Themes by tag: military

Dmytro Kutsenko joined the army in 2014. And in 2015, he planted the first cherries in the family garden. For 9 years, Dmytro and his father were working on their own business with his garden expanding to 450 trees.

However, with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Dmytro returned to the front line. He joined the 93rd brigade and fought with the occupiers in Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Dmytro was defending Bakhmut from August 2022 until March 2023 when the soldier found himself in the basement of a high-rise building, which was attacked with two enemy aerial bombs. Five floors of the building collapsed over Dmytro, who had to fight for his life under tons of concrete for 33 hours. Dmytro’s brothers in arms cleared the rubble with their own hands, pulled the man out and evacuated him to the hospital.

Dmytro lost both legs, underwent a number of surgeries as well as rehabilitation and mastered prostheses. In 2024, the President of Ukraine awarded the veteran with the Order of the Gold Star and the title of Hero of Ukraine. Nowadays, Dmytro has returned to the family business, bought a wheelchair and an electric scooter, which he uses to take care of his garden.

Dmytro Kutsenko lives in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk region. The veteran is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• Dnipro

On July 28, Kyiv will unveil the exhibition “OLENIVKA: The Quintessence of Cruelty,” marking the second anniversary of the Olenivka terrorist attack. This event, organized in collaboration with the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, aims to highlight the suffering endured by Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The exhibition’s opening coincides with an action organized by the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families, which has been holding weekly demonstrations across Ukrainian cities. Their posters, featuring slogans such as “They saved us, now we have to save them” and “Fight for them as they fought for us,” call for support for prisoners of war and missing persons under the #FREEAZOVSTALDEFENDERS campaign.

Journalists planning to attend the exhibition must register in advance.

Additionally, on the same day, Kyiv will host a requiem event titled “Olenivka – pain that will never go away.”

For context: The attack occurred on the night of July 29, 2022, when the russian federation targeted a barracks at the Olenivka penal colony, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Azovstal defenders and injuring over a hundred.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Vitalii Lytvyn, raised in a military family, initially pursued a different path—studying at a pedagogical university with aspirations of becoming a legal historian. However, when russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, Lytvyn followed in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps by enlisting in the army. He began his service with the 4th Kruk Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine and later transferred to the 4th Rubizh Brigade of the NGU, where he served as a scout. Lytvyn currently leads the same battalion as its commander.

In June 2022, his exceptional bravery earned him the title of Hero of Ukraine. Recently, he became an ambassador for the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, committed to supporting his former comrades, both active and retired.

Lytvyn is based in Kyiv and is available for interviews with journalists by appointment, either online or in person.

• military
• Kyiv

A serviceman known as “Demon,” commander of the FPV drone unit in the 37th Marine Brigade, played a crucial role in delivering supplies to his comrades. Due to security concerns, “Demon” keeps his identity undisclosed. 

Last winter, when the Dnipro River froze over, Ukrainian troops stationed on the left bank in the Kherson region faced severe supply shortages. “Demon” and his unit stepped in to aid these soldiers. Using drones, the 37th Brigade successfully transported food, medicine, and other essential items to the isolated troops. They devised unique ways to mark the drones to ensure their comrades could distinguish Ukrainian copters from enemy ones. In a remarkable feat, “Demon’s” unit completed 23 drone missions in a single day.

“Demon” is currently stationed in the Kherson region and is available for interviews with journalists by prior arrangement, either online or offline.

• military

On July 24, Media Center Ukraine will hold a press conference entitled: “Missing 16 Sailors: The Fate of the Crews from the Sunken ‘Sloviansk’ and ‘Stanislav’ Boats.” Two Ukrainian ships sank in the spring of 2022 following missile strikes by the russian forces in the Black Sea. Some of the sailors were saved. The fate of 16 remains unknown. For two years, the United by the Sea NGO, founded by the families of missing sailors, has been collecting information about how the ships went down. However, there is still no information about what happened to the 16 sailors. At the same time, some unofficial reports have started circulating claiming that the sailors were captured by the russians.

During the press conference, representatives of the families of the missing sailors, the Navy Command and the Media Initiative for Human Rights will talk about the search for the crews, attempts to reach the boats, cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Maritime Coalition led by the UK and Norway.

Participants:

– Olesia Aulina, Head of the United by the Sea NGO, wife of the missing Damir Aulina, commander of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”;

– Tetiana Sherishorina, mother of the missing Nikita Sherishorin, sailor of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”;

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

– Andrii Ursol, Captain (First Rank), Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy for Moral and Psychological Support, Department Head. 

For reference: The Sloviansk sank on March 3, 2022, in the area between the Kinburn and Tendra spits, 2 km from the coast. The vessel was the first combat casualty of the Ukrainian Navy during russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Stanislav sank on May 7, 2022, 20 meters from Snake Island, it now lies at a depth of about 20 meters.

Pre-registration is required.

• casualties
• military
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 28, Kyiv will host a requiem event entitled “Olenivka – pain that will not go away.” The organizers invite everyone to commemorate the brave and loyal heroes of Ukraine who went through the defense of Mariupol with dignity. The enemy could not defeat all of them on the battlefield, and on the night of July 29, 2022, the adversary made a despicable act and blew up almost 200 Azov soldiers in the colony in occupied Olenivka.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days, 82 of them – completely besieged. From May 16 to 20, 2022, the Mariupol garrison carried out the order to stop the defense of the city and go into captivity.

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 act.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Accessible Wakeboard is an initiative for participants of projects by ONE TEAM FORCES NGO. Its goal is to show that even extreme sports like wakeboarding are accessible to warriors recovering from injuries, as well as to give veterans an opportunity to test their own strength and help regain confidence in themselves and their bodies.

Training sessions take place once a week. Project participants include defenders who have lost their upper and/or lower limbs.

By prior agreement, journalists can cover classes in Kyiv.

For reference: ONE TEAM FORCES is a community that helps combatants who were in service BEFORE and/or AFTER February 24, 2022 and were injured or psychologically traumatized as a result of russia’s armed aggression.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

In Kyiv, wounded defenders take part in free clay sculpting and pottery master classes organized by the Azov’s Angels Patronage Service together with Kust ceramics studio. Creative activities are part of the rehabilitation of the military.

During the class, defenders make dishes or other objects – by hand or with a potter’s wheel. Soldiers often donate completed works for various charity events.

By prior agreement, journalists have the opportunity to cover a clay sculpting master class.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• Kyiv

Anna Yaroshenko, a seasoned diver with over 20 years of experience, believes diving is accessible to everyone. She has dived with children, elderly individuals, and people with hearing and visual impairments, mental disorders, and various injuries. Underwater, the effects of gravity diminish, allowing everyone to experience a sense of “weightlessness.”

Following the onset of the full-scale war, Anna saw diving as a potential rehabilitation tool for injured military personnel. Recognizing its benefits for both physical and psychological recovery, she launched the project “Gravity? WTF?”. Her mother, a rehabilitation therapist, introduced her to the first volunteers—wounded defenders with injuries and amputations.

The project’s aim is to provide military veterans with a new and engaging hobby, teaching them the complete set of skills needed to become independent divers. Initially, the soldiers train in a shallow, barrier-free pool accessible by wheelchair. The next phase involves a 3.8-meter deep pool. Those who gain confidence in scuba diving progress to open water dives.

To date, 25 veterans with various injuries and amputations have participated in the project.

Journalists are invited to learn more about “Gravity? WTF?” and to cover the diving lessons held in Kyiv pools and open water sessions. 

• casualties
• military
• women
• Kyiv

“Ukrainian LGBT+ Military and Veterans for Equal Rights” NGO opened the first veteran hub for LGBT+ military personnel in Ukraine’s capital, which is also the first one in Eastern Europe. The goal of the hub is to create a safe space to assist LGBT+ military personnel and reintegrate queer veterans in the society. In particular, the hub will host events to help with the mental and physical health of defenders. Psychological and legal assistance as well as services by friendly sexologists will be available in the hub.

For reference: The association “Ukrainian LGBT+ Military and Veterans for Equal Rights” was created in 2018 after Anton Shebetko’s exhibition “We Were There.” During the exhibition, one of the soldiers, currently the Head of the organization, Viktor Pylypenko, came out as gay combat veteran.

The association includes hundreds of LGBT+ military personnel and veterans, some open about their identity and others keeping it private. The military is rallying to fight for the rights available to other citizens of Ukraine. Members of the association actively participate in both the defense of the Motherland against russian invaders and the protection of rights and freedoms.

• military
• Kyiv
• LGBT