Themes by tag: Lviv

On June 30, Lviv will host a ceremonial reception for the Finnish participants of the Relay to Ukraine. Teams covered the route through 6 countries on foot, boats and SUP-boards. The participants raised EUR 182,000, which are to be used to purchase ambulances for Ukraine in the future.

The relay started on May 18 in Helsinki. Since then, 10 teams and 50 participants from different countries have run marathons, walked through cities and swum across the Gulf of Finland.

A baton with a message from Finland, signed by a minister of the Finnish government Anders Adlercreutz and the organizer of the relay, Magnus Londen, will also be brought to Ukraine. The message will be read at the event in the Lviv City Hall. The event will take place with the participation of the Lviv Mayor and the Honorary Consul of Finland.

In addition, a team of foreign benefactors will deliver 9 off-road vehicles, all-wheel drive trucks, 2 military motorcycles and about 10 powerful portable power stations for the Ukrainian military. The team was able to purchase equipment with funds raised during previous initiatives.

The event requires accreditation.

• Lviv

On June 28, renowned Georgian singer and UNBROKEN Center ambassador Nino Katamadze will perform on the center’s terrace in Lviv. Her performance aims to support the Unbroken Defenders undergoing treatment, prosthetics, and rehabilitation.

For reference: The UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center provides comprehensive medical care to military personnel and civilians, including adults and children, who have lost limbs. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, over 15,000 wounded Ukrainians, including 2,000 children, have received treatment at the center. The facility specializes in reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, and prosthetics.

• casualties
• culture
• Lviv

Mariana Mamonova, a military medic serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, was taken captive while pregnant by enemy forces. Despite her ordeal, she has since established a charity foundation to aid women who have survived russian captivity.

Aged 32, Mariana, a captain in the Medical Service, had been deployed to Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO)/Joint Force Operation (JFO) zones since 2018. 

Initially stationed in Mariupol, she discovered her pregnancy amidst the full-scale invasion in mid-March 2022. Undeterred, she continued her life-saving work and was among those held at the Illich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, under Ukrainian military control, before being captured by occupiers on April 4th. An expectant mother endured nearly six months of captivity in a Donetsk region colony, finally being released during a prisoner exchange on September 21, 2022. Just four days later, she welcomed her daughter into the world.

Mariana is now available for interviews in Lviv or online, offering insights into her remarkable journey.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• women
• Lviv

Before the full-scale invasion, Oleh Slyvar was a professional folk dancer in Lviv region. Oleh changed his life radically in the summer of 2022, when he decided to join the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine. Together with his brothers in arms, Oleh fought in the Donetsk direction. During one of the assaults, the man received numerous shrapnel wounds. Due to shelling, it was not possible to evacuate the soldier immediately. Later, at the stabilization point, the man’s heart stopped, however, doctors managed to bring Oleh back to life. The soldier lost his leg, but thanks to rehabilitation at the medical center, he learnt to live with an electronic knee prosthesis. And recently he returned to the stage.

Oleh is ready to communicate with the media online or in person in Lviv.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Lviv

Summer mountain therapy for veterans will be held in the Carpathians on June 13-16. The idea behind this type of therapy is healing by hiking and interacting with other people.

Mountain therapy is organized by the Metta NGO. Participation, accommodation and meals for participants are free.

The mountain therapy team includes psychologists and guides. Military personnel, who have already tried the effects of mountain therapy on themselves, are now helping their brothers and sisters in arms to recover. They also take part in the hikes.

By prior agreement, journalists can cover the mountain therapy.

• psychological support
• Lviv

Olha is an economist by profession, and her husband Andrii is an engineer. At the beginning of a full-scale war, their relative joined the ranks of the defenders of the country (and in April 2022, he was wounded, lost a limb, and was captured by the enemy, where he was held for 7 months). In turn, Olha and Andrii decided to make “bomber drones” (FPV drones with a drop mechanism) and give them away to the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for free. Andrii designed and developed these drones by himself.

Later, this initiative grew into a full-fledged company “IRV — Innovative Research Vision,” which currently employs qualified specialists working on the development of UAVs, video surveillance systems, and analytical research. They also manufacture a variety of drones (kamikaze, FPV, reconnaissance, attack drones).

Throughout 2022 and 2023, the company gave away its products for free, but this year, due to a lack of funds, as well as expenses for the treatment of a relative, they began selling them.

Journalists can communicate with the couple in Lviv or online.

• Lviv

“Ukrainian Puzzles” is a social enterprise born from the idea of creating puzzles depicting objects destroyed or damaged in the war, such as the Chernihiv Youth Library, the An-225 Mriya, the Mariupol Drama Theater, and Karazin University. Symbolically piecing these puzzles together contributes to the real-life reconstruction efforts, as the net profits from Ukrainian Puzzles are allocated to restore these destroyed cultural monuments.

Founded in April 2022 by Vita Vorobchuk and Yaryna Zhurba, the company operates under the slogan “A puzzle to rebuild Ukraine.” The founders believe these puzzles offer a unique way for people worldwide to participate in Ukraine’s restoration. Additionally, the initiative aims to showcase Ukrainian culture and highlight the devastation inflicted by Russia on Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

Among the best-selling puzzles is the An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest airplane. Even President Volodymyr Zelenskyy owns one. Beyond the initial collection focused on destroyed landmarks, new series are in development, including Ukrainian Art, Discover Ukraine, and Glory to Ukraine.

Journalists interested in the initiative can arrange interviews with the founders in Lutsk, Lviv, Kyiv, or via online communication.

• culture
• reconstruction
• Kyiv
• Lutsk
• 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