Themes by tag: military

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

On August 21, Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform will host the presentation of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge. This is the first organization created by American veterans to support Ukrainian combatants.

Participants: 

• George Chewning – a U.S. veteran, executive director of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge, former White House Presidential Innovation Fellow.
• William Attig – a U.S. veteran, Executive Director at Union Veteran Council, member of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge.
• Dennis DJ Skelton – a U.S., Co-Founder of Paradox Sports, member of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge.
• Cory Bythrow — Chief of Staff of the American Federation of Government Employees, a member of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge.
• Lindsay Church – a U.S. veteran, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Minority Veterans of America, Strategic Advisor at the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge.
• Colonel Volodymyr Lahuta – Ukrainian veteran, active military serviceman, Chair of the Board of Veteran’s Movement of Ukraine public union.
• Dmytro Shatrovskyi – Ukrainian veteran, active military serviceman, Head of Veteran Brotherhood All-Ukrainian NGO.
• Kateryna Pryimak – Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Women Veteran Movement NGO.

The topics of focus will include cooperation within the framework of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge, as well as solutions for Ukrainian veterans and their family members that can be implemented now.

Pre-registration is required.

For reference: the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge is a coalition of leading US veterans’ organizations and human rights activists united in a common cause to support Ukraine’s developing veteran community.

• military

Ihor Bezkaravainyi is a veteran who in 2015 was injured in a mine explosion. In October 2022, together with his wife Olena, they created the “Unconquered” charitable foundation, which aims to help and support other veterans and their families. After all, spouses know from their own experience how to navigate the path after receiving injury and undergoing rehabilitation, and how to support their partner and return to life.

Currently, the charitable fund is focused on helping the veterans of the russo-Ukrainian war with physical and psychological recovery, as well as with retraining and acquiring a new profession.

Journalists will have the opportunity to talk to Ihor Bezkaravainyi, as well as other veterans who are currently in the charitable foundation’s care.

For reference: Currently Ihor also holds the post of Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine. And in 2020, the man was a member of the Ukrainian team at the Invictus Games.

• military

Sarah Ashton-Cirillo is 46 years old. She is an American journalist and transgender woman. Sarah came to Ukraine at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion. In March 2022, she covered the topic of Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and later joined the territorial defense forces of Ukraine and became a combat medic. At the same time, Sarah continued to write reports for foreign media about enemy shelling. In 2023, the woman was injured, and soon after she received an invitation to join the public relations team of the Territorial Defense Forces. Sarah Ashton-Cirillo’s new position has sparked a lot of discussion. However, this did not affect Sarah’s motivation to serve in the Armed Forces.

• doctors
• military
• women
• LGBT

The Strongman Federation of Ukraine, together with the Kyiv City Council Department of Youth and Sports, continues to implement a program for veterans to get back on track in life through sports rehabilitation. On August 19, Kyiv will host a competition for military personnel and veterans.

Over 200 participants from all over Ukraine will compete in strongman, athletics, rowing, archery, bench press, and other disciplines.

Defenders with amputations and injuries of arms and legs, internal organs, wheelchair users, etc., will also join the competition.

• military
• Kyiv

On August 16, Nine days will have passed since Andrii Babinskyi died in a battle against the russians. The organizers of the rally in memory of the fallen combat medic and the founder of the Vyshyvanka Megamarch call on everyone to wear embroidered shirts to work, study or just for a walk around the city.

On the same day, a commemorative event will be held in Kyiv, to which people are also invited to come wearing vyshyvankas:

6:30 PM – Gathering near the monument to Yaroslav the Wise (Zoloti Vorota metro station)

7:30 PM – The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine (Triohsviatytelska St.).

After the performance by several musicians, the participants will go to the Wall of Remembrance, where they will honor Andrii Babinskyi, Maksym Nepyjpyvo and all fallen heroes in the russo-Ukrainian war with a moment of silence and performance of the National Anthem of Ukraine.

For reference: On August 8, 2023, Andrii Babinskyi, the creator of the Vyshyvanka Megamarch, a public figure, a biochemist by profession, a senior soldier and a combat medic of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, died in a battle with the russian invaders.

While still a student, in the fall of 2008, Andrii started the Vyshyvanka Megamarch – an event in the capital that eventually became an international movement. Participants of the Megamarch traditionally gather twice a year in vyshyvankas and march through the streets of cities.

• dead
• doctors
• military
• Kyiv

In the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra,” the second round of events of the military rehabilitation program is underway. Military chaplains, who work directly on the front lines, have already arrived for this purpose. After them, military personnel and former PoWs in need of rehabilitation will also come to the Lavra. Several stages of “cultural rehabilitation” await them. In particular, the study of the history of Ukraine and the history of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, icon painting and art therapy. The soldiers will go to the caves of the monastery and take part in archaeological excavations on the territory of the Lavra.

• culture
• military
• Kyiv

The serviceman with the call sign “Darwin” was mobilized a few weeks after the start of russia’s full-scale invasion. The military man says that he did not hesitate before this decision, but he had to settle the affairs he had in civilian life. “Darwin” is a doctor by profession, his expertise is in DNA analysis. Before the big war, the soldier combined medicine and IT work: he wrote code for DNA analysis that would help detect genetic diseases in children. “Darwin” has applied to Oakland University in Michigan, the U.S. and was supposed to begin his studies in the fall of 2022. However, he decided to postpone his education until Ukraine’s victory.

Now “Darvin” is at the front, journalists are welcome to communicate with him online or – by agreement – in one of the settlements in Kharkiv region. 

• doctors
• military

Yurik Mkrtchian is a military doctor. He worked as an anesthesiologist and intensivist at the Dnipro Military Hospital. At the end of March 2022, he was informed that there was a shortage of doctors in Mariupol, where heavy fighting was taking place. So Yurik arrived in the city. Rescued people at Illich Steel and Iron Works. 

On April 12, 2022, along with other medical workers, Yurik Mkrtchian was taken prisoner. First, they were taken to a filtration camp in Sartana. The camp was set up on the territory of a destroyed farm. The prisoners had to sleep on the floor, and they ate only once a day. And even in those conditions, doctors tried to continue treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers. A few days later, the prisoners were transferred to the penal colony in Olenivka. And from October 16 to November 3, the man was detained in occupied Horlivka. In total, the doctor spent 206 days in captivity.

For reference: more than 500 Ukrainian doctors are currently forcibly detained by russia, including both civilians and military medics, the Center for Civil Liberties reports. Journalists are welcome to request comments from the Center’s experts.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners