Themes by tag: occupation

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.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• women
• Chernihiv

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.

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

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.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Serhii Pryschepa considers March 14, 2022, his second birthday. That day, he and his family attempted to escape from russian-occupied territory in Chernihiv Oblast but were caught in an attack. Their car was engulfed in flames, burning to the ground. Miraculously, he survived.

Serhii has been undergoing rehabilitation for over a year. The recovery process has been grueling and slow, yet he remains resolute. Not only has he regained his strength, but he has also grown even stronger—thanks to relentless training, he can now lift more weight than he could before his injury.

Background: Serhii Pryschepa is a participant in the Neopalymi (Unburnt) program, a national initiative providing free external rehabilitation and treatment for war-related injuries, burns, and scars. By April 6, 2022, Ukrainian defense forces had fully liberated Chernihiv Oblast from russian occupation.

• casualties
• dead
• doctors
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Valeriia Vershynina was born and raised in Donetsk. In 2014, when russia launched its first assault on Ukraine and occupied her hometown, she and her family fled to Kyiv.

After settling in the capital, Valeriia joined Stabilization Support Services, a charitable foundation focused on assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs). She became part of a working group responsible for developing legislation related to displaced populations. In 2024, Valeriia stepped into the role of executive director of the foundation.

“Stabilization Support Services received funding from American donors, with one of the foundation’s key programs dedicated to helping IDPs rebuild their homes. However, that funding was recently cut, putting several projects at risk,” Valeriia explained. Now, she is working to secure support from donors in other countries to keep the foundation’s initiatives moving forward.

Interviews with Valeriia Vershynina can be arranged both online and in person in Kyiv by appointment.

Background: Stabilization Support Services is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that has been operating since 2016, working to address the social impacts of the war and provide comprehensive support for internally displaced persons. The foundation offers humanitarian and legal assistance, helps repair damaged homes, strengthens Ukraine’s social protection system, and has built a national network of IDP Councils, launched between 2019 and 2020. Its programs span the entire country, with a focus on restoring war-affected communities and improving access to social services for Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations.

• casualties
• occupation
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

On March 6, a crucial roundtable discussion titled “Media of Occupied Territories: How to Stay Connected with the People” will take place. The media outlets relocated from temporarily occupied areas serve as one of the few reliable, trusted, and open communication channels for those who have been displaced across the front lines, in different countries, and on different continents due to the ongoing war.

However, these newsrooms are facing a perfect storm of challenges: cuts to grant programs, the ongoing war, and economic difficulties. According to a study by the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) in Kyiv, over half of regional media have experienced significant funding losses.

This roundtable, hosted at the Media Center Ukraine, will bring together editors, journalists, media experts, and government officials to discuss potential solutions and steps to help Ukrainian regional media emerge from this crisis.

Speakers:

– Oksana Romaniuk, Director of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI);

– Andrii Dikhtiarenko, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Realna Gazeta;

– Anna Murlykina, Editor of Mariupol local news outlet 0629.com.ua, Project Manager of the Relocated Media Cluster;

– Yevheniia Virlych, Editor-in-Chief of Kherson online media Kavun.city;

– Hanna Bokova, Editor-in-Chief of Bakhmut IN.UA;

– Valeriia Melnyk, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tribun publication;

– Valeriia Krupoderia, Coordinator of the Eastern Variant hotline. 

This event promises to be a pivotal conversation about preserving the voice of Ukrainian regional media during these challenging times.

• occupation
• Kyiv

On March 1, the Stations of the Cross, a religious processional will take place in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, along Yablunska Street, to honor the memory of the victims tortured during the russian occupation. The procession will feature 14 stations, each marking a site where civilians were tragically killed. Among the stops, participants will pause to pray for and remember those who suffered at 144 Yablunska St., including the first boys to fall victim to the russians: Andrii Verbovyi, Andrii Matviichuk, Andrii Dvornikov, Vitalii Karpenko, Sviatoslav Turovskyi, Anatolii Prykhidko, Valerii Kotenko, and Denys Rudenko.

The procession will conclude at the chapel of St. Luke Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

For context: The Stations of the Cross is a prayer tradition centered on meditations about the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for humanity’s salvation. Originating in Jerusalem, it is observed within the liturgical practices of both the Catholic and Greek Catholic Churches.

• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In 2019, Yevheniia Vyrych became the head of Kavun.City, a Kherson-based media outlet, that covered local news. She worked on developing the platform, securing grants, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, launched a project to debunk myths about the disease and vaccination.

After the russians occupied Kherson, Kavun.City continued its work, covering everything that happened in the city, from russian raids to the distribution of bread to the residents. The occupiers searched for Yevheniia, forcing her to constantly go into hiding — changing her residence, dyeing her hair, and taking extra precautions. She remained in occupied Kherson for four months before finally deciding to escape under a false name.

After reaching Kyiv, Yevheniia began working to revive Kavun.City. The media team launched projects focused on local governance, documenting russian war crimes, and, most recently, debunking fake news about the Kherson oblast and its still-occupied territories.

To support Kavun.City, the team launched an online store selling branded merchandise and handmade items from Kherson artisans.

Yevheniia Vyrych is available for interviews both online and in person in Kyiv, upon prior arrangement.

• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

On February 21, the Kyiv War Museum and the DOCU/CLUB network of the NGO Docudays will hold a screening of the documentary Witnesses. To the North of Kyiv.

The film is based on materials from the Ukraine War Archive project, which was launched by Docudays in cooperation with Infoscope in the early weeks of russia’s full-scale invasion. The initiative aims to document wartime events and firsthand testimonies that could support future investigations into russian war crimes and help bring those responsible to justice.  

The documentary follows residents of Pushcha-Vodytsia, a northern suburb of Kyiv, as well as the nearby villages of Moshchun and Horenka. The protagonists recount how they endured the russian occupation, volunteered, supported the Ukrainian military, and resisted the invaders.  

Following the screening, a discussion will take place with the film’s director, Tetiana Symon, who also serves as the coordinator of the Ukraine War Archive project’s interviewing department. The conversation will be moderated by Olha Babchuk, a journalist and communications manager at DOCU/CLUB.  

Registration is required to attend the event.

Background: From the earliest days of the conflict, Ukrainian documentary filmmakers have been diligently recording eyewitness testimonies. These recordings not only capture the unvarnished truth of the war but also serve to convey its realities to a global audience. Ultimately, they may be employed as crucial evidence in international courts to hold perpetrators accountable.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 24, the town of Bucha in Kyiv oblast will hold commemorative events to honor the memory of Ukraine’s fallen civilians and defenders.

Bucha, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resilience and a witness to the horrific war crimes of the russian army, will bring together families of the fallen, local residents, government officials, and the international community to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine’s freedom.

Program of events:

• Memorial Rally, a requiem service and tribute to the fallen heroes
• Memorial Rally, a requiem service and tribute to the innocent victims of russian aggression at the Wall of Remembrance
• Unveiling of a Fallen Defender memorial plaque
• Memorial event “Bells of Remembrance”

• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv