Themes by tag: military

On July 28, at 11:00 AM, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will hold a briefing entitled “Olenivka: Impunity – Encouragement of Terrorism.”  One year ago, the russians committed a terrorist attack brutally murdering the unarmed and powerless defenders of Azovstal, who had been held captive for more than two months at that time. As a result of the barbaric crime, according to unconfirmed data, at least 53 Ukrainian defenders were killed

Participants:

– Nataliia Zarytska, Chair of the “Woman of Steel,” wife of a released from captivity soldier of the Azov Regiment;

– Nataliia Pashniuk-Pashnieva, the mother of the defender of Azovstal who died as a result of the terrorist attack;

– Mariia Alieksieievych, the wife of the wounded defender of Azovstal, injured as a result of the terrorist attack in Olenivka;

– Nelia Shastun, the mother of two soldiers of the Azov Regiment, the elder of whom died, and the second was captured after leaving Azovstal and kept in the Olenivka barracks during the terrorist attack;

– Mykyta Shastun, Azovstal defender released from captivity, who was kept in the Olenivka barracks during the terrorist attack;

– Oleksandr Zarutskyi, international lawyer;

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Oleksandr was 29 when he was wounded and lost his leg in 2014 at the front near Luhansk. What came next is amputation, a wheelchair and a prosthesis, which Oleksandr refused to wear, because he did not accept himself without a leg. The veteran began abusing alcohol and drugs.

In the end, the man managed to overcome his addictions. And after visiting the city of Lourdes in France, his panic attacks and terrible headaches disappeared. Oleksandr decided that such trips should be shared with other servicemen. The veteran posted an invitation on social media looking for those who would like to go and those who would help to pay for the trips. A sponsor was found quickly, and there were so many people willing to join the trip that he had to order a tourist bus for the servicemen. This is how the “Hero Bus” project came to be. Oleksandr has already lost count of how many military personnel he managed to show the miraculous springs of Lourdes, Krakow, the Louvre, how many people he took to the Red Sea so they could take a swim in it.

Since February 24, 2022, Oleksandr has taken only military personnel with amputation of one leg above the knee on his travels, because he has suffered the same kind of amputation, and the veteran knows exactly how to help these people.

• casualties
• military

Volodymyr became interested in pottery in his youth: he tried different techniques and learned from many masters. He had to quit doing it when Russia first attacked Ukraine in the east. Volodymyr mobilized in 2015, took up an anti-tank guided missile, and became an enemy of Russian tanks. After demobilization, he got back to his hobby of pottery. After February 24, 2022, Volodymyr began volunteering and helping Ukrainian defenders. In particular, he visited one of the capital’s hospitals to support the military and hold a pottery workshop for them. Today, the veteran and his wife conduct art therapy for the military in their workshop. They have enlisted the support of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund to scale up into a Pottery Art Center and create an art residence. They plan to take in more military personnel who need therapy.

• culture
• military
• psychological support
• volunteers

Roksana is the wife of a prisoner of war of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine officer. Her husband was taken prisoner in May 2022. (At that time, by order of the higher command, Ukrainian defenders withdrew from Azovstal in Mariupol to save the lives of their personnel.) It is known that the man was held in the occupied territory in the Olenivka Colony, and now he is in the territory of Russia.  There is no contact with him.

According to his wife, relatives of prisoners of war of the border guards testify to a very small percentage of border guards returning during exchanges. Many border guards have been in enemy captivity since March last year.

• military
• prisoners

Media accreditation for the open training session of the Ukrainian wheelchair basketball national team at the 2023 Invictus Games, which will take place on July 27 in Kyiv, has started.

At the start of the open training session, the team members will be addressed by Minister of Veterans Affairs Yuliia Laputina, Minister of Youth and Sports Vadym Gutzeit, representatives of the NGO Invictus Games, as well as the coach of the Ukrainian national wheelchair basketball team Taras Shpuk and the coach of the US national wheelchair basketball team Hannah Walker.

Journalists can attend the wheelchair basketball game and talk to national team members.

Important notice:  The program of the open training session and detailed information about the venue will be sent only to accredited journalists who agree to the terms of the press embargo on information dissemination. Accreditation lasts until 9:00 PM on July 26.

• casualties
• military
• Kyiv

On July 26, at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform, the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a member of the 5AM Coalition, presents an investigation into the mass murder of Azovs in Olenivka Colony No. 120. During the presentation, based on the documented testimonies of the victims, the MIHR journalists will reveal in detail the circumstances of the crimes committed in Olenivka colony: how it happened, what happened inside and outside the barracks with the Azovs regiment members, why no one saved them, and who is to blame.

To reconstruct the events of the night of the mass murder of prisoners from July 28 to 29, 2022, the MIHR team interviewed crime witnesses. At the time of the attack, they were inside the barracks. At that time, two explosions killed about 50 Azov soldiers and seriously injured more than 70 others.

Speakers:

Tetiana Katrychenko – author of the investigation, Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR)

Maria Klymyk – author of the investigation, journalist at MIHR;

Anna Lobova, wife of a prisoner of war wounded in Olenivka;

Arina Khavanskykh, wife of a prisoner of war killed in Olenivka.

Event accreditation is required.

• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The artist Serhii Petrov, known professionally as Bob Basset, produces accessories in the style of techno-romanticism. Serhii first created the masks for himself: the man has a strabismus and says that the mask simplifies interpersonal communication. In January 2023, the artist created his first mask for a soldier, Masi Nayyem, who lost his eye at the front. According to Nayyem, the leather mask by Bob Basset is more comfortable than standard bandages because it has a triple fastening system and is made of soft leather. Serhii was asked to make a second mask by the daughter of an Azov soldier who was wounded in Mariupol.

The Mask for a Hero is a charity project the artist managed to get a grant for to cover the cost of materials and rent of a room to work on the masks for the military.

For reference: Bob Basset started his workshop back in 1989. He has collaborated with Metallica, Korn, Avril Lavigne, Zayn Malik, Ghost, Givenchy, Yiapanis, Riccardo Tisci, Beissoul & Einius.

• casualties
• culture
• military

Before the start of the full-scale invasion, the company of Kharkiv-based Ihor Yefimenko was doing car repairs. After February 24, 2022, his team reformatted and began manufacturing level 5 body armor for the military. When a relative of Ihor Yefimenko lost his toes due to a mine explosion, the entrepreneur realized that his team should also develop protection for sappers and EOD experts. They took the Canadian model as a basis, adapted it to the needs of the Ukrainian military and rescuers, and began production. The weight of each boot is 4 kilograms, and the team uses 3D printers to manufacture the parts. Ihor Yefimenko explains that boots are not a magic cure, they will not be able to completely prevent injury, but they still allow those who use them to avoid traumatic amputation.

• military
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Veteran paramedic Yuliia “Kuba” has been rescuing the wounded in the hottest spots of the front since 2014. After retiring from the service in 2019, she started working in fashion design and participated in Ukrainian Fashion Week. After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, the veteran returned into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to save lives. While still being at the front, the woman joined the creation of a clothing brand called Cubitus Dei, which is produced in the VETERANKA workshop. Recently, a charity collection of this brand – “Fire of Liberty” – was presented in France. Anyone can buy the first accessories from the collection – “Kolos” brooches. The money from the sale will go to the rehabilitation of wounded servicewomen, who are cared for by the Veteranka foundation.

Volunteers of the VETERANKA shop, led by designer of famous Ukrainian brands Hanna Suvorkina and Ukrainian designer Stanislav Bitus, also worked on the creation of the “Fire of Liberty” charity collection. During the full-scale invasion, Stanislav changed his line of work and began producing women’s military uniforms instead of fashionable dresses, became Head of “VETERANKA” workshop, and after the presentation of the collection, joined the ranks of the National Guard of Ukraine.

• doctors
• military
• women

Before the full-scale war, Maksym worked as a mechanic at the Antonov plant: he serviced the world’s largest airplane, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya, which the occupiers later destroyed. On the eve of the occupation of Hostomel, he managed to take his daughter and mother out of the city while he himself returned. The man saw civilians being shot. He hid in the basement for several weeks. After all, he has been through, he volunteered to go to the front. He fought in the Donetsk region, was hit by a mine in Soledar, and lost his leg. Now the 29-year-old veteran is preparing for prosthetics at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center. 

• casualties
• military
• occupation