Themes by tag: Lviv

On May 7, Ivan Roman, a patient at the UNBROKEN rehabilitation center in Lviv, will open his own business — an archery sports club — together with his wife, Larysa. Roman lost a leg, an arm and part of his eyesight in the war.

The 38-year-old from the Mykolaiv region first joined Ukraine’s defense back in 2014. In January 2024, he was serving as a driver in an aerial reconnaissance unit. He was transporting fellow soldiers to positions when an enemy FPV drone struck the windshield.

Despite severe injuries, during rehabilitation he tried archery and became passionate about the sport. He learned to draw the bowstring with his teeth and to shoot accurately. The veteran now actively competes and aims to join Ukraine’s national Paralympic team.

The idea to open the club was sparked by Roman’s participation in the ReStart program, “From Idea to Veteran Business” — a free business course for patients of the UNBROKEN Center. The course teaches participants how to develop a business plan, understand finance and taxation, explore grant opportunities, and build communication skills.

After completing the course, Ivan and Larysa applied for a grant, won the competition, and secured funding for equipment.

At their club, the Romans plan to develop adaptive sports, working with veterans and also creating a separate section for visually impaired people.

Journalists are invited to attend the opening, where they will have an opportunity to speak with the founders, tour the new inclusive sports space, and see Ivan demonstrate his archery skills.

Media accreditation is required.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Lviv

On May 21, a charity meeting with writer and veteran of the russia–Ukraine war Artur Dronʹ will take place in Lviv.

All proceeds from ticket sales and a charity auction will go toward the rehabilitation of 15-year-old Mariia from Zaporizhzhia. Her father was killed at the front in June last year. That same summer, Mariia and her mother were involved in a car accident in which Mariia suffered a spinal fracture and her mother was killed. Mariia is now under the care of her grandparents and receives support from the Voices of Children Foundation.

Artur Dronʹ will speak about his new book, which is set to be published this autumn by The Old Lion Publishing House. Guests will hear excerpts from the upcoming book, texts from previous works, as well as new poetry and prose that have not yet been published.

The discussion will be moderated by communications specialist Oksana Zіobro, and the charity auction will be hosted by volunteer and educator Bohdan Ivanus.

Background: The event is organized by The Old Lion Publishing House, with support from partners and donors, including the Lviv Officers’ House and the IT company inVerita.

Artur Dron is a poet, writer, and veteran of the russia–Ukraine war. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he joined the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In October 2024, he sustained a serious combat injury in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

He is the author, among other works, of the short prose collection Hemingway doesn’t know anything and the poetry collection We Were Here.

• culture
• Lviv

On May 2, at a basketball court in Lviv, the Come Back Alive Initiative Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs will host HART | Wheelchair Basketball. The event will bring together veterans of the Russia–Ukraine war, members of national veteran teams, and influencers to play wheelchair basketball. Visitors will also have the opportunity to join in and try the game themselves.

Visitors can expect:

• watching the game and supporting the participants;
• an opportunity to try wheelchair basketball;
• meeting veterans who practice the sport and learning their stories.

The game in Lviv is only the beginning of a larger phase. Immediately afterward, the following will take place:

A five-day training camp: a specialized program aimed at recovery, adaptation, and social reintegration through sport for veterans with visible and invisible injuries, wounds, or illnesses sustained while defending Ukraine.

National competitions: a two-day event for more than 100 veterans from across Ukraine.

Participants will also include skeleton racer and Olympic flag bearer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who honored fallen athletes with his “Helmet of Remembrance,” stand-up comedians Vadym Dziunko, Oleh Luzanov, Bohdan Vakhnych, blogger Mariia Pankiv, and others.

Background: The event is held under the patronage of the Lviv Regional Military Administration. It is organized by the Come Back Alive Initiative Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, with support from the Matra Programme (an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). The general partner of the event is EPAM.

• culture
• Lviv

On May 2, Lviv will host the presentation of a new collection by Ukrainian designer Fedor Vozianov, titled “AMPUTATIONS.” The project sits at the intersection of fashion and art, exploring human transformation after amputation and the emergence of new meanings and possibilities.

The collection will be showcased as part of Lviv Fashion Week. Taking to the runway in Vozianov’s designs will be UNBROKEN Center patient Liudmyla Chorna and mentor Viktoriia Khemych.

Liudmyla Chorna, 27, from Chernivtsi, lost her leg in a road accident when a logging truck’s trailer detached and collided with her car. She took her first steps with a prosthetic limb after three and a half months of rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center. Despite the loss, she is now even more determined to fulfil a long-held dream — to take up dancing.

Viktoriia Khemych, 28, from Lviv, also lost her leg in a traffic accident after being struck by a minibus at a pedestrian crossing. After completing treatment, rehabilitation and prosthetic fitting at the UNBROKEN Center, she joined the team as a mentor. She now supports patients on their recovery journey, helping them adapt to new circumstances and resume an active lifestyle.

The “AMPUTATIONS” collection is the designer’s attempt to reflect on loss as part of the human experience. The meaning of each piece shifts depending on its context: displayed as artworks, they function as visual statements, while on the body they become evening and cocktail dresses.

Media representatives are invited to attend the presentation and will have the opportunity to speak with the designer and participants of the show. Accreditation is required.

• culture
• Lviv

Vladyslav and Stanislav Chuhuienko are twin brothers from Zaporizhzhia. From an early age, Stanislav dreamed of becoming a soldier, and his brother supported his decision. Together, they entered the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy in Lviv and later joined the Ukrainian Marine Corps.

The Chuhuienko brothers fought in the Donetsk sector and were in Mariupol at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion. During one of the missions, Vladyslav sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs. He was evacuated to a hospital and later transferred to the Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, where the brigade command was stationed.

On April 4, 2022, Vladyslav and Stanislav were taken prisoner. At first, they were held together, but were later separated. In captivity, Vladyslav was subjected to torture, beatings, and electric shocks. He was returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange on August 14, 2025. While in captivity, he believed his brother had already returned home. Only after his release did he learn that Stanislav remains in russian captivity. Vladyslav now takes part in rallies supporting prisoners of war and missing persons and is waiting for the return of his closest person.

Vladyslav Chuhuienko can be contacted both online and in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

From April 17 to 19, a recruit training school for civilians organized by Khartiia Hub will take place in Lviv. During the three-day program, instructors will conduct basic military training sessions. Participants will acquire fundamental military skills and gain a better understanding of how the Ukrainian military operates.

The program includes weapons handling, the basics of tactical medicine under fire, combat planning procedures, small-unit tactics, and more.

The training will take place in field conditions and will be led by experienced military instructors.

Prior registration is required.

• military
• Lviv

Halyna Hlobchasta is the head of the villages of Makiivka and Hrekivka in the Luhansk region. For more than 30 years, she worked as a teacher of mathematics and physics in her hometown of Makiivka. She later became the village head.

On March 3, 2022, russian forces occupied her village. Halyna categorically refused to cooperate with the occupiers. In mid-April of the same year, russian forces abducted her. She was interrogated and brutally tortured. In her yard, the occupiers found a hiding place with Ukrainian flags and blue-and-yellow ribbons. During one of the interrogations, they brought in her husband and ordered them to say goodbye.

Eventually, the couple was released, and they decided to flee the occupation. They managed to reach the Kharkiv region, where they met Ukrainian soldiers.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Halyna Hlobchasta both online and offline in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Lviv

Two years ago, Lviv resident Maksym Vintoniv created his first miniature — the entrance of the building where he grew up. He gave the piece to a friend. A year later, while visiting, he took a photo of it and posted it on social media. The post quickly went viral. People started reaching out to Maksym, saying they would gladly order a similar miniature.

Among them were Ukrainians who had lost their homes in Mariupol or Kharkiv and asked whether he could recreate their apartment entrances based on descriptions. Now he creates miniature copies based on photographs or people’s memories. They can be used as night lights, as tiny bulbs inside the models actually light up. Maksym plans to put one of these pieces up for auction to raise funds for the army.

Journalists can arrange to speak with Maksym Vintoniv both online and offline in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• Lviv

Veterans Theatre invites audiences to the Festival of First Plays in Lviv, which will take place on April 4–5.

The Festival of First Plays will feature stories that have never been performed on stage before. Over the course of two days, Lviv residents will hear personal experiences of Ukraine’s defenders. The plays were created by participants as part of a special course by the Veterans Theatre in Lviv, curated by Alina Sarnatska.

The festival will present plays by Alina Sarnatska, Andrii Teraz, Anna Ivantsyk, Vlad Ternopol, Heorhii Sobolevskyi, Dmytro Ilin, Zoriana Hrebeniukova-Kobenko, Mariana Chernomyrhyn, Mykhailo Taraban, Olha Voroniuk, Orysia Hryhorenko, and Yuliia Romaniuk.

As part of the festival, a discussion titled “How/when/for whom should plays about war be written and staged?” will also take place. Participants include Ihor Bilyts, chief director of the Maria Zankovetska Theatre, writer and playwright Natalkа Vorozhbyt, co-founder of the Veterans Theatre Maksym Kurochkin, and INDEX director Sasha Dovzhyk.

The project is implemented in partnership with INDEX: Institute for Documentation and Exchange and with the support of Razom for Ukraine.

Background: Veterans Theatre is a social and artistic project created in cooperation with the Public Relations Service of the Territorial Defense Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (TRO Media) and the Theatre of Playwrights.

The idea of the Veterans Theatre emerged in response to the urgent need for therapeutic support for veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war returning from the front. The project combines art therapy and theatre. It is a platform for creativity, recovery, and dialogue, where through драматургія and acting practice participants learn to speak about their experiences and transform them into art. It brings together veterans, their families, and civilians who have lived through traumatic experiences.

• culture
• Lviv

Skeiron has digitally documented damage to the Bernardine Monastery complex in Lviv. This was necessary to record the condition of the site immediately after the strike, as some information could have been lost during cleanup and restoration.

Skeiron was founded in Lviv in 2016 by a group of enthusiasts. Its main goal is to preserve and promote cultural heritage through digitalization. The team documents both preserved and destroyed landmarks with the aim of supporting their future restoration.

Over the years, the team has digitized and reconstructed more than 270 sites, including those destroyed during the war. Among them is a 3D reconstruction of the Mariupol Drama Theatre destroyed by Russia. The largest sites digitized include Chernivtsi University and the Odesa Opera House.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Skeiron representatives both online and offline in Lviv by prior arrangement.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Lviv