Themes by tag: russian crimes

On World Whale Day, February 19, the Kyiv Whale will light up again in the capital. It is Ukraine’s largest eco media art sculpture, created from recycled plastic collected by Kyiv schoolchildren. Its new soundtrack is an audiovisual program featuring the sounds of Kyiv’s rivers.

The main goal is to draw attention to the problem of clean water in Ukraine, which has worsened as a result of the ecocide committed by russia. The project also aims to emphasize our shared responsibility and the importance of public oversight in addressing this issue.

Journalists will have the opportunity to learn more about the project. Accreditation is required to attend the event.

For reference: As Ukraine approaches 2026, the state of its water resources is assessed as critically strained. The cumulative impact of systematic attacks on port infrastructure, tanker fleet accidents, blackouts, and the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has led to unprecedented pollution of both marine and freshwater resources.

Scientists report more than 50,000 dead dolphins and up to 50% loss of the mussel population — natural sea filters. They have also recorded approximately 83,300 tons of heavy metals in bottom sediments following the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP, 5,000 tons of fuel oil, and a 55-kilometer sunflower oil slick in the Black Sea.

• culture
• ecology
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Volodymyr Aleksandrov is 47 years old. He is originally from Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, where he was mobilized in May 2025. He joined the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade and carried out combat missions in the Donetsk region together with his fellow soldiers.

Volodymyr and his comrade Ihor, who is currently considered missing in action, were holding a position. That day, food supplies were dropped to them by drone. The package had to be retrieved near one of the buildings. When the soldiers approached the structure, they came under automatic gunfire. Both Ukrainian fighters were wounded — the russians decided to keep Volodymyr alive and take him captive.

The occupiers inspected the Ukrainian position, where there was a generator, water, communication equipment, and food, and decided to move there together with the wounded Volodymyr. For several days, the russians forced the Ukrainian soldier to contact his command and assure them that everything was fine. Eventually, the food and water at the position ran out and the power supply failed. The uninjured russians then abandoned their wounded comrades along with Volodymyr and went in search of water. The Ukrainian serviceman persuaded two wounded russian soldiers to surrender to Ukrainian forces. The Defense Forces of Ukraine prepared an evacuation operation, involving more than three dozen personnel, including drone operators and unmanned ground vehicle crews, medics, technicians, and reconnaissance units. Ultimately, Volodymyr and one enemy soldier were brought back to Ukrainian positions.

An interview with Volodymyr can be arranged online by prior appointment and in coordination with the press officer.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• evacuation

To remind the public of the defenders of Azovstal and other servicemembers who remain in enemy captivity, peaceful rallies are planned in 30 cities.

On February 7, rallies will take place in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kovel, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Poltava, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On February 8, events are scheduled in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Korop, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Korosten, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Kremenchuk, Lozova, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

The events are organized by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Ukrainians who have been released from captivity also often join the rallies.

• prisoners
• russian crimes

Tetiana Marina, the wife of Spanish citizen Mariano García Calatayud, who was abducted in Kherson, has been seeking her husband’s release from russian captivity for four years.

Mariano is a well-known volunteer who has been living in Ukraine since 2014. On March 19, 2022, he was abducted by russian security forces in occupied Kherson. It later became known that he was held in occupied Crimea, in particular at Simferopol Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 2, in a closed section for so-called political prisoners. It is also known that he suffered a heart attack while in captivity.

russia denies the abduction of the Spanish volunteer and conceals information about his place of detention. Spain has also attempted to facilitate an exchange. On February 2, 2026, Mariano turned 78 years old.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with Tetiana online.

For reference: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city from russian troops on November 11, 2022. The occupiers continue to regularly shell the city.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• volunteers

Participants:

– Kateryna Rashevska, PhD in International Law, Expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights.

Key topics:

– The current situation regarding the return of Ukrainian children stolen by russia: statistics and achievements;

– How has the process of returning Ukrainian children changed today?

– Who is involved in returning Ukrainian children from russia today and how?

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 10, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, together with the Center for Civil Liberties, invite journalists to the premiere of the documentary film “Give Me Back My Name”, dedicated to people who have gone missing as a result of russia’s war against Ukraine.

The film tells the story of soldiers of this war who bear the status “missing in action,” the process of returning the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, their identification, and the restoration of their names — as well as the families who have spent years living in search and uncertainty.

The event will open with remarks by Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties — an organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — and Stephen Capus, President and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s author, Maryan Kushnir, a frontline correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who has been covering russia’s war against Ukraine since 2015. In January 2026, he rescued a young girl by carrying her out of an apartment that was struck by a russian drone in the Kyiv region, for which he was awarded the Order “For Courage.”

Journalists need to register for the event. The organizers reserve the right to deny participation for security reasons.

For reference: The film “Give Me Back My Name” was produced with the support of the Pulitzer Center. The European Union funds the event.

• casualties
• dead
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Vladyslav Balinskyi is an ecologist and hydrobiologist at the Tuzlivski Lymany National Nature Park. He leads a component of the international scientific project “SUNDANSE” within the park. Vladyslav also works as editor-in-chief of the media outlet Zelenyi Lyst.

According to the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, since 2014 Vladyslav has been subjected to systematic persecution by russia, which intensified after 2022 due to his active involvement in documenting enemy war crimes and ecocide. russian propagandists label Vladyslav’s scientific and journalistic work as espionage and sabotage.

In October 2025, the moscow prosecutor’s office transferred the ecologist’s case to court for an in absentia trial, and in January 2026 russia placed Vladyslav on an international wanted list. The National Ecological Centre of Ukraine has called on the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General to ensure Vladyslav’s physical safety.

Journalists can speak with Vladyslav Balinskyi both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• ecology
• russian crimes

russians damaged the Hall of Glory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War near the base of the “Motherland” monument. It is a monument of science and technology of local significance.

After inspections by specialized services are completed, the scope of restoration works will become known. This is already the second case of damage to the museum as a result of russian attacks.

By prior arrangement, journalists may visit the museum.

For context: According to Ukraine’s Minister of Culture Tetiana Berezhna, since the start of the full-scale invasion, russia has damaged or destroyed more than 1,680 cultural heritage sites and thousands of cultural infrastructure facilities.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

To keep the spotlight on the defenders of Azovstal and other Ukrainian soldiers still held in russian captivity, peaceful rallies are scheduled across 28 cities under the slogan “Don’t be silent. Captivity kills!”

On January 31, events will be held in Okhtyrka, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Irpin, Pavlysh, Dnipro, Shpola, Volochysk, Poltava, Pavlohrad, and Lviv.

On February 1, gatherings will take place in Kyiv, Krolevets, Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv, Uman, Obukhiv, Ovruch, Dolynska, Cherkasy, Lozova, Uzhhorod, Berdychiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Odesa.

Families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison organize the actions. Released captives frequently take part in these demonstrations to raise awareness and press for the return of those still held.

• prisoners
• russian crimes

On February 3, a screening and discussion of the documentary film “Fight and Dance” will be held in the capital. The film is about strength, pain, and hope. It is about childhood under the air raid sirens. It is about living — despite the war.

In April 2025, russian forces fired two Iskander missiles into the center of Sumy. Viktoriia Rudyka was riding scooters with her daughters when the blast wave hit them. After undergoing treatment and losing their father in the war, the family chose to stay in Sumy. The girls returned to ballet, and Viktoriia plans to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On the same day, 13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko opened the door of a burning bus and rescued his mother and the other passengers. A month later, he won a silver medal at the European Beach Wrestling Championships.

After the screening, there will be a conversation with the people who lived and created this story:

• Hanna Mamontova and Anna Tsyhyma, the film’s authors;
• Viktoriia Rudykha, a protagonist in the film;
• Kyrylo Illiashenko, a protagonist in the film.

Moderator: Natalka Humeniuk, executive director of the Public Interest Journalism Lab.

Advance registration is required.

The event will feature photography and filming, as well as a live online broadcast on the Maidan Museum Information and Exhibition Center’s Facebook page.

For reference: The event is organized by the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity and the Public Interest Journalism Lab NGO.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv