Themes by tag: military

The second department of the RECOVERY national network innovative rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers has started working In Kyiv enabling the rehabilitation of more than 600 Ukrainian defenders annually.

Since the Kyiv RECOVERY Center was launched at the end of May 2023, 150 Ukrainian soldiers have recovered here thanks to the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team and state-of-the-art equipment. With the opening of the second department, the number of beds in the center has been increased from 30 to 50, which will allow more wounded to recover.

The new ward is equipped up to the highest barrier-free standards. Every ward is equipped with multifunctional beds with electric drive and appropriate furniture for a comfortable stay of patients with limited mobility. 

For reference: RECOVERY’s innovative rehabilitation centers for military personnel are already operating in Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Odesa (two facilities), and Dnipro region (two facilities). In total, the specialists of the national network have already helped more than 3,500 patients this year. In 2024, the founders announced that the capacity of the national network would be at least doubled.

• doctors
• military

Before the full-blown war, Oleksandr Budko worked as a barista in a coffee shop. When the enemy invasion began, the man did not hesitate to volunteer for the Carpathian Sich battalion. In May of the same year, the soldier lost both his legs during fighting in the Kharkiv region. Oleksandr says that he was inspired to engage in rehabilitation activities by soldiers like himself. Those who started boxing or running after being wounded. Over time, the guy got prostheses and started writing an autobiographical novel. And recently he starred as one of the main characters in a documentary. The film to tell the story of the dancers who evacuated after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and created the United Ukrainian Ballet, will be produced by actress Sarah Jessica Parker.

For reference: Oleksandr Budko is currently in Ukraine, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline.

• casualties
• culture
• military

The Warrior Cup III competition will take place in the Lviv region on October 21-22. This tournament was founded in 2021 by veterans Serhii Shymchak, Pavlo Luchkiv, and Dmytro Sydoruk, and volunteer Mariana Salashnyk for other veterans and military personnel.

Dmytro Sydoruk was killed last April during the full-scale Russian invasion. Serhii and Pavlo will hold the third Warrior Cup competition in Dmytro’s memory. Apart from archery, athletics (that involves competitive running and shot put) and table tennis are a part of the tournament this time, as Dmytro’s dream was to develop the competition.

For reference: Serhii Shymchak is a combatant of 2014-2015 military action as a member of the Lviv Volia Volunteer Battalion and the 24th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and from February 2022 to January 2023, he served in the 206th Territorial Defense Battalion of the Kyiv 241st Brigade. Serhii is also a Sports Ambassadors project participant, implemented by Come Back Alive NGO supported by the US Embassy in Ukraine, in partnership with the Games Invictus Ukraine NGO. The project brings together 20 proactive and motivated leaders of the veteran community with visible and invisible injuries and wounds experienced in sports and who are ready to try new adaptive activities.

• military
• volunteers
• Lviv

Iryna joined the Maidan self-defense and patrolled the streets of Kyiv during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. Later, she started going to the East of Ukraine to deliver equipment to Ukrainian defenders. Iryna underwent training and became the second in command of a sniper team at a time. However, she did not join the army back then, and a few years later she left for abroad. She met the all-out invasion while in Bali. At the time, she did not have a passport, as she had handed it to the embassy for reissue. However, she decided that she had to return to her homeland by any means necessary. She was offered deportation and agreed. On the third day of the full-blown war, she was already in Ukraine and joined the 72nd p Black Cossacks Brigade as a sniper.

Now Iryna is on the front line and is ready to talk to the media with command prior approval.

• military
• women

Vita Harasymchuk, 31, is an accountant by profession. She is the wife of a serviceman who made his dream come true and opened a gym in Lviv region. Vita’s husband is a military man who took part in the anti-terrorist operation. And since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion, he has been protecting Ukraine in the hottest spots. The woman was able to open a gym at the end of last year.

Among other things, yoga, tabata, fitness, and modern dance classes are held in the gym. Classes with a trainer, a rehabilitator and massage services are also available there. Vita is gradually expanding her own business, because the plans are to make the gym a place for the rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicemen. And also — to get teenagers involved in sports.

• military
• women

Kyiv-based rehabilitation center “Spirit” features a special “Spirit warrior” psycho-emotional recovery program for the military. Defenders are rehabilitated with the help of equine-assisted therapy. Psychologists of the center take part in the rehabilitation sessions. The techniques used during equine-assisted therapy for the military are aimed at teaching them to sense reality “here and now” and to be able to fully concentrate on the process. This therapy helps to relieve stress, improve sleep and get rid of obsessive thoughts. More than 600 defenders have already undergone this rehabilitation program.

For reference: rehabilitation center “Spirit” specializes in working with children with disabilities. And since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has been helping internally displaced persons to recover.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On October 22, a mural dedicated to Ukrainian army volunteers called “Shadow” will be unveiled in Kyiv. The mural depicts military officer Oleksii Movchan, call sign “Shadow,” who died on May 1, 2022 in Donetsk region while performing a task. The man was not a military man by profession, but he had combat experience. He participated in the anti-terrorist operation, and on the first days of russia’s full-scale invasion, he joined the army to defend Ukraine.

The mural is based on Oleksii’s last photo, taken a few minutes before he died. In it, Movchan is holding a cat that he and his brothers in arms saved from under the rubble.

The idea of creating a mural came to Oleksii’s wife Yuliia in July 2022. She wanted to make a parting gift for her husband. The mural was paid for by Yuliia, as well as her relatives, her husbands’ fellow soldiers and people who knew Oleksii. “Shadow” was painted by a couple of artists: Vitaliy Gideone and Lena Noyna. After all, during his lifetime, Oleksii was very fond of the works of Vitaliy Gideone.

At the unveiling of the mural, journalists will have the opportunity to talk to Oleksii’s wife Yuliia Movchan and his brothers in arms. 

• culture
• dead
• military
• Kyiv

Glenna Manchego is 22 years old. She was born in the United States, where she received her medical education. The woman decided that the best place where she could apply her skills is Ukraine. So, Glenna joined the Second International Legion as a paramedic. In order to save Ukrainian soldiers after shelling, knowing the Ukrainian language is not necessary, says Glenna, and tactical medicine is a lot like car repairs: it is universal. The American admits that even thousands of kilometers from the U.S., it feels almost like home to her, and her brothers and sisters in arms have become her second family.

• doctors
• military

Serhii Titarenko is a former military pilot, a combatant and a retired Major of the Armed Forces. He runs “Joint Mission” NGOs and works as a psychologist at a rehabilitation center in Lviv region.

In 2012, the man took part in a peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and two years later, due to russian aggression, he joined the defense forces of Ukraine. In June 2014, during a combat mission near Slovyansk in Donetsk region, the occupiers fired at a helicopter with Serhii (navigator) and other crew members on board. The helicopter caught fire and fell from one hundred meters. Serhii had to be pulled out, his spine was broken. Then there was a long rehabilitation process. The man ended up in a wheelchair. However, this did not prevent him from mastering the profession of a psychologist. Currently, he works with wounded soldiers who have acquired disabilities as a result of their injuries. He helps them socialize and process traumatic experiences. He also provides aid to civilians who have suffered as a result of the war.

For reference: Serhii’s story will also be included in the book “History is not without us: the formation of the movement for the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine.” The book is being produced by Fight For Right NGO for people with disabilities. It will be presented at the end of October.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support

28-year-old photographer Vitalii Yurasov has been documenting the war for almost one and a half years. He filmed battles, prisoner exchanges and secret operations of special forces. Vitalii doesn’t just visit the military, he lives together with the heroes he films at the frontline: he sleeps where they sleep and helps with whatever is necessary.

On October 15, Yurasov’s first photo exhibition “War Face Project” will open in the capital. He will present more than 50 works, in particular, those signed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Kyrylo Budanov.

Journalists are welcome to visit the opening of the exhibition and talk with Vitalii Yurasov in the capital.

• culture
• military
• Kyiv