Themes by tag: occupation

Lisa, a 10-year-old from Sievierodonetsk in the now-occupied Luhansk Oblast, is a young girl with a deep love for music. Alongside her interests in drawing, learning English, and reading Harry Potter, Lisa shares a special bond with the cello—a passion she inherited from her mother, a professional cellist.

Two years ago, tragedy struck when a missile hit her grandmother’s house, destroying all their belongings, including Lisa’s cherished cello. The loss devastated Lisa, who admits that she would cry whenever she heard the sound of a cello, a painful reminder of what she had lost.

Recently, Lisa had a memorable experience at a concert by renowned French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, held at the Kyiv center of the Charity Foundation “Voices of Children.” The performance left her deeply moved and inspired, reigniting her passion for the instrument.

Journalists have the opportunity to meet Lisa and her mother in Kyiv by prior arrangement, and a video of Jean-Guihen Queyras’s special concert is also available.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• Kyiv

Indira Urusova, a native of Mariupol, has transformed her harrowing experience of living under russian occupation into a force for good. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Indira began her studies at a university in Kyiv, but later switched to distance learning and returned to Mariupol. She was at home with her family when russia launched its full-scale invasion. Initially, they held out hope for a swift ceasefire, but as the conflict dragged on, it became clear that escape was their only option.

Their car was damaged by explosions, but Indira and her parents managed to reach russian-occupied Berdiansk. From there, they made a perilous journey through russian territory, eventually finding refuge in Bulgaria. The family remained in Bulgaria until October 2022, before returning to Kyiv.

Haunted by the devastation in her hometown, Indira sought a way to help her country. She created a drawing of a burning house in Mariupol, captioned: “We will survive, because the sun rises over the free Azov.” This artwork sparked the creation of KRYLATI, a charity project dedicated to raising awareness about Mariupol, Donetsk, and the Pryazovia region.

Alongside a colleague, Indira organizes workshops and lectures for young people, challenging myths and spreading the truth about the region. All proceeds from KRYLATI are donated to support the Ukrainian military.

• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv
• Mariupol

Dobrobat together with the Borodianka Village Council is launching a new major project entitled the Revival of Borodianka. The first step on the way to its implementation is a big community clean-up event, which will take place on August 21-23, 2024, on the village’s main square named after Taras Shevchenko.

The square near the culture center will soon turn into a conceptual park with thematic zones and Revival Source in its center — a wheat field, a symbol of energy that gives life to all living things. Recreation areas with wooden terraces, flower gardens, play areas for children, a fountain, the River of Life and much more will be located nearby.

For reference: Borodianka village, which is not far from the capital, was occupied by the russians at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The russian aircraft dropped aerial bombs on houses. On April 1, 2022, Borodianka returned under Ukraine’s control. Damage sustained by Borodianka was one of the largest in Kyiv region. The number of casualties among local residents is in the hundreds.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

Twelve years ago, Ihor Tsyba and his family established an ostrich farm in their backyard in the village of Verkhnia Syrovatka, located in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast. Over the years, the farm grew to house more than 50 different bird species. However, when russia’s full-scale invasion began, their tranquil village was occupied, putting all the animals at risk.

In early March 2022, heavy shelling ravaged the area, injuring several of the birds in their enclosures. Tragically, three ostriches had to be put down due to the severity of their injuries.

After the village was liberated, Tsyba’s farm took on a new mission: rehabilitating wild animals affected by the war. Among the new residents are a roe deer that lost a leg after being struck by a combine harvester and a swan that was rescued from the ice with its wings severely damaged. Despite the challenges, Tsyba uses his own funds to keep the farm running.

For reference, Ihor Tsyba is based in the Sumy region and is available for interviews with journalists, both online and in person, by prior arrangement.

• animals
• casualties
• occupation
• Sumy

In Irpin, a city in the Kyiv region, the Irpinski Lypky residential complex, which was heavily damaged during the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion, is now undergoing extensive restoration. The housing estate gained global recognition following the liberation of the Kyiv region, attracting numerous international delegations. The destroyed complex also featured in the music video for “Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra, the band that won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

Initial assessments deemed the building unsuitable for restoration, recommending its complete demolition. However, the residents, desperate to save their homes, pushed for a second evaluation. While the building’s fate remained uncertain, the community came together every Saturday to clean the area and maintain a sense of order. Eventually, a more in-depth examination brought the news they had been hoping for: the structure could indeed be restored. By the end of 2023, reconstruction work at Irpinski Lypky began, and repairs are now actively underway.

Journalists have been granted exclusive access to witness the progress inside the complex and, where possible, speak with local residents.

For context: On March 2, 2022, russian forces launched airstrikes on Irpin, with two missiles striking a multi-story building on Hostomelke Shose Street. Before the invasion, the complex was home to 206 families. 

The reconstruction of Irpinski Lypky is being overseen by the Kyiv Regional Military Administration in collaboration with the Fund for the Elimination of the Consequences of Armed Aggression.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In a move widely condemned as illegal, russia has sentenced Ukrainian activist Irina Horobtsova to 10 years and 6 months in prison on charges of “espionage.” 

Horobtsova, a resident of Kherson and an employee of a Ukrainian IT company, gained attention in the spring of 2022 for her outspoken posts on social media about life under russian occupation. She shared images featuring Ukrainian symbols and referred to her apartment as the “home base of the resistance.” However, on May 13, 2022, russian forces abducted her from her home. She was subsequently held in a pre-trial detention center in occupied Crimea, where she was kept in isolation with no access to the outside world or visits from family.

Horobtsova’s parents have expressed their willingness to speak with the media about her situation.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson

For 15 years, Tetiana Hrek has dedicated her life to teaching karate to both children and adults. Together with her husband, she established a private gym in Bucha, Kyiv region. However, the full-scale invasion changed everything. When the war erupted, Tetiana and her family found themselves trapped under occupation. During this harrowing time, their gym was looted by invaders, and their home came under fire.

After two weeks of living under occupation, Tetiana and her family managed to escape to territory controlled by Ukraine. It wasn’t until a year later that she felt ready to return to Bucha. In her absence, fellow coaches who had remained in the city took it upon themselves to restore the gym and resume classes for children. When Tetiana finally returned, she was welcomed back by eager students waiting to train with her again. Additionally, a public martial arts school in Bucha reopened, and she was invited to join as an instructor.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

On August 10, “You Are Not Alone” event will be held in Bucha, Kyiv region. Girls and women who have survived the occupation and feel anxiety during the shelling, or have husbands on the front lines are invited to participate in activities aimed at supporting inner healing and strengthening their sense of security.

Event program:

1. Self-defense for women (1 hour). Professional instructors will teach the participants the self-defense basics so that they could feel more confident and protected in everyday life.

2. Training to deal with anxiety and stress amidst the war (2-3 hours). The psychologist will speak about techniques for overcoming anxiety, stress, and panic attacks.

3. Meditation for internal healing (1 hour). Participants will learn meditation techniques that will help them find inner peace and healing.

Journalists require accreditation.

For your information: The event is organized by the Security Police of Kyiv region, the Security Police of Kherson region and the Bucha City Council.

• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

At 30 years old, Iryna Nomerovska is a certified economist and the mother of a fifth-grader, Eva. In the spring of 2022, her family was trapped under russian occupation in their hometown of Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine. By a stroke of luck, they managed to escape, evading enemy checkpoints and fleeing toward the Kyiv region. Along the way, Iryna was struck by the extent of the devastation and the proliferation of mine warning signs.

A year later, Iryna returned to Mykolaiv, a city near Kherson, where she joined the HALO Ukraine team. Today, she leads a non-technical survey team, working to identify hazardous areas in her native southern region.

Journalists interested in speaking with Iryna can arrange interviews in the Mykolaiv region.
For reference: The HALO Trust is the world’s largest international non-profit organization dedicated to clearing mines and unexploded ordnance. For 35 years, it has operated in 30 countries and territories.

• occupation
• women
• Mykolaiv
• demining

On July 30, Media Center Ukraine will host a presentation of a report on the enforced disappearance of civilians — one of the crimes committed by russia in the occupied territories. It is a practice when the state or its agents arrest a person without due process or simply kidnap them. Victims cannot speak to a lawyer or relatives and are usually instead of prison or detention center they are held in a location where they can’t rely on the protection of the law.

The T4P initiative managed to identify 5,340 victims of enforced disappearances and filed submissions to the International Criminal Court as well as summaries to the UN Working Group, substantiating that russia deliberately and systematically uses this practice, mostly by persecuting people who have a pro-Ukrainian position, have served in the Ukrainian army, police or civil service.

Participants:

• Hanna Ovdiienko — a lawyer, Co-Author of the report,
• Mykola Komarovskyi — a lawyer of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Co-Author of the report,
• Oleksandra Romantsova — Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv