
– Christopher Greenwood

They will share their personal experiences and support the defenders on their journey to reclaiming an active life. The event will take place in Lviv.

Background: Lasse Werner Madsen, founder of Levitate, lost his leg at the age of 14. Drawing from his own experience, he understands how crucial it is to maintain an active lifestyle after amputation. At the time, sports prosthetics were unavailable, forcing Lasse to create his own prosthetic for athletic activities. This personal struggle inspired him to establish Levitate and expand its efforts in Ukraine, ensuring that every Ukrainian with an amputation has access to high-quality, functional prosthetics.

• casualties
• Lviv

Oleksii Polukhin, a 21-year-old openly LGBTQ+ activist from Kherson, joined the resistance movement in the first days of russia’s occupation, coordinating with Ukraine’s Security Service, Armed Forces, and intelligence units.

Until May 2022, Oleksii was gathering critical intelligence for Ukrainian special services. On May 9, during a reconnaissance mission, he stumbled upon a newly established russian checkpoint. He is certain that someone informed the occupiers about his activities, as they were already waiting for him at the checkpoint. They confiscated his phone and passport, forced him to strip, blindfolded him, and drove him around the city for hours before taking him to a detention center for interrogation.

When his captors discovered Oleksii was queer, they subjected him to psychological torture — forcing him to wear a dress, denying him showers, outdoor time, medical care, or legal assistance. Though they avoided physical violence, the relentless psychological abuse lasted two months before his release. Even after, Oleksii remained in Kherson and only left his hometown after it was de-occupied. Now, he undergoes therapy and continues to volunteer for the Ukrainian army.

Journalists can communicate with Oleksii Polukhin online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv
• LGBT

The third international ophthalmic surgery mission, Vision for Ukraine, organized by the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine, is underway in Kyiv and Lviv. Three surgeons from the United States arrived in Ukraine to collaborate with local specialists on complex clinical cases.

Among the mission’s patients are military personnel who have lost sight in one or both eyes and part of their faces due to mine and explosive injuries. Organizers describe these free surgeries as unprecedented because surgeons use an innovative approach involving 3D implants to reconstruct eye orbits, jaws, and skulls.

Background: Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine team has conducted over ten international missions, providing free surgeries to more than 850 patients.

Arrangements can be made to speak with surgeons and patients in person in Lviv until June 20.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Lviv

The international forum Unbroken Justice will run for two days in Lviv, bringing together leading voices in law, human rights, and trauma recovery.

The program will begin on June 23 with a public discussion titled Justice and Time, featuring British legal scholar and author Philippe Sands alongside French psychoanalyst Beatrice Patsalides Hofmann. 

The following day, June 24, will mark the official opening of the St. Leo the Great Mental Health Center, the first facility in Ukraine specifically designed to support individuals who have endured captivity, torture, and psychological trauma. The center will also host a series of panel discussions exploring critical topics, including:

– Psychological support for victims of torture;

– Accountability for crimes against humanity;

– The prospect of establishing a tribunal for vladimir putin;

– Community resilience in the face of war. 

Among the featured speakers are neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjorn Berge, and Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ukrainian human rights defender and Armed Forces officer Maksym Butkevych, who spent two years and four months in russian captivity, will also take part in the discussions.

Advance registration is required to attend the event. 

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

From June 11 to 13, Lviv will host the Lviv Urban Forum. This international event, now in its third year, will bring foreign and Ukrainian architects, urban planners, activists, and local government representatives together in Lviv. The event is expected to attract approximately 1,500 participants, including city mayors, architects, urban planners, students, community representatives, and interested citizens.

Amidst global challenges and war, this year’s forum will focus on the theme “Building Continuity”, exploring comprehensive urban planning and development approaches.

The intensive, three-day program will include urban excursions, workshops, book presentations, networking opportunities, and lectures and discussions with leading global practitioners.

