Themes by tag: occupation
In 2022, the Oskil school in the Kharkiv region endured six months under occupation by russian forces, resulting in significant damage. The school’s premises were heavily affected: the roof was compromised, windows shattered, and even the heating systems were ripped out.
Today, the school is in the process of being restored. Some classrooms and shelters have already been rebuilt, providing much-needed stability. Additionally, Save the Children has established a digital space within the school, offering a safe environment for children to learn, socialize, and regain a sense of security.
For reference: As part of the national initiative “Shoulder to Shoulder: Cohesive Communities,” the Oskil and Chernihiv communities are planning to collaborate with partner communities to further strengthen their bonds.
Andrii Bakun, a native of Kherson, had a life that seemed far removed from the enemy invasion that would soon engulf his country. Before russia’s all-out aggression, he made his living on the seas, earning a degree as a third-rate mechanic. On February 23, 2022, while returning to his hometown, Andrii learned of the outbreak of the full-blown war while aboard a train. Although he could not immediately enlist due to a disability, he joined the municipal guard. However, after just one patrol, the team disbanded.
By March 1, Andrii crossed paths with a territorial defense unit. He assisted them in finding shelter, leaving their weapons behind, and entering the city disguised as civilians. One of the soldiers, Oleh Leshchyna, refused to relinquish his arms, prompting Andrii to make the brave decision to hide him in his family’s home. For four months, Oleh remained hidden until Andrii’s sister managed to safely retrieve him.
After Kherson had returned to Ukrainian control, Andrii, determined to serve, concealed his disability documents and joined the territorial defense. Not long after, during a fierce battle, a shell exploded nearby, inflicting severe damage to Andrii’s spinal cord and thoracic spine. For his bravery and service, he was awarded the Golden Cross by the Commander-in-Chief.
Now, two years later, Andrii continues his journey of recovery, undergoing extensive treatment and rehabilitation. He remains hopeful about the possibility of surgery and the implantation of an American neurostimulator, which would help alleviate his pain, restore sensation, and potentially allow him to walk again.
Currently undergoing rehabilitation abroad, Andrii Bakun plans to return to Ukraine on April 25. He is available for meetings both online and in person, by prior arrangement.
For reference: Kherson fell under russian occupation at the onset of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. It wasn’t until November 11, 2022, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city from russian control. Despite this liberation, the occupiers persist in regularly shelling the city.
On April 3, the Media Center Ukraine will host the presentation of the analytical report: “The russian federation’s Policy on the Eradication of Children’s Identity in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine: 2024 Overview”
Participants:
– Anastasiia Vorobiova, Report Author, Contributing Expert with the Center of Civil Education Almenda NGO, and Research Assistant at the Institute of Law Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences;
– Mariia Sulialina, Head of the Center of Civil Education Almenda NGO;
– Valentina Potapova, Head of the Direction of National Advocacy at the Center of Civil Education Almenda NGO.
Key topics:
– An analysis of changes in russian federal legislation throughout 2024, highlighting trends in russification, militarization, and the indoctrination of Ukrainian children and youth;
– Comparative statistics: Evaluation of 2024 data juxtaposed with figures from previous years to illustrate evolving patterns;
– Examination of recurring infringements already shaping plans and activities scheduled for 2025;
– Key measures aimed at protecting the rights of children from occupied territories.
Background: For more than 11 years, russia has pursued a systematic effort to erode Ukrainian identity among children and youth in occupied territories, employing methods of political indoctrination, militarization, and heightened pressure within both formal and informal education systems. Notably, the number of cadet classes in Crimea surged from 197 to 260 within the past year alone.
The Center of Civil Education Almenda NGO conducts comprehensive monitoring of children’s rights across occupied territories. Drawing on data gathered throughout 2024, Almenda’s analytical report offers a detailed assessment of key trends, legislative changes, patterns of violations, and the international community’s response.
On March 30, as the third anniversary of Bucha’s liberation from russian occupiers approaches, the Kyiv region city will host a series of events to commemorate the victims of russian aggression.
The program of events includes:
– A requiem ceremony to honor the fallen heroes,
– The “Prayer for Peace” action, a memorial service for the civilian victims in Bucha, featuring a performance of the spiritual hymn “Prayer for Ukraine,”
– The presentation of the book Voices of Memory: Bucha – The City of Heroes.
Bucha, now a symbol of the unyielding spirit of the Ukrainian people and a stark reminder of the horrific war crimes committed by the russian army, will unite the families of the victims, local residents, government officials, and the international community. Together, they will pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for Ukraine’s freedom.
For reference: During the fighting and russian occupation of Bucha in February and March 2022, hundreds of people lost their lives. Since then, the name of this town near Kyiv has become forever associated with the war crimes perpetrated by the russian army in Ukraine.
In frontline communities, even daily routines become a challenge. The lack of a centralized water supply in Sviatohirsk means that something as simple as doing laundry or taking a shower is a struggle. However, the local community has come up with a solution.
In early 2023, the town’s first sanitation module was installed. The facility includes a 1,200-liter water tank, a toilet, two washing machines, and three shower stalls. The module can operate without electricity thanks to a generator, and it also has the option of using firewood for heating.
There are currently two such sanitation modules in the community, with a third planned for this year. In addition, a social laundry service is operating in the town with the support of the Shoulder to Shoulder: United Communities project.
Journalists can pre-arrange to cover the work of the sanitation modules and the social laundry. Online commentary is also available upon request.
Background: On June 5, 2022, russian forces occupied part of Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk oblast. In September of the same year, Ukrainian forces liberated the town. After the liberation, Sviatohirsk was left without a centralized water supply, as the system had been damaged during the fighting.
For more than 32 years, Valentyna Hantseva has worked at the library in the village of Soldatske, Sumy Oblast. Just months before russia’s full-scale invasion, the library underwent a modern renovation and received new equipment. But when a russian airstrike hit the village center during the occupation, the library building was left in ruins. Only the roof and walls remained intact, while the blast wave devastated the interior.
Despite the occupation and the constant threat of russian aircraft overhead, Valentyna and her husband began salvaging books, hiding them in grain sacks to keep them safe. In total, she managed to rescue more than 1,000 volumes.
In April 2022, Ukrainian forces liberated the village. With support from a benefactor in Germany, the library was restored, and by the fall of 2022, Valentyna was able to reopen its doors to readers.
For reference: By April 11, 2022, then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that Ukraine had fully regained control of its state border in the Sumy region.
Twelve years ago, Ihor Tsyba and his family turned their backyard into an ostrich farm. Over time, their farm in the village of Verkhnia Syrovatka, Sumy Oblast, grew to house more than 50 species of birds.
When russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine, the village was occupied, putting the animals in grave danger. In early March 2022, heavy shelling shook the area, injuring many birds in their enclosures. Three ostriches suffered wounds so severe that they had to be euthanized.
Following the village’s liberation, the farm took on a new role—rehabilitating injured wild animals. Among its rescues was a roe deer that lost a leg after being struck by a combine harvester and a swan found trapped in the ice with its wings severed. Tsyba funds the farm’s operations himself, dedicating his resources to caring for the animals.
For reference: Ihor Tsyba, based in Sumy Oblast, is available for interviews with journalists both online and in person by prior arrangement.
By April 11, 2022, Ukrainian forces had liberated Sumy and restored control over the state border in Sumy Oblast.
Larysa Zahryva has devoted 25 years to education. She worked as a teacher, and in 2022 she became the head of the Center for the Provision of Social Services in Chernihiv Oblast. When the full-scale war broke out, the village of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske, where Larysa lived and worked, was under occupation. For 37 days, she continued to go to work and take care of the elderly people who remained in the village. Larysa hid documents from the russians and was shot at five times. The occupiers came to her house in the middle of the night and interrogated Larysa’s husband.
After Ukraine retook Mykhailo-Kotsiubynskyi from russian occupation, Larysa successfully founded the University of the Third Age (U3A) with support from the United Nations Development Program. Today, several areas of study are already available for lifelong learners, including the Healthy Lifestyles Program, the Philosophy Program, and the Arts and Crafts Program Larysa also created a mobile social assistance project: A car with volunteers who help residents with household chores runs around Chernihiv. The University has also recently opened a resilience space where women, children, IDPs, and war victims can work individually with a psychologist or attend support groups.
For reference: By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces had completely liberated Chernihiv Oblast.
Researchers from the Chernihiv historical museum named after V. Tarnovskyi travel to the village of Yahidne, Chernihiv oblast, to collect eyewitness testimony. (In the spring of 2022, russian occupiers detained over 300 local residents in inhumane conditions in the basement of the school for almost a month).
Since September 2023, historians have been documenting historical artifacts in Yahidne. They have examined and described over 1,000 objects, including clothing, shoes, personal items, backpacks, books, empty russian military ration boxes, antiseptic tubes, russian newspapers, wooden pallets used for sitting and sleeping, plastic water bottles used as makeshift toilets. Experts recorded descriptions of all basement rooms and photographed artifacts found throughout the village, including remnants of enemy equipment, uniforms and ammunition boxes.
At the request of the regional authorities, copies of occupation documents found in Yahidne have been turned over to the museum.
All documented artifacts will remain in place. There are plans to create a memorial complex in Yahidne, including the school basement where civilians were imprisoned.
Journalists can learn more, join researchers on the ground, and see the historical artifacts firsthand.
Background: Yahidne is a village near Chernihiv. At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, the occupying forces set up their headquarters in the local school. In its basement they imprisoned 299 adults and 67 children – almost the entire population of the village. The basement was only 197 square meters, forcing people to sleep sitting up, with limited oxygen. Ten people died as a result of the horrific conditions.
In February 2023, a photograph of the Yahidne basement appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
Maryna Kotlobai is a dermatologist who began her journey as a volunteer doctor with FRIDA, the Ukrainian-Israeli mission of medical volunteers. Today she is one of the captains of its field missions.
Maryna is from the town of Khrustalnyi in the Luhansk oblast (occupied since spring 2014). After 2014, she was forced to move to Kharkiv, and later to Siverskodonetsk, Luhansk oblast (occupied since June 2022). When the full-scale invasion began, she had to leave her home again – this time she and her parents fled abroad. But just a few months later, she returned to Ukraine to start a new life in the capital.
Journalists can speak with Maryna in Kyiv, online or during FRIDA’s field missions.
Background: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli mission of medical volunteers dedicated to helping civilians. Volunteer doctors provide quality medical care to Ukrainians affected by the war.
