Themes by tag: occupation
Ilias Sheikhisliamov, a Crimean Tatar and volunteer from the Odesa oblast, was born and raised in Crimea. After the russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014, he stayed there for another four years. Since 2019, he only visited Crimea in the summer to see his family. Ilias met the beginning of the full-scale invasion abroad: he was studying at a university in Turkey. However, he soon decided to return to Ukraine to volunteer and support the Ukrainian army.
His professors discouraged him from returning, but he insisted and later came to Odesa. He immediately started working there and joined the NGO “Crimean Tatars of Odesa Oblast”. On March 5, 2024, Ilias learned that his father, Ali Mamutov, who was living with his family in occupied Crimea, had been arrested by the russian authorities. He learned the news from his younger brother. The occupiers falsely accused Ali Mamutov of participating in or creating a terrorist organization.
While his father was being held in a detention center in Simferopol, Ilias managed to communicate with him through the russian app Zonatelecom. However, Ali Mamutov was transferred to the russian city of Rostov, and communication with him was cut off. After his father’s arrest, Ilias decided to pursue his teenage dream of becoming a lawyer. He enrolled at the Tavrida National University, which had relocated to Kyiv after Crimea’s occupation. Ilias sees this as one of the ways to keep in touch with Crimea.
Ilias Sheikhisliamov is available for interviews, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.
Background: As of May this year, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center recorded 331 cases of political imprisonment and criminal persecution since the annexation of Crimea. Of these, 217 were against members of the Crimean Tatar community.
On November 20, the Media Center Ukraine will hold the event “Childhood in Captivity: How to Protect the Rights of Children in the Occupied Territories”.
Topics for discussion:
– What is the current state of children’s rights in the occupied territories?
– What is it like to grow up under occupation?
– What are the challenges of monitoring violations of children’s rights in the occupied territories?
– What can Ukrainian and international institutions do to protect children’s rights in the occupied territories?
– What are the prospects for bringing to justice those involved in crimes against children under occupation?
Participants:
– Mariia Sulialina, Director of the Almenda Center for Civic Education;
– Ilias Sheikhisliamov, son of a political prisoner, public figure, member of the NGO “Crimean Tatars of Odesa Region”;
– Noel Calhoun, Deputy Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine;
– Arman Akopian – Deputy Director of the Department and Head of the Unit for Children in Wartime, Department for Monitoring the Observance of Children’s Rights at the Secretariat of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Parliament of Ukraine;
– Yulia Usenko, Head of the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Combating Domestic Violence of the Prosecutor General’s Office;
Background: November 20 marks the 35th anniversary of the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The adoption of this document was an important step in ensuring fundamental rights for every child. In particular, Article 29 states that a child’s education should be aimed at fostering respect for the child’s parents, cultural identity, language and national values of the country in which the child lives and the country of origin.
Despite the fact that the russian federation has ratified the Convention, thus committing itself to comply with its provisions and ensure children’s rights in accordance with international standards, russia systematically violates children’s rights. Children living in the occupied territories are in a particularly vulnerable situation, as they are victims of targeted indoctrination, militarization and erasure of identity.
Maryna Chernyshova, originally from Mariupol, a city currently under enemy control, lived through the early days of the full-scale invasion alongside her family. The family spent over a month under occupation, seeking shelter from relentless shelling in their basement. During this harrowing period, it was their cat, Marsi, who provided emotional support, offering comfort and helping the family navigate through an incredibly difficult time.
Once they were able to escape Mariupol, Marsi accompanied them as the family relocated to the Ternopil region. There, Maryna found herself inspired to create a space for others in need of emotional relief. Noticing the abundance of stray cats in Ternopil, she decided to open a cat café, a place for people to find solace and relaxation.
With a combination of personal savings and funding from the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development, Maryna launched the café, which is now home to two previously homeless cats. The café offers a variety of activities aimed at providing psychological support to its visitors, including stress-relief meditation sessions led by experts. In the future, Maryna hopes to channel a portion of the café’s profits into building an animal shelter to further help animals in need.
Tetiana Tipakova, originally from Donetsk and a longtime resident of Berdiansk in Zaporizhia Oblast (now under occupation), spent nearly 30 years working in a travel agency. When russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she became an active voice in support of her country, organizing peaceful protests in Berdiansk.
For her efforts, Tetiana was abducted by russian forces. Blindfolded and taken to a detention center, she endured two days of interrogation and brutal torture, including electric shocks to her fingers and a mock execution. She was forced to record a video apology before being released. However, the next day, she was captured again, held for four more days, and subjected to further abuse.
After this harrowing experience, Tetiana made the decision to flee Berdiansk. She crossed more than 20 checkpoints to reach Zaporizhia, where she founded a women’s initiative group. This eventually led to the creation of the NGO “Ridna Stezhka” (Home Footpath), dedicated to helping displaced people and supporting fellow Ukrainians.
In the early stages, Tetiana’s organization provided food, medicine, and support for evacuees, helping them settle into their new lives in Zaporizhia. Within the first year, the NGO successfully applied for 24 grants, winning 3.
By 2024, Tetiana had secured financial backing to launch an educational space offering computer literacy classes, movie screenings, and psychological support. Her organization is now expanding its mission to empower women through education, training, and ongoing support in Zaporizhia.
Oksana Pohomii, a dedicated volunteer and member of the Kherson City Council, remained steadfast in her commitment to her community during the relentless occupation by russian forces. Throughout this challenging period, she awaited the city’s liberation while providing crucial support to those in need, even managing to share videos documenting life under occupation. Oksana was present in Kherson during the catastrophic explosion of the Kakhovka HPP in June 2023.
As the head of the Kherson Solidarna Sprava Hromad NGO (Solidarity Cause of the Communities in Kherson), Oksana recently oversaw the establishment of the Kherson Ukrainian Cultural Center, named after Oleksandr Menshov, a renowned Ukrainian writer from Kherson who lost his life at the front last year. This center serves as a refuge and hosts various cultural events, welcoming participation from all members of the community.
Following the city’s liberation, Oksana’s organization launched a volunteer bakery, providing freshly baked bread for both local residents and military personnel. On the second anniversary of Kherson’s liberation, November 11, the bakery is set to celebrate a significant milestone: the production of its three hundred thousandth loaf of bread.
Journalists interested in learning more about Oksana’s inspiring efforts can engage with her in Kherson or connect online.
For context: Kherson fell under russian occupation on March 1, 2022, at the onset of the full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully liberated the city on November 11, 2022, but the threat remains, with regular shelling continuing to affect the area.
Oleksandra Knyha and her brother Andrii come from the town of Oleshky in the Kherson oblast (currently occupied). When russian tanks entered Oleshky and Kherson at the beginning of the invasion, the siblings stayed in the region to help the people. Friends of Oleksandra from abroad organized several truckloads of humanitarian aid, which Andrii and Oleksandra sorted and handed out. But when civic-minded volunteers began to be kidnapped by russians, the siblings had to move to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
After Kherson was liberated on November 11, 2022, they immediately returned to the city to help rebuild life there. They decided to organize creative workshops for children in shelters, understanding that damaged and looted schools and kindergartens would not reopen soon. This became the inspiration for the creation of the KRYLA Charitable Foundation.
Recently, with the support of partners and donors, they launched several major projects at the KRYLA Multi-Space — a shelter where, despite the unsafe situation in the city, Kherson residents can gather to socialize or learn new skills.
Another focus of their work is a humanitarian mission in Oleshky, located on the occupied left bank of the Kherson oblast. The settlement was severely damaged when the russians blew up the Kakhovka Dam.
Journalists can learn more and contact Oleksandra and Andrii in person or online.
Since the beginning of this school year, schoolchildren in the village of Bohdanivka, Kyiv oblast, have been able to study in a modular Temporary Educational Space (TES). The space is accessible, with a generator for uninterrupted power supply, comfortable furniture, modern tablets and multimedia panels. The TES has six classrooms and now serves 250 schoolchildren who previously had to travel to a neighboring village.
Bohdanivka was occupied in 2022. russian soldiers set up camp in the local school and burned it down when they withdrew. They also blew up the kindergarten, where they had stored ammunition, leaving the village without any educational facilities.
By prior arrangement, journalists can cover the work of the modular temporary educational space in Bohdanivka.
Background: Temporary Education Spaces are being built as part of USAID Dream and Act program, implemented by IREX in partnership with the savED Foundation and the GoGlobal NGO. This project is being implemented in close cooperation with local communities who have lost their educational institutions due to russian aggression.
The charitable foundation “Volunteer Association ‘Poruch'” was founded by a couple from Avdiivka (a city in Donetsk, now destroyed and occupied by russians). Before the full-scale invasion, Rusana and Bohdan were not involved in charity work, but the war changed their lives. At first, they began helping elderly people and abandoned animals near the front lines. Soon they managed to form a team of like-minded people and establish a charitable foundation.
Today, most of the members of the “Volunteer Association ‘Poruch'” are displaced persons from the war zone or from the territories occupied by russia. Among other initiatives, Rusana and Bohdan create safe spaces for children near the front lines. These spaces offer children a place to study, engage in creative activities, and receive psychological support from specialists.
One of these spaces was created by the “Poruch” team in a modular city in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The team renovated one of the modules, repaired the roof, and brought in furniture, school supplies, art materials, and qualified teachers. Since August 2024, 47 children have been attending this space on a regular basis. The team has set up similar spaces for children in Izium and Kramatorsk.
When the full-scale invasion began, Valentyna Nechvolod was working as a seamstress in Kupiansk, Kharkiv oblast. She wanted to evacuate immediately, but she couldn’t leave her mother, who lived near the town. However, she did not want to leave her 14-year-old son, who lived with her in Kupiansk, under the occupation. Faced with a difficult decision, she finally allowed him to leave with volunteers for Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Valentyna spent seven months in the occupation without work, refusing to work for the occupiers. When Kupiansk was liberated in September 2022, she and her mother moved to Kharkiv, where she began looking for a job. However, finding steady work in a city that was constantly shelled by the russians and left without electricity proved challenging. So Valentina enrolled in a course to learn how to start a business and soon received a grant to open a women’s space in Kharkiv called “Nezalezhna” (Independent).
The women’s space offers three types of services: beauty care, clothing repair in a textile workshop, and organizing various events for children. Valentyna employs displaced women who, like her, are struggling to find work in their new environment.
Rita is from the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk oblast (13 kilometers from Donetsk, now occupied). In 2015, 11-year-old Rita lived there without her parents, only with her grandmother. Their house was located in one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Rita had to attend school under constant russian shelling. Rita was one of the first children that Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children charitable foundation, met while helping children in eastern Ukraine. Since then, Olena, Rita and her grandmother have remained friends.
After the outbreak of the full-scale war, Rita and her grandmother moved to the west of the country. There, Rita worked at the Voices of Children charity center, helping children affected by the war.
Later, Rita moved to the Kyiv region and got married. Her husband is now defending Ukraine. The Voices of Children foundation helped organize her wedding, and since Rita grew up without a father, one of the foundation’s employees walked her down the aisle. Rita is now expecting a child.
By prior arrangement, journalists can talk to Rita in the Kyiv region. (Footage of her wedding is also available).
Background: In February 2024, russian forces occupied the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk oblast. Enemy shelling has left the settlement in ruins.
