Themes by tag: Lviv

In 2021, Olha Akymova founded an online modeling school for women over 40. The project also worked with mothers of children with disabilities (participation was free for them): the idea was to give an opportunity to women who devote themselves completely to their children to discover themselves. A little later, young girls also joined the project, and it became inclusive. Models with and without disabilities work at the school, and together they participate in all the projects, shows, and performances.

The transformed project held its first classes in February 2022 in Kyiv and Lviv, but they had to stop because the full-scale invasion started. A year later, Olha decided to resume classes. The students of the school study subjects just like in any other modeling school: the basics of modeling, posing techniques, model walking, etc. The school operates in Kyiv and Lviv. Classes take place online and offline. Currently, the school has 32 graduates from Kyiv, Lviv, and Vinnytsia.

The mission of this project is to use the art of modeling to bring Ukrainian society closer to a new tolerant inclusive European barrier-free space with equal opportunities for everyone.

In the near future, journalists will be able to visit a show with the participation of the students of the modeling school in Lviv or a rehearsal in Kyiv.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv
• Lviv

Serhii Zhukovskyi, 43, hails from the Zaporizhia region. Despite his childhood dream of becoming a soldier, he initially faced hurdles when got a medical certificate determining his unfitness for military service. However, when his hometown faced a full-blown invasion, Zhukovskyi and his family evacuated before it was occupied. In the Lviv region, he eventually enlisted with the 80th separate airborne assault brigade after encountering delays at the military enlistment office. His first injury occurred during the storming of Serebryany Forest, where shrapnel lodged near his spine. Despite medics’ unsuccessful attempts to remove a dangerous object from his body, the man persevered and returned to the front line after his wound healed. In the summer of 2023, serving with the 82nd Brigade, he sustained severe injuries from a mine explosion, resulting in the loss of both arms. His wife took on the task of finding the top rehabilitation centers in Ukraine, eventually leading him to the Halychyna and the Superhumans rehabilitation centers in the Lviv region. Following his prosthetic journey, the veteran received training in launching veteran-owned businesses, to which Serhii readily agreed. Subsequently, he successfully brought to fruition an idea conceived during his time on the front lines: crafting jerkies, pre-marinated and dried slices of meat. The business, named Sushena Radist (Dried Joy), was coined by Serhii’s eldest son, Ivan. It’s not just a veteran’s enterprise but also a family affair, with his wife, Daryna, handling the bulk of the work. 

Reporters welcome to seize the chance to interview Serhii Zhukovskyi in Lviv.

For context: The Sushena Radist veteran-owned enterprise emerged as a facet of the initiative “Reintegration of War Veterans through the Creation of Educational Opportunities,” spearheaded by DVV International in Ukraine and backed financially by the German Federal Foreign Office.

• Lviv

Originally slated to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Mariupol in 2022, the Arkhip Kuindzhi Art School faced a setback due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. The institution’s building suffered significant damage, including the destruction of equipment, prompting a relocation to Lviv in April 2022.

Despite the upheaval, the school has resumed operations at its new location, welcoming 40 children for both in-person and online fine arts classes. These students, hailing from Mariupol but dispersed across Ukraine and beyond. Moreover, adults are finding solace and expression through art therapy sessions offered in Lviv, Kropyvnytskyi, and Dnipro. These sessions include oil painting sessions and the exploration of traditional Ukrainian murals. Additionally, the art school remains active in organizing various exhibitions.

For reference: The battle for Mariupol raged on for 86 harrowing days until May 20, 2022, when russian forces seized control of the city. Human Rights Watch’s grim assessment puts the civilian death toll from russian shelling at a staggering 8,000, with thousands more left maimed and traumatized. Many suffered life-altering injuries, including loss of limbs, sight, hearing, or memory, often due to traumatic brain injuries inflicted by relentless explosions. By mid-May 2022, an estimated 400,000 residents, out of a pre-war population of 540,000, had fled Mariupol in search of safety.

• children
• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Lviv
• Mariupol

On May 10, Lviv will host an opening of the Prosthetics Center. It will operate from the premises of the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center. The Center has all the necessary equipment for the production of modern hand and foot prostheses. In addition to facilities for taking measurements, manufacturing, testing and trying on artificial limbs, there is also a walking laboratory, a room for specialists to train in and a courtyard for patients to relax. The Center will train specialists for all of Ukraine. It will also be a place to conduct research in prosthetics and the development of Ukrainian startups.

The goal of the UNBROKEN Prosthetics and Orthotics Center is to improve the field of prosthetics in Ukraine. Namely, to create a space for theoretical and practical training as well as for training prosthetists and orthotics specialists according to the standards of ISPO – the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Participants:

• Andriy Sadovyi, Lviv City Mayor;
• Oleh Samchuk, General Director of the Lviv First Territorial Medical Union;
• Daniel Boucher, Director of GIZ Ukraine.

Journalists are required to obtain accreditation for the event.

For reference: The initiative is implemented within the framework of the “Special Assistance Program Ukraine/ EU4ResilientRegions” project, implemented by GIZ Ukraine and funded by the German government.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

On February 24, 2022, as the invasion surged, Pavlo Ponomarenko persisted in his studio, passionately painting for four consecutive days. Tragically, his creations vanished amidst the russian occupation of Mariupol.

In the ensuing days, the Ponomarenko family adapted to survival tactics like cooking over open flames, sourcing water, and melting snow, all while bearing witness to russian assaults and pillaging. Eventually, they managed to reach occupied Berdiansk in the Zaporizhia region. Initially, Pavlo’s wife led the way with their younger daughters, followed by Pavlo and their eldest daughter. After a stint in Berdiansk, they embarked on an 11-hour bus journey to reach the government-controlled zone in Zaporizhia. Along the route, they endured relentless scrutiny at checkpoints, enduring intrusive searches and questioning. In Zaporizhia, their eldest daughter underwent surgery for appendicitis. 

Presently, Pavlo resides in Lviv, continuing his work as an artist, while his wife and children have sought refuge in Belgium.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Lviv
• Mariupol

Before the full-scale invasion, Andrii Pentsak worked as a physical therapist. He headed the rehabilitation department in the network of medical centers in Kyiv and helped Ukrainian defenders recover. With the beginning of the big war, Andrii joined the Hospitallers Medical Battalion (a volunteer organization of paramedics), but later he was mobilized to the 38th separate marine infantry brigade as a combat medic.

In October 2023, Andrii and his brothers in arms came under mortar fire in Kherson region. In the enemy shelling the soldier’s leg got crushed, and his Achilles tendon was damaged. In total, the man underwent 10 operations, was treated in 3 cities of Ukraine, and is currently in Lviv’s Unbroken center. Doctors predict that Andrii will be able to fully restore his walking ability. The veteran himself dreams of returning to work as a physical therapist to help people.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Lviv

Since the fall of 2019, Nataliia Haietska has been the head of the “Mariupol Zero Waste” initiative group, which includes “Eco Gurt” (eco team) environmental NGO. She has also been an activist in Mariupol. Her activity began with large waste sorting centers in Mariupol. Her team also introduced waste sorting in about 100 housing co-ops of the city. In 2020, the team engaged in environmental education for adults, children and students. They held the first eco-festival in Mariupol and launched a project to implement waste sorting and composting in Mariupol hospitality establishments and parts of Pryazovia area. Their plans were to cover the entire hospitality industry of the region.

Nataliia was caught by russia’s full-scale invasion in Mariupol. She could not leave in the first days because of sick parents. The woman had to survive under the siege for three weeks – under shelling and bombing. Upon receiving help, together with her parents, she was evacuated to Zaporizhia. Then they got to Lviv by evacuation train.

Despite the war, Nataliia together with her colleagues from Kherson in 2022 implemented an international project on making the hospitality sector of Ukraine greener. In 2023 it was scaled up to the current project “Restoration and Modernization of Hospitality Establishments Based on Zero Waste & Climate Friendly Principles for the Sustainable Development of Ukrainian Communities.” 

Nataliia is available for interviews in Lviv offline or online by appointment.

• casualties
• ecology
• occupation
• women
• Lviv
• Mariupol

Peaceful demonstrations are planned in at least 15 cities to remind the public of the Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol’s “Azovstal” and other military personnel who are still held captive by the enemy.

On April 6, events will be held in Dnipro, Okhtyrka, Bila Tserkva, Pavlohrad, Vinnytsia, Krolevets and Lviv.

On April 7, rallies are planned in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kremenchuk, Ovruch, Chernivtsi, Kryvyi Rih, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Odesa.

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

• military
• prisoners
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv
• Odesa

The Hearing Restoration Department has started working at the Superhumans Center in Lviv. According to the Center, every third military or civilian patient in the institutions has experienced hearing loss and needs specialized help encompassing medical treatment, hearing aids and surgical intervention. That is why, together with the specialists of Vidchuy (Feel) NGO, from now on the Center will help to restore another opportunity lost due to the war.

Within just a few days of the department’s operation, Superhumans specialists examined 32 patients, of whom 7 people needed surgical interventions (tympanoplasty), 2 needed hearing aids, another 2 needed cochlear implants, and 12 were diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss, which requires constant monitoring.

All the Superhumans Center’s patients with acoustic trauma undergo examinations and remain under the supervision of the Center’s otolaryngologists as well as work with the specialists of Vidchuy NGO, mainly deaf educators and speech therapists.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

12-year-old Yana Stepanenko, who lost both legs in a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, will take part in the Boston Marathon. On April 13, the girl will run a 5-kilometer distance on prosthetics to show the whole world the indomitability of the Ukrainian people. Another of Yana’s goals in Boston is charity. She will be raising funds for a sports prosthesis for Andrii Kropyvnytskyi, seriously wounded defender and a patient of the Unbroken Center, who lost a limb in the war.

For the past two months, the girl has been training hard to participate in the Boston Marathon. Yana was invited to participate in it by the American foundation One World Strong, which helps veterans and civilians who suffered as a result of terrorist attacks and hostilities.

On April 4, Yana Stepanenko will hold an open training session for the media in Lviv.

The event in Lviv requires registration.

For reference: on April 8, 2022, as a result of a russian terrorist attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, Yana Stepanenko lost both legs. The photo of her being carried by the surgeon of the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital of Lviv’s First Medical Association went viral around the world. Yana received her first prostheses for walking and running in the USA. Last summer, after a year of recovery abroad, she returned to Ukraine. Yana continued her rehabilitation here and already managed to get new artificial limbs for walking from the Unbroken Center’s prosthetic workshops.

The Boston Marathon is one of the largest and most prestigious events in the world. About 30,000 people from all over the world take part in it every year.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Lviv