Themes by tag: military

The Rivne Zoo offers tours for defenders undergoing rehabilitation. Guests can take a walk around the zoo, watch the animal’s feeding process, and get involved under the supervision of specialists. Tours give an inside look at African lions, Amur tigers, various primates (feline lemurs, Japanese macaques), and many other species of animals. There is also an opportunity to experience up-close encounters with some zoo inhabitants (horses, ponies, turtles, dwarf goats, and sheep). The tour can last 1.5-2 hours. Employees take into account the health status of the defenders and adjust the route and program for their comfortable rest.

• animals
• military
• Rivne

The “Contemporary View” public union has been working with the military for several years in a row. In 2019, the organization held the first enrollment for soldiers who lost their sight in the war. And before the beginning of the big war, about ten such camps were held. Since the full-scale invasion, the public union has held two successful enrollment campaigns and started the third one. Military personnel and their families are invited to a rehabilitation center in Lviv region, where they are taught to take care of themselves, in particular, to navigate the city, cook food, use public transport and gadgets. Military personnel are trained by instructors who have also participated in combat operations and are visually impaired.

• casualties
• military

The STRATCOM UKRAINE team, the founder of the Invictus Games in Ukraine, invites you to a joint viewing of the movie “Heart of Invictus” from Netflix, which premiered on August 30. The meeting will be held at the “Making of the Ukrainian Nation Museum” Museum.

Among other things, the event will include a tour of the museum, the joint viewing of the film and an opportunity to talk in an informal atmosphere. During the event, the organizers will recall the beginnings of Ukraine’s national team at the Invictus Games. They will also honor the memory of fallen heroes, who participated in the “Invictus Games Ukraine.”

For reference: The Invictus Games 2023 will be held on September 9-16 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Ukraine will be represented by a team of 25 veterans and servicemen who participated in the russo-Ukrainian war and were injured while performing or as a result of their duties in the combat zone.

• casualties
• military

Natalia Tarabalka is the mother of Stepan Tarabalka, the Ukrainian hero and the protector of skies. The pilot died in air combat in March 2022. Working with a psychologist helped Natalia cope with the loss of her son. Later, when the woman received monetary compensation for the death of her son, she already knew what she would do with hers. In memory of her son, Natalia decided to create the rehabilitation center “Warmth of the Winged Soul” for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The center provides both physical and psychological rehabilitation services to the military personnel. In addition, fighters will later be able to fish on the lake near the center, engage in art therapy or work in the garden.

• dead
• military

Serhii Yevtushenko is 34 years old. With the beginning of the enemy invasion, the man joined the Territorial Defense Forces in Rivne region. Later, he transferred to the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Serhii was wounded near Bakhmut when he decided to save the life of his brother in arms, who was blown up on a mine right in front of him. The man says he knew he shouldn’t go, but he couldn’t leave his brothers. When Serhii applied the tourniquet, the enemy mine, which was under the wounded man, detonated. That’s how Serhii lost his foot and ankle. Two months have passed since the amputation, and the soldier is already learning to walk on a prosthesis. Serhii dreams of returning to the army, building a career and getting married.

Serhii is undergoing treatment in Lviv oblast. The soldier is ready to communicate with journalists online and, by prior agreement, in person. He is currently on vacation in Rivne region and will return to continue his treatment later.

• casualties
• military

Kateryna Pryimak is one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement and a veteran of the russo-Ukrainian war. Kateryna knows firsthand how uncomfortable a uniform for women can be, if it has been sewn by man’s uniform standards. Therefore, when servicewomen began to request uniforms, the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement, led by Kateryna and her sister in arms Yuliia Sidorova decided that it was time to create one on their own. The workshop started its work about a year ago, later Kateryna turned to the Ukrainian Veteran Fund for help in order to receive a grant and financial support for the development of production. They succeeded. With the grant, the workshop was able to expand to include workstations for volunteers and start courses on sewing technique. Civilians and three female veterans became their first students.

Kateryna is in Kyiv. The veteran woman is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline.

• military
• women
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale enemy invasion, Oleksii, who went by the nickname “Yogurt” in the army, organized festivals and gastronomic tours and participated in a famous Ukraine cooking show. After the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the man entered active duty service. He took up the food reform in the anti-aircraft missile artillery division of the 47th Mechanized Brigade ‘Magura,’ raising funds and setting up a food truck. It’s a vehicle equipped to cook that isn’t tied to one specific location and can quickly change a place of stay. Oleksii dreams that the General Staff will find out about his project, replace the military kitchen with a mobile field one, and display the food truck at the Victory Day parade.

Currently, Oleksii is in active service on the front line. The soldier is ready to give an interview online and offline by prior arrangement. 

• food
• military

On August 23, at a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform, wives of Ukrainian captured border guards will tell the stories of their husbands. Journalists will also be able to learn about the struggle that the wives of prisoners are waging to bring their loved ones home. 

Participants:

Yaryna Herasymova, wife of a captured border guard;

Anzhela Zvereva, wife of a POW border guard;

Svitlana Shakirova, wife of a POW border guard;

Svitlana Polishchuk, wife of a POW border guard.

• military
• prisoners
• women

On Independence Day, a photo exhibition, “Generation of the Unbreakable. The Art of Creating,” dedicated to the defenders and their families whose lives were changed by their service. On August 23, the exhibition will be opened by its heroes, patients of the National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN. Each of them was seriously injured and now needs long-term treatment and rehabilitation. 

The five defenders will share their stories and the challenges they face on a daily basis. Together with the specialists of the Mental Health Center of the National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN, they will tell how to communicate with defenders who have been seriously injured in the war, how to behave properly, and what not to ask.

The National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN patients are among the participants:

Volodymyr Rudkovskyi, a military man and young father. Before Russia’s full-scale aggression, he had been living an active lifestyle, running his own business, and was involved in sports. His right leg was amputated.

Mykhailo Bakaliuk, a soldier, originally from the Donetsk region. Father of three sons, the youngest is three months old. A serviceman had his left leg amputated.

Valentyn Anokhin, a soldier, dreams of playing basketball and making children fall in love with sports.

Oleksandr Zhuravel, a military paramedic, is the second patient in Ukraine to have a prosthesis implanted in his bone. His right leg was amputated. 

Pavlo Patseruk, soldier, junior lieutenant, platoon commander. Multiple shrapnel injuries of two lower limbs. 

Other participants:

Andrii Sadovyi, mayor of Lviv, ambassador of UNBROKEN.

Oleh Samchuk, Director General of the First Medical Association of Lviv.

Iryna Zaslavets, development director of the First Medical Association of Lviv, UNBROKEN project manager, moderator of the event

Oleksandr Kobzarev, Executive Director of the UNBROKEN Foundation.

Natalia Grodz, a psychologist at the Mental Health Center of the National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN. 

Victoria Khemych, mentor at the National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN. 

Event accreditation is required for the exhibition.

• casualties
• culture
• doctors
• military

Serhii Karnaukhov first joined the defense of Ukraine in 2014: he fought at the Donetsk airport, and later served in the east of Ukraine. Alina and Serhii met during the war: the woman came to the front as a volunteer. They later married, and when Serhii’s contract expired, he returned to civilian life. However, for a short time, with the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion, the man took up arms again. And in May 2022, Serhii Karnaukhov died. Alina joined the army to continue what her husband started. However, with her disability, the woman wasn’t allowed to fight at the front itself: she became a military financier and founded “Zhyva” NGO, which supports women who lost their loved ones in the war.

Important notice: Alina Karnaukhova is ready to speak to journalists online and, by prior arrangement, to meet in Dnipro in person.

• dead
• military
• women
• Dnipro