Themes by tag: occupation
Kariakin was just 17 when russian-backed forces seized his hometown of Kadiivka, formerly known as Stakhanov, in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in 2014. While most of the world’s attention had shifted elsewhere, Artem began documenting life under occupation on an anonymous Twitter account. He posted maps showing the location of russian forces, tracked their movements, and shared dispatches from behind enemy lines. Eventually, his work caught the attention of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and he began secretly collaborating with the military.
For years, Kariakin led a double life. He avoided friendships, shut himself off from romance, and trusted no one. “Anyone could report me to the occupiers,” he said.
The losses mounted. In 2020, his mother passed away. The following year, he lost both his grandmother and father. With his immediate family gone, Artem moved to Kyiv, hoping for a fresh start. But his time in the capital was short-lived. When russia unleashed an all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kariakin joined the Territorial Defense Forces just weeks later. By June, he was fighting near Bakhmut, one of the war’s fiercest battlegrounds.
Now serving officially in Ukraine’s military, Artem continues gathering intelligence from occupied territories, a task he once carried out in secret. He receives data from spotters and artillery correctors working in the field. critical information that helps the Armed Forces target russian positions.
In February 2023, after nine years of resistance, Kariakin made a bold decision: he revealed his identity publicly on social media. With that move, he launched a new campaign #FreeCivilResistance aimed at drawing attention to Ukrainian civilians imprisoned by russian forces. He added that this cause is deeply personal to him because he knows people who have been thrown into russian prisons.
Artem Kariakin remains stationed near the front lines and continues to serve actively. He is available to speak with journalists, online and in person by prior arrangement.
A pre-premiere screening of the documentary People of Freedom’s Color will take place on June 30 in Kyiv, followed by a discussion.
The film chronicles the non-violent resistance of Ukrainians living under russian occupation, tracing events from 2014 to the present day. It highlights the personal stories of those who stood their ground in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Novoazovsk, Melitopol, and Kherson.
The documentary features accounts from participants in the Yellow Ribbon and Zla Mavka grassroots movements, as well as testimonies from individuals still living in occupied cities who continue to resist. Despite the risks, they paint Ukrainian flags, hang yellow and blue ribbons, distribute posters with national symbols, uphold cultural traditions, and teach others the Ukrainian language.
Following the screening, a discussion will be held with members of the creative team, individuals featured in the film, human rights advocates, and representatives of government institutions and civil society organizations.
Pre-registration is required to attend.
For reference: People of Freedom’s Color was produced by the creative team at The Locals (Tuteshni) NGO, with support from Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and the International Renaissance Foundation.
Svitlana Matsiuta is an artist from Kherson. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an assistant set designer in a theater.
She experienced the full-scale invasion in her hometown. During the occupation, Svitlana and her son avoided leaving home out of fear of russian soldiers. Despite financial hardship, she rejected all offers to work in the theater under russian control. In March 2022, reports began circulating in media and social networks claiming that wild geese had “downed” an enemy military plane. Inspired by this story, Svitlana created her own toy battle geese.
These toys symbolize Kherson’s unbreakable spirit and resistance. Svitlana says the battle geese are especially popular among Kherson residents who have relocated to other parts of Ukraine or abroad. She has received orders from the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
In addition to geese, the artist makes roosters inspired by the folk art of Maria Prymachenko and Polina Raiko. Creating these toys helps Svitlana distract herself from the shelling and keeps her dream of victory and the liberation of the rest of the Kherson oblast alive.
Svitlana Matsiuta is available for interviews online or in person in Kherson, by prior arrangement.
A herd of nineteen horses and foals remains at an abandoned equestrian complex in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where stable hand Oleksii Boliukh, unpaid and undeterred, has been caring for them since the owner fled during the russian occupation.
The facility, once a bustling hub for equestrian sports, was left without management in 2022. Its owner disappeared just a day before Ukrainian forces reclaimed the territory. With no one left to oversee the complex, Boliukh stayed behind, feeding and tending to the animals amid shelling and shortages.
When the full-scale invasion began, there were 28 horses at the complex. They endured months of bombardment, occupation, and hunger. Some were wounded. Lacking proper nutrition and care, the animals’ survival depended on the resolve of Boliukh and the help of a few volunteers, including a local community police officer.
Now, more than three years into the war, the herd has shrunk, some horses have been evacuated to safer areas, but 19 still remain. Several were born during the fighting, under the thunder of nearby artillery. The surviving animals are under legal arrest, as criminal proceedings have been launched against the absentee owner, who left them without proper documentation.
Volunteer Robert Sargsyan has become one of Boliukh’s most crucial allies. He built a stable 60 kilometers away from the abandoned complex and has been helping evacuate and care for the horses, ensuring they receive food, shelter, and medical treatment.
Despite the chaos of war and the legal limbo surrounding the horses’ status, Boliukh and Sargsyan continue their efforts to protect the animals.
Interviews with Oleksii Boliukh and Robert Sargsyan are available in person by prior arrangement.
Oleksii Polukhin, a 21-year-old openly LGBTQ+ activist from Kherson, joined the resistance movement in the first days of russia’s occupation, coordinating with Ukraine’s Security Service, Armed Forces, and intelligence units.
Until May 2022, Oleksii was gathering critical intelligence for Ukrainian special services. On May 9, during a reconnaissance mission, he stumbled upon a newly established russian checkpoint. He is certain that someone informed the occupiers about his activities, as they were already waiting for him at the checkpoint. They confiscated his phone and passport, forced him to strip, blindfolded him, and drove him around the city for hours before taking him to a detention center for interrogation.
When his captors discovered Oleksii was queer, they subjected him to psychological torture — forcing him to wear a dress, denying him showers, outdoor time, medical care, or legal assistance. Though they avoided physical violence, the relentless psychological abuse lasted two months before his release. Even after, Oleksii remained in Kherson and only left his hometown after it was de-occupied. Now, he undergoes therapy and continues to volunteer for the Ukrainian army.
Journalists can communicate with Oleksii Polukhin online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.
Mykhailo Brytsyn is the pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Grace in Melitopol, Zaporizhia oblast (the city has been under russian occupation since March 2022). Despite the occupation, the church has continued to hold services for its congregation and provide aid to locals. During this time, an interfaith prayer gathering was organized in the city square, uniting clergy from different denominations. Meanwhile, the occupiers were attempting to coerce local religious leaders into collaborating with them.
On September 11, 2022, russian forces stormed the Church of Grace in the middle of a service. Armed, masked soldiers blocked the exits, trapping worshippers inside. The soldiers fingerprinted everyone, photographed their documents, and recorded their addresses. Church ministers were taken away for interrogation.
Pastor Mykhailo was interrogated as well. The occupiers raided his home and seized church documents. The russians issued him an ultimatum: “We give you two days to get out, or we’ll kill you”.
The occupiers turned the Church of Grace into their so-called “Ministry of Culture of Zaporizhia Oblast” and cut down its cross.
Today, Pastor Mykhailo holds online services for his scattered congregation. The Church of Grace also organizes prayer breakfasts for displaced people in various cities.
Beyond his pastoral duties, Brytsyn collects and analyzes evidence of russian crimes against religious communities in occupied Ukraine. He monitors the situation, compiles detailed reports, and presents them to the international community.
Journalists can arrange an interview with Rev. Mykhailo Brytsyn in person in Rivne oblast or online.
Ivan and Iryna Umansky are a couple from the Kherson oblast. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, the family was raising four biological children and a boy named Bohdan, whom they had taken under their guardianship. Bohdan was the first child they welcomed into their family. Undeterred by his medical diagnosis, the Umanskys decided to give the boy a chance at a full life.
When the war began, the couple was in their hometown of Kakhovka, which remains under russian occupation. They moved from their home to a friend’s house to look after it. In August 2022, the head of social services, who was still cooperating with Ukrainian authorities, contacted the couple and asked if they could take in two girls from an orphanage.
The family took a risk: aside from birth certificates, the girls had no other documents. Later, Ivan bought a seven-seater, and the family decided to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory. They had to pass through twenty russian checkpoints, and the journey took three days. The Umanskys eventually reached the Kyiv oblast, where they initially stayed in a family support center. They later lived in an apartment provided to them free of charge. In April 2024, they moved into a new house built as part of the “Address of Childhood” project by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska’s Foundation. Today, Ivan and Iryna are raising ten children and have the status of a large foster family.
Journalists can speak with Ivan and Iryna Umansky online or in person by prior arrangement.
Before russia launched its full-scale invasion, Yuliia Bondarenko and her fiancé lived in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. When russian forces seized control of the city in 2022, the couple endured three months of occupation. It wasn’t until May 2022 that Yuliia made the difficult decision to flee.
During the evacuation, she brought along her two cats, two dogs, and an additional animal rescued from a local shelter. The family eventually settled in Kryvyi Rih, where Yuliia began a new chapter, embroidering her first traditional shirt. Her husband was engaged in volunteer work, and that very shirt was offered as a gift in exchange for the largest donation. It ended up in the hands of a German supporter.
In addition to shirts, Yuliia began crafting traditional embroidered belt pouches, popularly known as “little pockets.” Each piece features embroidered images of animals, honoring and reflecting on the struggle of animals from the left bank of the Kherson region, many of whom were injured or killed during the ongoing fighting. All proceeds from the sales go toward supporting a local animal shelter and purchasing food for stray dogs and cats in Kherson.
She named the project Silence of the Steppe. Today, her embroidered shirts and pockets travel far beyond Kryvyi Rih, finding new homes not only across Ukraine but also abroad, particularly among displaced Ukrainians who cannot yet return.
Yuliia Bondarenko is available for interviews by appointment, both online and in person in Kryvyi Rih.
On June 4, the Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing: “Defenseless in War. Ukrainian Children Enduring 11 Years of russian Aggression”
Participants:
– Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;
– Oleksandra Dvoretska, Human Rights Activist, Head of Policy at the Bring Kids Back UA Initiative;
– Valentina Potapova, Head of Direction of National Advocacy at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda NGO;
– Leviza Dzhelyal, Public Activist, Wife of Former Political Prisoner Nariman Dzhelal;
– Alevtina Kakhidze, Ukrainian Performance and Media Artist.
Topics of focus:
– Life under occupation: Current conditions faced by children living in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia oblasts, and Crimea.
– Children of political prisoners: Emotional and social impact on minors whose parents have been arrested or imprisoned, with a particular focus on stories from Crimean Tatar families.
– Militarization and indoctrination in Crimea: The ongoing transformation of education to serve russian propaganda narratives, including the militarization of school curricula and the role of organizations such as the Youth Army Movement.
For reference: June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, established by the UN General Assembly in 1982.
The latest rescue operation has brought 11 more Ukrainian children back from russian-controlled areas, thanks to the continued efforts of the Save Ukraine team and the support of the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Among those brought home are two orphans, two children of Ukrainian service members, and a family torn apart by war for nearly four years.
Marharyta, a defender with the Azov Regiment, spent more than three years in russian captivity. Her eldest son, also a soldier, left the besieged Azovstal plant with her. They were sent to different penal colonies, and for a long time, Marharyta didn’t know if her son was still alive. By chance, she saw him during a prisoner exchange, on the same bus. But she still had one wish left: to reunite with her youngest daughter, who had remained an infant under occupation. That dream has now come true. The mother is finally with her children again, and still can’t believe it’s no longer just a dream.
Ostap hadn’t seen his father, a Ukrainian soldier, in three years. His older brother, who fought alongside their father, was captured and spent 1,111 days in detention. He is now undergoing rehabilitation. For the first time in three years, Ostap was able to embrace both of them.
Anatolii, an orphan, was abducted after discovering ammunition in the woods. He was taken straight from a classroom, soldiers burst into the principal’s office, put a bag over his head, tied his hands, and dragged him to a basement, where he was beaten. Just one week before his 18th birthday, he received a draft notice. No one even considered his right to education. The occupiers gave him only one choice: to join a specific military unit. Fortunately, he was able to contact Save Ukraine in time.
Interviews with Save Ukraine representatives are available upon prior arrangement.
The rescue operation was made possible through the support of partners #WeAreAllUkrainians, Humanity Foundation, Reload Love, and the Joint Center for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War and Persons Illegally Deprived of Liberty as a Result of Aggression Against Ukraine. To date, Save Ukraine has returned 659 children, including 145 orphans.
