Themes by tag: military

A soldier assigned the call sign ‘Amazon’ woman warrior has dreamed of the army since childhood. She knew she would serve and defend her country. She couldn’t enter a higher education for the military, so she got into law school and then mobilized. When Amazon was still a private soldier, she was entrusted with the control of a Soviet self-propelled artillery system. Later, the girl got admitted to a military university on the second try and eventually earned an officer’s degree. At the same time, Amazon was appointed as the US-made M777 gun crew commander. The girl acquired the skills to manage the crew in a few days, she can load the gun and fire artillery pieces targeting the enemy on her own. The girl wanted her army nickname to be ‘Daisy’, but her commander assigned the name ‘Amazon’. 

For reference: The soldier is on the front line, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

Nataliia Shevchuk and her son went to the military enlistment office to join the Ukrainian Defense Forces on February 25, 2022, on her birthday. Nataliia used to be a film producer as a civilian employee, so she had many drone pilots as colleagues. In the first days of the invasion, she called on them to create an aerial reconnaissance unit together. At first, Nataliia’s unit comprised only 8 pilots, but later it numbered 28. The soldier says that the group is a big family, where she is called “Mom.” Nataliia’s son also served as a military intelligence officer but in a different unit. The defender dreams of expelling the enemy from Ukrainian territory and starting to rebuild the country after the full-blown war. 

For reference: Nataliia Shevchuk is on the front line, ready to talk to journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• military
• women

With the all-out enemy invasion outbreak, Artem Rakitin took up evacuating civilians from Chernihiv, a city in the country’s north that Russians encircled last spring. Artem gathered a team of volunteers to evacuate those who had no means of transport and were unable to leave the war zone. The team brought humanitarian aid and military ammunition to Chernihiv.

When Russia withdrew forces from the north of Ukraine, and there was no more need for emergency evacuation, Artem decided to serve as an active-duty soldier and joined the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. The serviceman took part in combat operations in the most dangerous areas of the frontline. Recently, the defender was wounded during an enemy assault. A Russian tank managed to hit the Ukrainian position Artem was defending.

Artem Rakitin is undergoing treatment in Kyiv and is ready to talk to journalists online and offline.

• military
• volunteers

Valentyna Tkach is a third-generation weaver. Her mother was taught this craft by her grandfather, and her mother taught Valentyna herself.

When the full-blown began, Valentyna’s son was mobilized. Later, he asked his mother to raise money for a military vehicle. The woman chose her best products and started selling them on social media. The car was purchased very quickly. Valentyna decided that her carpets could help buy necessary things for Ukrainian defenders. So she continued to put her work up for sale and donate the proceeds to the army. Now the weaver is working on raising money for a thermal imaging drone.

• culture
• military
• volunteers
• women

On October 27, the final event to mark the completion of the SportAmbassadors project will take place in Kyiv. Journalists are invited to join the event and meet the sports ambassadors, learn firsthand about the motivation of the participants and the results achieved during the project.

In addition, the event will feature a demonstration of adaptive training equipment, including wheelchairs for basketball and concepts for rowing that will be used for training. The importance of adaptive sports and the involvement of veterans will be discussed as well. 

Press registration is required to attend the event.

SportsAmbassadors are veterans from different regions of Ukraine who underwent a personal recovery journey following an injury sustained on the front line. They are united by a common feature and mission—recovery through sports and motivation to share their experience with their brothers and sisters-in-arms, to engage them in adaptive sports, and to create such opportunities for other veterans in their local communities to go through this path.

For reference: The SportsAmbassadors project is implemented by the Come Back Alive Foundation supported by the US Embassy in Ukraine in partnership with the NGO “Invictus Games Ukraine”.

• casualties
• military
• psychological support
• Kyiv

The idea comes from Illia Shpolianskyi, an anti-terrorist operation in 2014-15 veteran and father of three. It was after returning from the war in 2015 that Illia came up with the idea to create a comic that would help children understand their parents who had to defend the country and support parents adapting to civilian life.

With the full-scale invasion outbreak, Illia rejoined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and created and led the the Angry Birds combined strike UAV unit. In 2022, the NGO “Association of ATO Veterans and People with Disabilities” submitted a comic book project to the Ukrainian Veterans Fund competition and got support, enabling its publishing in a printed run of 2,500 copies and sent to military families free of charge. Besides reading the story, the comic’s owners can also complete a quest and receive a pins set depicting the main characters as an additional gift. The project got hundreds of positive reviews from parents and children. The comics are now released digitally, and the team is looking for funding to make additional copies in print and is working on the next story, “My mom returned from the war.”

• children
• culture
• military

21-year-old Daniil Melnyk studied at the Lviv Military Academy. He used to be a deputy platoon leader and defended the Kyiv region from the enemy at the beginning of the all-out invasion. In the Borodiansky district, he was ambushed but took the fights with other combatants. Getting his hands wounded, he couldn’t even bandage them. He gave his ammunition to a comrade. Then he lost consciousness. Two days later, the Russians found him and took him prisoner. He was first held in Ukraine, then in Belarus, Russia, and the occupied Crimea. On April 21, 2022, Daniel was released from captivity.

He lost both his feet, his left palm, and 4 fingers on his right hand. Now the defender wants to go back to active duty service. He recently took part in the Sculpture series photo project.

For reference: Last December, Ukrainian photographer Marta Syrko founded the Sculpture series photo project. The protagonists of her photographs are Ukrainian defenders who suffered as a result of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine. (These are soldiers who were injured, got burned, or had their limbs amputated.) Civilians affected by the war can also join the project.

• casualties
• culture
• military
• prisoners

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