International architects behind iconic European urban projects will speak at the event, including:

• Miroslav Šik, founder of the “analog architecture” concept; 
• Johannes Tovatt, the architect behind one of the largest modern urban projects, Aspern Seestadt in Vienna;
• Isabell Klunker, head of the Munich office of Max Dudler Architekten;
• Dr. Philippe Samyn, architect of the European Council Headquarters (EUROPA) building in Brussels
• Catherine Gall, author of the “15-minute City Model”

The full program of the event is available to journalists.

Background: The event is organized by the Department of Architecture of the Lviv City Council and the Ukrainian Urban Platform.

• culture
• Lviv

Andrii Novosad is a physical therapist by profession, though he had never worked in the field. When the full-scale invasion began, he started volunteering by making Molotov cocktails and weaving camouflage nets for the military.

One day, a friend who worked at a rehabilitation center called Andrii to tell him about the shortage of specialists working with severely wounded soldiers. Without hesitation, Andrii began working as a physical therapist. While working, he saw a soldier who had lost both hands being fed by his wife. This inspired Andrii to start thinking about adaptive devices that could help the wounded eat independently.

He discussed the problem with his parents, who are engineers and manufacture rehabilitation equipment. Together, they developed a prototype of adaptive tableware and gave it to soldiers for testing. The design includes two types of special cuffs — one with a fork and one with a spoon. Soldiers can put on and take off these utensils without assistance.

Currently, Andrii and his family provide them free of charge to those with double amputations or anyone in need.

You can contact Andrii Novosad online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• volunteers
• Lviv

On June 1, International Children’s Day, Lviv will host a charity auction featuring a collection of rare and high-profile items. Proceeds from the event will go toward the development and support of the children’s rehabilitation unit at St. Nicholas Hospital, part of the UNBROKEN ecosystem. The facility provides care for children recovering from serious illnesses, surgeries, trauma, burns, and war-related injuries.

Among the exclusive auction items:

• A T-shirt signed by soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo (starting price: USD 1,500);
  
• Original rhinestones from Michael Jackson’s iconic gloves (starting price: USD 1,200);
  
• A soccer ball autographed by players of the Ukrainian national team (starting price: USD 1,000);
  
• A facsimile of the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, signed by Metropolitan Epiphanius (starting price: USD 1,000);
  
• A soccer ball signed by players of FC Karpaty (starting price: USD 500). 

Media representatives must obtain accreditation to attend the event.

• children
• Lviv

On May 22, 2025, Lviv will host the second Ministerial Social Policy Summit. This year’s theme: “Building Resilient Societies: Innovative Solutions for Demographic Change”.

The summit will bring together more than 20 high-level representatives, including ministers from EU Member States, officials from the European Commission, international organizations, leading experts, and policymakers. They will discuss the current demographic challenges facing most European countries.

russia’s full-scale aggression has significantly deepened Ukraine’s demographic crisis. According to the Institute for Demography and Life Quality of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as of 2024, Ukraine’s population is estimated at 31 million. Around 4.6 million are internally displaced, and another 5 million remain abroad. Declining birth rates, large-scale migration, and an aging population are challenges facing Ukraine and Europe as a whole. This international summit is intended to bring together countries searching for shared solutions.

The summit’s goal is to strengthen strategic partnerships between the social policy ministries of participating countries, enhance international cooperation in social policy, and continue the global dialogue on supporting Ukraine’s and Moldova’s integration into the European Union.

Registration for the event will remain open until 11 AM on May 21.

Background: The Summit is organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova, in co-organization with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Sweden and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, with the support of UNICEF in Ukraine.

• Lviv

This May and June, the Hospitallers medical battalion will conduct a series of tactical medicine courses for volunteer medics and civilians. The program features the NAEMT’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care – Combat Lifesaver (TCCC-CLS) course, along with trauma first aid, bleeding control, and simulation-based training. Courses will be held in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and throughout the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Journalists may attend and cover the sessions with prior approval.

For reference: Active on the front lines since 2014, the Hospitallers medical battalion carries out dozens of evacuations each day across nearly the entire combat zone. The team has been training others in tactical medicine since 2015 and in first aid since 2018. Instructors are certified by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy (UVMA), and other recognized institutions.

• doctors
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv