Themes by tag: occupation

The Fedorchenko family from Kherson region stayed in the occupation for over a year and a half.

While still at home, Tetiana and her husband Raj (he is of Romani origin) did everything possible to avoid russian citizenship and not to send their daughter and grandchildren to a russian school. The family managed to survive hunger, rocket attacks, from which they hid in the basement, and the tyranny of the russian regime. Every day, the military went to the streets with surprise raids.

Once, a unit of russian soldiers broke into a neighbor’s place. Then a policeman approached Tetiana, who was on the street, and told her to be a “witness in the case.” And when Raj wanted to take his wife back to their yard, a machine gun was pointed at him. They shot in the air twice and again pointed the gun at him. The woman persuaded the man to go into the house and let her go to testify.

The family left the occupation in September 2023. For 4 months, they lived and received comprehensive support in the “Hope and Recovery” center of the “Save Ukraine” charitable organization. Among other things, specialists provided psychological assistance to adults and children.

Now the family lives in Poltava region. They are open to communication both in person and online.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• Poltava

Veronika Sheldahaieva, Chair of the Children’s Creative Council of the “Voices of Children” Charitable Foundation, recently spoke in the Churchill Hall of the British Parliament as part of the event “Echoes of Tragedy: Testimonies on russia’s War in Ukraine.” The young woman told members of parliament, diplomats and human rights defenders of Great Britain about the horrors of life under the russian occupation.

The girl, who lived in occupied Kherson for 7 months, said that the russian military came to her school and threatened the school management to make them side with the occupiers. Parents were blackmailed with deprivation of parental rights if their children did not go to occupier-controlled schools and study under the russian curriculum. Veronika did not go to school while living under the occupation. Therefore, she was very afraid that she would be taken away from her family. She even hid when someone knocked on the door. Full story is available here.

Oleh Afanasiev, whose story was featured in the documentary film “The Distant Barking of Dogs” also gave a speech in the British Parliament. The boy talked about 40 days of life in Mariupol under russian shelling in the spring of 2022.

In particular, he mentioned that he and his brothers, aunt and grandmother lived in the basement for two months. They had almost no food and water. In the middle of the night, the boy would wake up from hunger. He saw dead bodies. In order to escape, he had to go through the russian infiltration camps. Full story is available here.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Oleh in Kyiv region, and Veronika – in Odesa.

• children
• occupation

On the morning of February 24, just as two years ago, the Irpin city council will hold a session. Just as then, the session will be short. The only issue on the agenda is the allocation of additional aid for the military.

A moment of silence will be observed in the city. Later, everyone will gather on the “Road of Life” – Romanivka Bridge to express gratitude to those who helped save thousands of citizens, defended the hero city of Irpin, and to commemorate those who gave their lives for Ukraine.

Journalists can find out more about the start time of the events.

For reference: in February-March 2022, the city of Irpin, Kyiv region, became a battlefield in the russian offensive on Kyiv. One third of Irpin was occupied, and it was here that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces managed to stop the russians.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the civilians of Irpin were being evacuated through the Romanivka bridge. Then the russian army attacked the bridge, which made evacuation even more difficult. The Romanivka bridge was restored in November 2023, and opened for all types of transport.

The reconstruction of Irpin is still ongoing.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In 2014, the ensemble of the Luhansk Regional Philharmonic confronted the initial onslaught of Russian aggression. As Luhansk, a city in eastern Ukraine where the musicians resided and operated, fell under Russian occupation, they were forced to abandon their belongings and relocate to Sievierodonetsk, situated in the government-controlled sector of the Luhansk region. Compounded by the director’s collaboration with the occupiers, they left behind not only musical instruments but also a crucial accumulation of musical notations and documents. Nevertheless, the Philharmonic persisted in its endeavors at the new locale, embarking on extensive tours across Ukraine and abroad.

Fast forward to February 2022, the specter of evacuation loomed once more as the Russian military encroached upon Sievierodonetsk. This time, the musicians sought refuge in Lviv, where they commenced a series of charitable performances in solidarity with the Armed Forces, subsequently resuming their musical engagements. Presently, the 50-member ensemble delivers 6-7 concerts per month, anticipating future tours. Yet, their ultimate aspiration remains to stage a performance in the liberated confines of Ukrainian Luhansk.

For reference: Following months of clashes, Russian forces seized Sievierodonetsk in June 2022. The city, ravaged by Russian shelling, sustained extensive damage, compelling the majority of its inhabitants to flee.

• casualties
• culture
• occupation
• Lviv

Bucha Lyceum No. 3 roof outfitted with hybrid solar panels, to be officially opened on February 15. A roof converted into a solar powerhouse of 47 solar panels with a total generation capacity of 20 kW will allow the school to operate autonomously from grids for 3 hours in case when power fails as well as deliver benefits valued at about 2100 euros per year, meeting up to 30% of the total electricity needs.

The solar array was installed on the rooftop of educational institutions as part of the “100 Solar Schools” campaign by the Energy Act For Ukraine Foundation. 

Event registration is required. 

Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation is a Ukrainian charity organization established in 2022 in response to the emerging energy poverty crisis in Ukraine, a consequence of the full-scale Russian invasion. The foundation primarily focuses on providing schools and hospitals with solar solutions. 

For reference: the Kyiv suburb of Bucha was under Russian occupation for more than a month. The Bucha Lyceum No. 3 served as the enemy headquarters station. The educational institution was damaged as a result of hostilities. The Russian forces were ousted by AFU from the city on March 31, 2022.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

In 2014, the russians occupied Artem Kariakin’s hometown of Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov), Luhansk region. At the time, 17-year-old Artem published posts about how the city lived under occupation on an anonymous Twitter account. He also published a map of Kadiivka with markings indicating places of concentration of the russians. He also wrote about the movement of occupation troops.

Later, Artem began to do covert work for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All this time, Artem lived a very private life: he forbade himself to trust people and even to fall in love. After all, anyone could report on his activities to the occupiers, Artem believed.

In 2020, his mother died, and a year later, Artem’s grandmother and father died as well, so the young man left for Kyiv. He had lived in the capital for only a few months when the full-scale war began. In March 2022, Artem joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in June he fought near Bakhmut.

As a soldier, Artem continues to collect information about the occupiers from the temporarily occupied territories — this is now his official duty. Now it is he, to whom spotters and adjusters provide intel that can help the Armed Forces. In addition, in February 2023, after 9 years of fighting covertly, Artem revealed his identity in social media.

Artem Karyakin is at the front line. The serviceman is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

For reference: February 24, 2024 marks 2 years since the beginning of russia’s illegal full-scale invasion. The attack marked the culmination of the war of aggression, which the russian federation had been waging against Ukraine for 10 years at that point. This war began on February 20, 2014 when the russians invaded the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea without identification marks and occupied the peninsula. After that, russia started a war in the East of Ukraine. 

• military
• occupation

In 2015, Ksenia Kleinos opened a creative space in Berdiansk (the city is occupied now), Zaporizhia region — the anti-cafe “CHAS YE” (there is time). When russia’s full-scale invasion started, the woman was at home: at 4 AM she heard explosions. She decided to go to a village near Berdiansk, because she thought it was safer there. She lived in the village for 40 days and saw helicopters circling over the house. The woman decided to leave: she had to go through 16 russian checkpoints to get to Zaporizhia.

In April 2022, Ksenia moved to Lviv. She decided to open a coffee shop (in the summer she applied for a grant from the state). At the beginning of autumn, she launched the public project “We Are Berdiansk” to support other refugees from Berdiansk. Meanwhile, the answer came: Ksenia received the grant of UAH 240,000. Nowadays, Ksenia gathers people from Berdiansk in her cafe, where she holds, in particular, art master classes, and they also play board games there. The community even has its own reading club.

In addition, two landsmen of Ksenia work in her coffee shop, which the woman named in honor of an island in Berdiansk creek “Dzendzik.”

• casualties
• occupation
• women
• Lviv

Lerane Khaibulaieva is a Crimean Tatar who was born in Uzbekistan, where the soviet authorities deported her family from Crimea. Lerane returned to the peninsula as a child. And in 2016, after russia’s occupation of Crimea, she was forced to leave her home. She settled in Kyiv region. In 2022, she fled Irpin, which the russians were trying to assault at the time.

In Crimea, Lerane worked as a journalist covering economic topics. However, the woman always dreamed of creating a family cafe. She opened a small café serving chebureki in Kyiv region, and later a cafe in the suburbs of the capital. In Lviv, which became Lerane’s fourth home, she again returned to doing her favorite thing and founded Crimean Yard cafe.

Her own business helps the woman support her son, who is still in school, as well as her husband, a veteran who fought the anti-terrorist operation and defended Ukraine during the full-scale invasion. He is now back from the front line due to a disability. Lerane says that she dreams to move one more time – to Crimea, liberated from the russians.

• casualties
• food
• occupation
• women
• Lviv

Researchers at the Tarnovskyi Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum discover historical artifacts that remain in the basement of a school in the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast. A place where the occupiers kept over 300 local residents in inhumane conditions for almost a month in the spring of 2022.

Experts have been visiting a local school in Yahidne since September last year. During this time, they have examined and documented more than 600 findings. Among material evidence, there were pieces of clothes, shoes, personal belongings, knives, books, boxes of enemy military rations, hand sanitizer bottles, Russian newspapers, wooden pallets on which the prisoners had to sit and sleep, and even plastic water bottles that served as a toilet. The specialists are now done with describing the items of evidence in 5 rooms and are now searching the gym (the largest space in the basement). The work is scheduled to be completed in February.

All examined items will remain in place. The authorities plan to convert the school basement into a museum. 

Journalists are welcome to join the museum’s researchers and cover their work.

For reference: The village of Yahidne is located near Chernihiv. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russians set up their headquarters in a local school. They forced 299 adult local residents and 67 children into the school basement and held villagers captive for almost a month (almost an entire village). The basement area is 197 square meters. For lack of space, people had to sleep sitting up, and there was also a lack of oxygen. 10 people died.

In February, the famous American TIME magazine released a cover with the Yahidne village basement. 

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

Originally from Donetsk, Tetiana Tipakova lived in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (currently Russian-occupied), for about 30 years. Before Russia’s all-out invasion, she worked in a travel agency.

Since the full-blown war’s early days, Tetiana assembled peaceful protests in support of Ukraine in Berdiansk. Eventually, she was abducted by the Russian military for leading the actions. They put a bag over her head and took her to a colony, where she was interrogated for two days and beaten. Tetiana was subjected to electric shocks through her fingers and Russian captors mocked her execution. She was also forced to record an apology video. The prisoner was released, but the next day she was captured again. This time, she was held for 4 days and again had to endure torture.

After that, Tatiana decided to flee the city. She traveled through more than 20 checkpoints to get to the city of Zaporizhia. There she later founded the Ridna Stezhka NGO to support her fellow countrymen who were also forced out of the occupied city. They help people with food and medicine insecurity and organize leisure activities. They also help the military from the Berdiansk community. “Our heart is forever yellow and blue” is a tagline linked with the organization. 

There is an opportunity for journalists to hold offline and online interviews with Tetiana. 

• occupation
• prisoners
• women