Themes by tag: reconstruction

Before the full-scale invasion, Nelli Ernandes served as director and lecturer at Makariv medical college in the Kyiv oblast. During the occupation, russian forces destroyed much of the town, leaving the college dormitory roofless and its façade, internal floors, windows, and doors obliterated.

After the liberation of the Kyiv oblast, Nelli immediately sought ways to restore the dormitory. With support from the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, reconstruction began in December 2022. By September 2024, the community celebrated the reopening of the renovated dormitory, which now houses 60 students, including internally displaced persons.

Nelli Ernandes is available for interviews online or in person in Makariv by prior arrangement.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

The company “Skeiron” was founded in 2016 by a team of like-minded people in Lviv. The main goal of the project is to preserve and promote cultural heritage through digitization. The team digitizes significant Ukrainian monuments, both preserved and lost. They believe that this will help to restore these landmarks in the future.

During their work, the specialists have managed to digitize and recreate over 200 structures, including monuments destroyed during the war. In particular, the company has digitized in 3D format the Mariupol Drama Theater, which was destroyed by russia.

You can communicate with representatives of the “Skeiron” team both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• culture
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Lviv

For more than 32 years, Valentyna Hantseva has worked at the library in the village of Soldatske, Sumy Oblast. Just months before russia’s full-scale invasion, the library underwent a modern renovation and received new equipment. But when a russian airstrike hit the village center during the occupation, the library building was left in ruins. Only the roof and walls remained intact, while the blast wave devastated the interior.

Despite the occupation and the constant threat of russian aircraft overhead, Valentyna and her husband began salvaging books, hiding them in grain sacks to keep them safe. In total, she managed to rescue more than 1,000 volumes.

In April 2022, Ukrainian forces liberated the village. With support from a benefactor in Germany, the library was restored, and by the fall of 2022, Valentyna was able to reopen its doors to readers.

For reference: By April 11, 2022, then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that Ukraine had fully regained control of its state border in the Sumy region.

• culture
• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Sumy

Valeriia Vershynina was born and raised in Donetsk. In 2014, when russia launched its first assault on Ukraine and occupied her hometown, she and her family fled to Kyiv.

After settling in the capital, Valeriia joined Stabilization Support Services, a charitable foundation focused on assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs). She became part of a working group responsible for developing legislation related to displaced populations. In 2024, Valeriia stepped into the role of executive director of the foundation.

“Stabilization Support Services received funding from American donors, with one of the foundation’s key programs dedicated to helping IDPs rebuild their homes. However, that funding was recently cut, putting several projects at risk,” Valeriia explained. Now, she is working to secure support from donors in other countries to keep the foundation’s initiatives moving forward.

Interviews with Valeriia Vershynina can be arranged both online and in person in Kyiv by appointment.

Background: Stabilization Support Services is a Ukrainian charitable foundation that has been operating since 2016, working to address the social impacts of the war and provide comprehensive support for internally displaced persons. The foundation offers humanitarian and legal assistance, helps repair damaged homes, strengthens Ukraine’s social protection system, and has built a national network of IDP Councils, launched between 2019 and 2020. Its programs span the entire country, with a focus on restoring war-affected communities and improving access to social services for Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations.

• casualties
• occupation
• reconstruction
• women
• Kyiv

On March 5, a renovated bomb shelter in one of the gymnasiums in Mykolaiv will be opened. The shelter was restored by “Dobrobat” volunteers, who carried out demolition work, wall reinforcement, and floor and ceiling replacement. The three-month renovation was funded by the international organization “Nova Ukraine”.

The shelter will serve as a safe space for 400 children and staff. This is the second shelter restored at the gymnasium, helping to ease the transition to face-to-face learning.

Speakers:
– Mykhailo Bryzhko, Head of Regional Development, NGO “Dobrobat”
– Yurii Osipov, Coordinator of the Mykolaiv branch, NGO “Dobrobat”
– Representatives of “Nova Ukraine”
– School administration

Accreditation is required to participate in the event.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Mykolaiv

35-year-old Jason Hercula is from Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA. Back home, he tried many different jobs — he worked as a barber, a pizza delivery driver, and also has experience in construction. He had long dreamed of traveling and even started learning French to feel more confident in French-speaking countries.

However, his plans changed drastically in 2022 when he learned of russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Resolving to help those affected by the invasion, Jason shifted his focus from French to learning Ukrainian.

During his time in Ukraine, Jason has worked on rebuilding numerous sites — mostly residential homes in war-torn towns and villages in the Kyiv oblast — and even helped clear rubble in Kyiv after missile attacks. His favorite task is roof repair, where he has become an expert.

Background information: Dobrobat (short for “Dobrovolchyi Budivelnyi Batalion” — “Volunteer Construction Battalion”) is a volunteer construction initiative that helps war-affected communities with the urgent reconstruction of homes and social infrastructure in de-occupied areas.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The all-Ukrainian youth organization Building Ukraine Together (BUR) is at risk of shutting down following the loss of USAID funding. The organization has also recently lost financial support from another key donor, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

BUR warns that without funding, it will be forced to cease operations in March, potentially leaving communities that applied for restoration assistance without support. For now, the organization is focused on fulfilling its remaining commitments.

Journalists can arrange interviews with BUR representatives by prior request.

Background: Building Ukraine Together (BUR) is an NGO that actively engages young people in volunteer work and non-formal education. The organization has a network of 9,725 volunteers, including 211 from abroad. Since the start of the full-scale war, BUR volunteers have helped restore 378 facilities.

• reconstruction
• volunteers

The Repair Together volunteer community is joining forces with the Gurtum Charitable Foundation’s Save Mala Opera project. On February 16, they will hold a restoration event at Kyiv’s Mala Opera—an initiative known as the “Rave Toloka.”

Built in 1902, the Mala Opera is a historic architectural landmark in Kyiv. The building sustained damage from enemy shelling, with its walls, ceiling, and decorative elements suffering significant harm.

During the cleanup, volunteers will work to the rhythm of music. And, as organizers note, “there will be a little dancing” at the end of the day.

Journalists will have the opportunity to cover the volunteers’ efforts on-site.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv

For the past 15 years, Tetiana Hrek has dedicated herself to teaching karate to children and adults. Before the all-out invasion, she and her husband owned a gym in Bucha, a town in the Kyiv region. But when the war broke out, their lives took a dramatic turn. The family found themselves under occupation, their gym looted by russian forces, and their home shot at. After enduring two weeks of occupation, Tetiana and her family managed to escape to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

A year later, Tetiana decided to return to Bucha. In the interim, other coaches who had remained in the city had restored the gym and resumed teaching local children. Upon her return, Tetiana was welcomed back by eager students. A public martial arts school in Bucha also reopened its doors, inviting her to teach there.

Today, Tetiana offers lessons both online and offline, available by appointment.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Tetiana Skyba, a 66-year-old preschool teacher, is a resident of Hostomel and the head of a homeowners’ association that manages two apartment buildings. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she opened all the basement shelters in the buildings and placed wooden pallets so that people would have a place to hide. More than a hundred people took refuge there, including a two-month-old baby. Tetiana and her neighbors cooked food in her apartment. When the utilities were cut off, they cooked outside. Her husband was injured by a blast.

On March 5, russian occupiers stormed the buildings and took up residence inside, forcing civilians to remain in the basements. Some residents later decided to evacuate and moved to another neighborhood, but they couldn’t leave the town. The occupiers ordered them to return and tried to deport them to Belarus. However, none of the residents agreed.

A few days later, Tetiana managed to escape. When she returned to Hostomel in April 2022, she saw a horrible scene — her building and the one across the street each had three direct hits. Their roofs were destroyed, and there was no electricity, water, or gas. Tetiana’s own apartment was so badly damaged that she had to stay in someone else’s home when she returned.

Along with other residents, Tetiana began restoring the buildings. She recalls that even her former preschool students came to help. By the end of 2022, the roof of her building had been repaired. Later, a European charity helped restore the roof of the second building and replace broken windows. Just a few days ago, the last broken window in the damaged house was finally replaced with a new glass unit.

By prior arrangement, journalists can meet with Tetiana in Hostomel, Kyiv oblast.

Background: February 24, 2025, marks three years since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• casualties
• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv