Themes by tag: military

The “Animal Rescue Kharkiv” NGO opened a contact rehabilitation center for cats “Little Prince.” Animals rescued from the war zone are rehabilitated there. In particular, the center has a contact room made to resemble a home as much as possible, where you can play with cats. According to the founders, it is a kind of rehabilitation and relaxation, both for the pets and for the people.

The room receives visitors 4 times a week. Everyone is welcome. Most of all, military personnel (who also participated in cat rescue) and children are invited there.

For reference: the “Animal Rescue Kharkiv” NGO team has been rescuing animals in the city and the region for more than 8 years. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, they have also been evacuating animals from the war zone and de-occupied settlements (Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson regions). Volunteers, in particular, provide emergency medical assistance to animals, give them temporary shelter and find old or new owners for the pets.

• animals
• casualties
• children
• military
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Olena Chekryzhova is an experienced English teacher who lived in Donetsk Oblast until 2014. There, Olena managed to create one of the first online platforms for learning a foreign language. However after Russia attacked Eastern Ukraine, she left her hometown and kept on doing her business in Kyiv. In 2022, when the full-scale hostile invasion began, Olena got started with volunteering and later taught soldiers English at a military base to make it easier for them to work with the weapons that our partners were sending to Ukraine. Eventually, she created her project to teach English to the Armed Forces.

For information: Olena is in Kyiv, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline.

• military
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Oleh Symoroz enlisted in the Defense Forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The man defended the Kyiv region as part of the Territorial Defence Forces, and later his unit went to Eastern Ukraine. In October 2022, while performing a combat mission, Oleh’s vehicle hit an enemy mine. The soldier lost both legs and suffered a severe jaw fracture. Oleh has become a bilateral above-the-knee amputee, surviving one of the most difficult surgical procedures for further leg prosthetics. However, the man has taken a responsible approach to his rehabilitation, managed to stand on his prostheses, and is already planning his return to the front line. Oleh is considering a combat position only, perhaps he will train to become a UAV pilot.

For information: Oleh is currently in Kyiv and available to talk to journalists in person.

• casualties
• military

Serhiy Bas is the founder of Zubayster Mobile Dentistry. He came up with the idea to visit soldiers and treat their teeth right at the front in the summer of 2022. The volunteer dentist says that dental problems on the front line often get worse and can sometimes even threaten the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

Thanks to his investments and donations from all those concerned, Serhiy managed to raise more than $15,000 and create a mobile dental office to travel to the front line. For almost a year of the Zubayster project’s work, volunteers have provided the necessary dental care to more than 1,500 soldiers and civilians living in the frontline area. In a day, doctors have 25 to 30 soldier’s appointments in one mobile office. Since August this year, the volunteers opened a second office.

For reference: Volunteer dentists are ready to take those accredited by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine journalists to the point of deployment, provided they. In addition, the mobile office opened to the public in Odesa.

• doctors
• military
• volunteers
• Odesa

On October 1, the “Buhurt Sich” rehabilitation project for military and veterans will launch in Ukraine. Psychological recovery will be provided via buhurt sports. The military will be able to practice in team jousting in full armor, as well as try out costume reconstruction, pottery, archery and crossbow shooting. It is also an opportunity to spend time in a friendly community.

The project is to be integrated into the activities of the rehabilitation center, where psychologists and rehabilitation doctors will offer buhurt sports as one of the activities. There are also plans to organize additional “Buhurt Sich” sites in different cities of the country, they should become places where a veteran can come with their problems and find support.

For reference: the “Buhurt Sich” project was initiated by the NGO “Buhurt Association in Ukraine.” The founders of the initiative are Ihor Parfentiev, world champion in buhurt, coach, veteran, and Olena Noinets, an activist, public figure, and a volunteer for the military. The NGO has a large team, most of which are currently fighting at the front. 

• military
• psychological support

The “On3wheels” project was founded by two friends in 2016. Sava and Oleksandr set out to organize accessible hikes in the mountains for people with disabilities. For this purpose, they purchased a special cart and recruited a large team of volunteers, ready to help people get to the peaks of the Ukrainian Carpathians. As the full-scale invasion began, the team contemplated a new format, mainly organizing hikes for soldiers, who lost their limbs due to war injuries. This year, they have already managed to hold one such hike for ten soldiers. Now the volunteers are preparing for the next hike with the military.

• military
• volunteers

A team of plastic surgeons will perform a free surgery for a Ukrainian defender in Kyiv as part of the NoScar initiative on September 22. Bohdan is 24 years old. He is a soldier from the Kirovohrad region. His military service took place near Kherson and was seriously injured. The defender lost his eye and had shrapnel wounds all over his body. His arm is not functioning properly. On Friday, the team of doctors plans to treat the largest scar on his chest, reconstructive surgery of the eyelids, and tissue lipofilling (to make the prosthetic eye not differ from a healthy one).

Journalists will have an opportunity to talk to the doctors and the patient.

For reference: NoScar is an initiative to provide free scar correction for Ukrainians who suffered in the war.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• Kyiv

The Rehabilitation by Tourism project for rotating military enlisted personnel or those undergoing rehabilitation is now unfolding in the Lviv region. On September 23-24, the participants will spend two days traveling around the Lviv region. A river catamaran trip will be available. Considering the state of health, the military is welcome to take part in kayaking and rock climbing workshops. A guided tour and a caving trip to be also organized for the project participants. All activities are free of charge for the defenders. About 30 participants have already signed up. The “Rehabilitation by Tourism” project is being implemented by the Manivtsi Tourist Club together with the Youth and Sports Department of the Lviv Oblast Military Administration.

• casualties
• military
• volunteers
• Lviv

Since the summer of 2022, the volunteer project “Marriage for a Hero” has been helping to organize “turnkey” weddings for military personnel. A team of beauty and event industry professionals provide their services for free. Organization and coordination of the wedding, make-up and hairstyle for the bride, wedding invitations, cake, cameramen and photographers’ services, decorations – this is far from a complete list of what they help with free of charge within the framework of the charity initiative.

The volunteer project “Marriage for a Hero” was founded by Svitlana Olifer from Cherkasy, who has been working in the wedding industry for seven years. Currently, the project has already been scaled up throughout Ukraine. The project has helped with a total of more than 20 weddings.

Important notice: In the near future, volunteers of the initiative will help a Kharkiv couple in love to organize a wedding celebration. By prior agreement, the mass media can attend the marriage registration ceremony.

• military
• volunteers

Andriana joined the defense of Ukraine for the first time in 2014. The woman was a member of assault troops, during the anti-terrorist operation, she participated in the battles for the Luhansk airport. Later, Andriana returned to civilian life and founded the “Veteranka” movement. Together with the members of the movement, the servicewoman fought for the women’s right to serve in the Ukrainian army. Immediately after the beginning of the big war, Andriana took up arms again. She fought in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Nine months ago, the military woman was blown up by a mine. After long-term treatment and rehabilitation, Andriana is preparing to return to the front again.

Important notice: Until the end of September, Andriana will stay in Kyiv. Then she is going to the front.

• military
• women