Themes by tag: military

Before the war, Vyacheslav Khabarov was a virtuoso guitar player who played with rock legends, such as John Lawton (Uriah Heep), Graham Bonnet (Rainbow), Dan McCafferty (Nazareth), and Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest). After russia’s invasion, Slava Khabarov joined the army, where he got the callsign “Maestro.” Unfortunately, the musician was wounded; a serious injury to his left hand can put an end to the career of a top-grade musician. However, Slava remains calm, keeps rehabilitating and rehearsing, and even restringed his guitar to play with his healthy hand.

• casualties
• culture
• military

Before the all-out war, Every Animal, an NGO, engaged in education projects to raise the Ukrainians’ awareness of veganism. Hundreds of activities, performances, and lectures were organized to rescue animals from suffering. Once the all-out war had broken out in Ukraine, the activists started cooking for both civilian and military vegans. Its charity kitchens staffed by volunteers work in seven cities, with the NGO taking care of about 200 vegans from Ukraine’s Armed Forces and about 100 IDPs.

• food
• military
• volunteers

Joseph Woodke, a veteran of the U. S. Armed Forces and Paralympian, lost both legs after being wounded at war in Afghanistan. He came to Ukraine to show Ukrainian veterans with his example that life does not come to a grinding halt after the amputation.

Also, Jeremy Locke, a former U. S. Army Special Forces soldier and co-founder of Aerial Recovery Group, came to visit Ukraine. Aerial Recovery Group has been helping Ukraine for several months. Both veterans will stay in Ukraine for several days and have a number of meetings.

• military

Ternopil manufacturer provides light electric bikes for mobile groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. With the start of a full-scale war, the company donated several bikes to the army. The military appreciated the advantages of such transport, so the designers re-equipped a civilian model specifically for the army: they painted it khaki, removed mirrors and lighting. The details were purchased at the expense of volunteers.

Electric bicycles accelerate up to 90 km per hour. If necessary, they can be used as a large power bank on wheels. In the field, the military can connect Starlink satellite Internet equipment to the bike battery.

• military
• Ternopil

Maryna is said to be the first female mine clearance specialist serving in the National Guard. She has substantial military experience; she has recently mastered the mine clearance specialty and joined an engineering unit of Ukraine’s National Guard. She studied her new metier in Kosovo. Today, she is gaining new experience, deactivating hazardous ammunition in Kyiv Oblast.

• military
• women

Roman Nabozhniak, a Ukrainian soldier, veteran, and entrepreneur, organized a charity auction to raise USD 50,000 and buy a Punisher assault UAV for the Ukrainian Army. He offered his own Veterano Brownie café for the auction and decided to sell it in parts.

At the online auction, everyone could buy a cup, a plate, or another “part” of their favorite establishment. USD 50,000 were raised within 26 hours.

Veterano Brownie, a cafe well-known in Kyiv, closed immediately after the start of russia’s full-scale invasion. Roman Nabozhniak took up weapons to defend Ukraine.

• military
• volunteers

Families of defenders of Mariupol announced the establishment of the NGO “Ladies of Steel.” The Council of Wives and Mothers of the soldiers will control the process of the repatriation of POWs. For instance, they will launch a Telegram channel for communications that will help exchange the Ukrainian soldiers. Furthermore, they plan to become a mediator between the Ukrainian authorities and the defenders’ families.

• military
• prisoners
• women

Kostiantyn, a staff sergeant of the National Guard of Ukraine, defended his home city of Chernihiv from the first day of the war. On the third day of the foe’s all-out offensive, Kostiantyn, together with his friends, took captive two russian military servicemen from the crew of a wrecked tank; one of them turned out to be a tank battalion executive officer. Later, he protected his subordinates at the cost of his health. A projectile exploded nearby while the soldier moved from one trench to another. Medics literally assembled his leg bone part by part. The hero from Chernihiv has already been serving for 20 years. Now he needs several months to rehabilitate and recuperate.

• military
• Chernihiv

Roman Kostenko is a 38-year-old defender of Donetsk Airport, a colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine, and a current member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. After the all-out invasion started, Kostenko volunteered to go to the frontline and is now defending Ukraine in the south. At the same time, he keeps performing his parliamentary duties by working online and attending sessions of the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv whenever possible. Roman Kostenko publishes exclusive footage of fighting on his social media page.

Roman Kostenko’s briefing about how the situation on the frontline develops and how he manages to combine the roles of a soldier and a parliamentarian is scheduled to take place in Media Center Ukraine on May 24 at 11:00 AM.

• military

Dmytro Kozatskyi, known as the Azov photographer with the call sign Orest, who had been in Azovstal Iron and Steelworks for a long time, called on journalists to distribute his photographs taken at the plant and send them to participate in various professional competitions. The fighter also said that as of today, May 20, he is in russian captivity.

“Well, this is it. Thank you for shelter, Azovstal — the place of my death and my life. By the way, while I am in captivity, I will leave the photos in the best quality for you to send them to all journalistic awards and photo contests. If I win something when I’m out, it will be very nice. Thank you all for your support. See you soon!” — Dmytro said on social media.

Dmytro “Orest” Kozatskyi is the photographer behind all the pictures and videos from Azovstal that were featured in the world and Ukrainian media, including the photo of the soldier standing in a sunbeam, which recently circulated the world.

High quality photos of the serviceman can be downloaded here.

• military
• prisoners