Themes by tag: occupation

Valentyna Hantseva has been working in the library of Soldatske village, Sumy oblast for 32 years. A few months before the full-scale invasion, the library had undergone modern renovation and purchased new equipment. But the building of the library could not withstand the air strike of the russians, who aimed right at the center of the occupied village. Only the roof and walls remained of the library: everything inside the building was damaged by the blast wave. Despite the occupation and the enemy aircraft, Valentyna, together with her husband, began to gather the undamaged books and hide them in grain sacks. The woman managed to take out and save more than 1000 books.

In April 2022, the Ukrainian military de-occupied the village. A philanthropist from Germany helped restore the library premises, and last fall, Valentyna opened the doors of the library to readers again.

• culture
• occupation
• women
• Sumy

Oleksandr Knyha has been the director of the Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Kulish for over 30 years. He is also an honorary citizen of Kherson and a member of the regional council.

At the beginning of Russia’s all-out invasion, Oleksandr ended up being in Russia-occupied territory. On March 23, 2022, the Russian military arrested him. After interrogation, they released him, but a few days later they came to the theater to force Oleksandr to cooperate. The man began to look for ways to flee life under occupation. He managed to escape on April 1, 2022.

After all he has been through, he did not quit his favorite occupation. While in the Ukraine-controlled area, he was preparing the annual Melpomene of Tavria international theater festival, which had previously been held in Kherson.  And later he launched the theater in evacuation.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities appointed a man who used to be a security guard at the theater in Kherson to the position of the director. They even “renamed” the Mykola Kulish Theater to the Russian Academic Theater.

After Ukraine forced retook Kherson on November 11, 2022, Oleksandr and some of the actors came back to their hometown. Despite enemy shelling, the artists work in a sheltered art hub. Oleksandr, along with other residents of the Kherson region, had to face the consequences of the flooding of his native land due to the occupiers’ blowing up the Kakhovka HPP dam. His house was underwater in the occupied flooded town of Oleshky.  

Journalists are welcome to talk to Oleksandr offline or online.

For reference: November 11, 2023, marks a year anniversary of the Kherson liberation from the Russian occupation. Also, during last year’s counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine regained some districts of Kherson region and part of Mykolaiv region on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

• culture
• occupation
• Kherson

12 years ago, Yuliia Roshchenko opened her own business together with her husband. In the village of Chornobaivka, Kherson region, the woman created a copy center where fellow villagers could make copies of documents or print out the necessary papers. After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, Yuliia spent the night printing “Children” signs for cars so that those leaving the occupation could try to prevent russian attacks on their families.

Later, the occupiers came to the copy center and demanded that Yuliia and her husband print russian documents, as well as photos for russian passports. The couple refused even though the enemy threatened them with weapons. Because of the threat to their lives, Yuliia’s family went to the west of Ukraine, where they stayed until their native village was liberated by the Ukrainian military. After returning, the couple received a government grant to start the copy center again.

• occupation
• women
• Kherson

Nadiia is a teacher of the art of making coffee. The woman and her family had moved from Mykolaiv to Kherson, a city in the south of Ukraine that was under russian occupation for more than half a year. This had happened two months before the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion. Nadiia wanted to open a barista school in the city. The official opening was scheduled for February 26, 2022, but the war changed everything.

The woman found herself under occupation, worked at a friend’s coffee shop, and volunteered by cooking food. When threats from the occupiers poured in, she decided to leave. She had to overcome 70 roadblocks. From Zaporizhia, she went to Kyiv, where she started all over again. On August 7, 2023, precisely on the anniversary of her escaping the occupation, she was able to open a coffee shop near Kyiv with the help of a state grant. Nadiia also helped a displaced woman from Zaporizhia region by employing her as a barista in her coffee shop.

Together with her close circle, Nadiia created the “Welcome to Ukraine” charity foundation in Mykolaiv, which helps the military and civilians.

For reference: November 11, 2023 marks the anniversary of the liberation of Kherson from the occupiers. Last year’s counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South of Ukraine also liberated some of the districts of Kherson region and a part of Mykolaiv region on the right bank of the Dnipro. 

• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Olena Yuzvak has been under occupation. Despite the Russians taking over Hostomel, the doctor stayed and continued to work and help people. Olena distributed medicine and took care of the wounded until the occupiers took her prisoner. The doctor was imprisoned for a day, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian forces retake control of Hostomel. Olena immediately went back to work and tackled to restore the medical facilities she managed. One of them was located in the village of Moshchun in the Kyiv Oblast and was destroyed by a direct shell hit. Thanks to the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it to be an energy-independent Point of Invincibility. Now the doctor continues to work toward the restoration of medical facilities. 

• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

At the time of the occupation, Viktoriia was the principal of the Kalynivka Lyceum of the Snihurivka City Council (Mykolaiv Oblast), as well as a chemistry teacher and the natural scence for kids. 

The occupied educational institutions’ principals suspended their work. However, Victoria managed to organize Ukrainian education for about 40 children.

Viktoriia and two other teachers held in-home classes according to an individual schedule to ensure that the students did waste an academic year. To prevent the occupiers from finding out about the educational work, they pass off their teaching activities as “providing consultations.” Teachers who had left the occupation sent assignments to Viktoriia, and she got online without Internet service in a garbage dump to send it to her students via Bluetooth.

Today, she serves as the Snihurivka Lyceum principal in the Mykolaiv region. The Russian occupiers wanted to introduce the educational process in this institution, but have failed miserably. During their retreat, they looted the lyceum, and even earlier they hit the institution with two S-300 missiles. Part of the school is still destroyed and they are trying to rebuild it.

Journalists can contact Victoria online or offline.

For reference: the Snihurivka community in Mykolaiv region was occupied from March to November 10, 2022. Four schools in Snihurivka were damaged during the full-scale invasion (one of them is beyond repair due to enemy attacks, and another is being designed with a bomb shelter and a digital educational center for the means of philanthropists). Filming the scene requires the Oblast Military Administration permission. 

As a reminder, Ukraine celebrates Teacher’s Day on October 1.

• children
• occupation
• women
• Mykolaiv

Larysa Zahryva has devoted 25 years of her life to education. She worked as a teacher, and in 2022 she took up the position of 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 kept going to work and taking care of the elderly people who remained in the village. Larysa hid documents from the Russians and was threatened with a gun five times. The occupiers came to her house in the middle of the night and interrogated Larysa’s husband.

After the liberation of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynskyi, thanks to the support of the United Nations Development Program, Larysa managed to set up the Third Age University. Today, there are already several fields of study in the curriculum: the Faculty of Healthy Lifestyles, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Faculty of Decorative and Applied Arts.

• occupation
• women
• Chernihiv

Svitlana Humeniuk is now the director of the Kolonshchyna Lyceum, a village in the Bucha district that went through the occupation. At the time of the full-scale Russian invasion, she worked as a Design and Technology teacher and a leisure-time activities teacher. 

At the end of February 2022, the occupiers encircled the village of Kolonshchyna. People were prohibited from leaving. Many civilians who tried to escape the occupation spent the night in the school.

Svitlana and three other teachers risked their own lives to help their fellow villagers: they joined the distribution of humanitarian aid and even delivery. All this was despite the shelling and enemy missiles. To somehow protect themselves from the occupiers, they wore white ribbons on their sleeves. In addition, some families with children, including students of the lyceum she now heads, took refuge in Svitlana’s house.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated Kolonshchyna village in late March 2022.

The journalists are welcome to talk to Svitlana and other Lyceum teachers. Currently, the educational institution has  215 students.

As a reminder, Ukraine celebrates Teacher’s Day on October 1.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• Kyiv

The village of Hostomel in Kyiv region was one of the settlements that suffered at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion. It is here that the French company Neo-Eco turned construction waste from buildings destroyed by the occupiers into new building materials.

The company dismantled 4 apartment buildings in Hostomel (and one more building was dismantled by another company). A total of about 50,000 tons of construction waste were collected and then sorted and processed. So, for example, bricks were turned into bedding material, concrete – into various fractions, which can be used in the future for the production of new concrete. A formula for concrete with the repeated use of recycled materials was developed as well. With modern technologies, it was possible to avoid environmental pollution with construction debris.

The company followed similar ecological principles when restoring the port destroyed by the explosion in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.

The local authorities plan to use recycled building materials in the construction of new houses.

Journalists have the opportunity to obtain photos and videos of dismantling and recycling works, as well as to film at the site where recycled construction waste is stored and to talk with company representatives.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

Anzhela Slobodian is a Kherson journalist who lived under enemy occupation for four months. She spent a month in captivity. The journalist continued her work despite the extreme risk to her life. The film she created based on the results of those months is called Invasion and tells the story of a family from the Kherson region. The widow of Leonid, a local resident, and her daughter share their memories. Leonid died in the first days of the Russian invasion in 2022. Anzhela filmed, among other places, in the hospital, where she talked to the wounded Leonid. In order to talk to him, Slobodian changed into a white cost and mask and get into the medical facility.

The journalist plans to show this film to the general public. She is currently adding English subtitles and submitting an application to one of the film festivals in Berlin.

Important: Anzhela Slobodian lives in Vinnytsia and comes to Kyiv every weekend. She is ready to give an offline and online interview to journalists. 

• occupation