Themes by tag: occupation

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

The Center for Civil Liberties invites journalists to cover the important topic entitled “Ukrainian prisoners who were forcibly taken to the russian federation: problems of returning them.”

According to Olena Vysotska, Deputy Minister of Justice, within the first days of the full-scale invasion, 11 penal institutions with almost 3,000 prisoners and staff found themselves in the occupation. According to the Protection for Prisoners of Ukraine NGO, about 2,000 people who were serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty were deported from Kherson region alone. On the territory of the russian federation and temporarily occupied territories, prisoners are tortured and subjected to abuse. russians passports are forced on imprisoned Ukrainians while they are in captivity.

The organizers are ready to help journalists with getting in touch with:

– Experts for interviews and comments,

– People who went through this experience.

Also, on July 31, journalists can take part in the human rights club on this topic, where they will have an opportunity to talk with experts, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and former prisoners. (The event requires registration).

• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 18, the family of the fallen hero (the Berezov family) in Kyiv region will receive Ukraine’s first residential house, built using 3D construction technology. A house with an area of ​​130 m² was printed in 58 hours using a 3D printer of 3D UTU company.

On March 6, 2022, the Berezov family lost their home due to the russian aggression during the occupation of Irpin. And on November 6, 2022, the father of the family, Yaroslav, died in the battles for Bakhmut. This house will become a symbol of a new beginning for them as well as commemorate the fallen hero.

The special feature of this house is a dual-purpose room with an increased level of security, in which the Berezov family will be able to wait out air alarms.

Journalists will have the opportunity to talk with the Berezov family, Inna Furman, Head of the Hold the Nation Charity Foundation, and representatives of the authorities and partners.

The event requires accreditation. Accreditation will be open until 6:00 PM on July 17, 2024.

For reference: The house for the Berezovs was built as part of the “United for Help” project. This is an initiative of the Hold the Nation Charity Foundation, implemented with the support of the Irpin City Council and over 70 partners.

• casualties
• dead
• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

Iryna Vlasenko is a doctor specializing in dermatology and venereology who survived the russian occupation in Melitopol (Zaporizhia region). She knows the feeling when it seems that everyone has forgotten about you. These memories motivate her to volunteer at FRIDA (the Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission). Together with other doctors, Iryna attends to patients both in the front-line regions and in the borderlands, and shows by her example that people who live there are remembered.

The trips also help her deal with her fears about her husband, who is now on the front lines. While her husband has operated a Mavic drone on over 100 missions, Iryna has gone on more than 40 trips to the front-line territories.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Iryna in Kyiv. There is also an opportunity to cover the volunteer trips made by FRIDA Ukraine.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission that aims to help the civilian population. Volunteer doctors provide Ukrainians affected by hostilities with high-quality healthcare.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

Iryna Maslo is from Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast. Today, occupants live in her house, and one of the businesses she founded was destroyed by the war. Iryna first saw the fighting in 2014, when russia started its aggression in eastern Ukraine. The woman and her family stayed in her hometown, which was 30 kilometers from the front line, and soon managed to open a shop selling patriotic souvenirs. Later, this shop turned into a store selling military equipment, as there were many soldiers in the city who needed such goods. After that, Iryna opened a household chemicals store, but had to leave the business when the full-blown war began. 

Together with her children, Iryna left Volnovakha, which was later occupied by the enemy, and relocated to Pavlohrad in the Dnipro region. In this new city, Iryna sought job opportunities and eventually decided to transform her hobby into a livelihood by opening a yoga studio. She applied for a grant, used the funds to establish the studio, and began her work.

Now Iryna and her children have moved again, this time to Odesa. Here, she teaches yoga and plans to open another studio in the future.

• occupation
• women
• Odesa

On July 11, the training began for guides, who will work at memorial sites of the russo-Ukrainian war in Kyiv region. Their goal is to train qualified specialists who will be able to provide meaningful, reliable information about the tragic events of the war in Kyiv region.

The courses will consist of online and offline classes, trainings, educational and methodological excursions and will culminate in thematic exams. The program is divided into theoretical and practical parts. The training will last 4 weeks.

At the first stage, the organizers selected 29 applicants, including representatives from tourism industry and museum institutions.

Journalists are welcome to cover the training process.

For reference: Guide training takes place within the framework of the project “Kyiv region. Memorial Sites” of the Kyiv Regional State Administration.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv