Themes by tag: russian crimes

Artem Hondiul has held numerous roles, including fire rescuer and security guard for merchant ships against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Guinea and Oman. Eventually, he joined the National Guard and later transferred to the Azov Regiment, now part of the National Guard of Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. Artem and his wife Anastasiia moved to Mariupol.

On February 23, 2022, Artem was on duty and convinced Anastasiia to leave Mariupol, despite her reluctance. She managed to escape in late February.

Anastasiia later discovered that Artem was at “Zaliziaka” (“Piece of Iron”), an improvised hospital at the Azovstal plant, suffering from a shrapnel injury to his pelvis. In May 2022, under orders from higher command, Artem and his comrades entered honorable captivity. On the night of July 29, 2022, Artem was seriously injured in the Olenivka massacre. 

Following the explosion in the colony’s barracks, Anastasiia saw her husband several times in videos released by the russians. Since September 2022, she has had no news of Artem’s whereabouts or condition.

In May 2023, Anastasiia and the relatives of other Olenivka victims traveled to Geneva to meet with representatives of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was only after this visit, 16 months into Artem’s captivity, that Russia officially confirmed his status as a prisoner of war.

Journalists can learn more and speak with Anastasiia in Kryvyi Rih, with online communication also available.

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, russia carried out a terrorist attack by detonating a barracks in the Olenivka penal colony, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were detained. At least 50 Azovstal defenders were killed, and over 100 were injured.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

The Center for Civil Liberties invites lawyers, foreign policy experts, representatives of civil society organizations and state institutions to a series of events that will take place within the Ukrainian International Criminal Justice Week.

The Day of International Criminal Justice is on July 17. It marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998. This is the first ever permanent body of international justice with jurisdiction to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law.

For the fifth year in a row, the Center for Civil Liberties organizes the Ukrainian International Criminal Justice Week around this date. And this year, the focal topic of the week is “How to Break the Cycle of Impunity?”

The events that will take place during the week include: “Ten Years of International russian Crimes in Ukraine: Which Strategy Leads to Justice?” — a conference. Format: offline; Destroy, in Whole or in Part — screening of the Kyiv Independent film and its discussion. Format: offline.

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the full program of events.

• russian crimes

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

Svitlana Solonska worked as a kindergarten teacher in Zaporizhia region. Her husband, Vladyslav, was a teacher by education. At one time, he graduated from the Zaporizhia Police School. After the Revolution of Dignity, he joined the ranks of the Azov volunteer formation. Vladyslav was very happy when the unit later became part of the National Guard of Ukraine (now it is the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine). Having started as a driver, Vladyslav was promoted to the position of company commander, and then to the position of logistics officer.

On February 22, 2022, Vladyslav came home and told his wife that they were being sent to Mariupol. It was the last time Svitlana saw her husband.

Svitlana and her 13-year-old daughter were in Zaporizhia region when the full-scale invasion began. During the first days, their settlement was occupied by the russians. The woman saw enemy tanks driving through her village in the direction of Mariupol. Later, her husband called and said that Svitlana and her daughter needed to leave urgently, as the invaders would come to their home. On March 19, they were able to leave for Ukraine-controlled territory.

Vladyslav was at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Despite the blockade of the city and constant shelling, he was assigned the task of delivering products and supporting the rear. He delivered food and water to the field hospital under the shelling. A “Starlink” allowed him to keep in touch with his wife.

In May 2022, Vladyslav together with other defenders followed the order of the high command and surrendered. On the night of July 29, 2022, Vladyslav was injured during an explosion in the barracks in Olenivka, he did not receive proper medical care. There was no information about his condition for a long time. Later, Svitlana found out that her husband had died: they could find him only by DNA matching.

Journalists are welcome to learn more and talk with Svitlana in Kyiv.

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka, which housed Ukrainian prisoners of war. At least 50 defenders of Azovstal were killed in the attack.

• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

On July 11, the Media Center Ukraine will hold a briefing with the Head of the Press Service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, focusing on the consequences of the russian missile attack on Ukraine on July 8.

For reference: On July 8, russia launched a powerful missile attack on Ukraine. The missiles caused significant destruction to residential buildings and civilian structures, including a strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. The attack targeted Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, and other Ukrainian cities, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Dozens of volunteers, including members of the Los Solomas community, are currently working in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, where a kindergarten and nearby houses were damaged by the missile hit on July 8.

Volunteers are engaged in tasks such as clearing construction debris and covering shattered windows with plastic.

Journalists are welcome to report on the volunteers’ efforts.

For reference: On July 8, russian forces launched a missile attack on Kyiv, damaging 129 buildings in the city. The attack resulted in 34 fatalities. As of the morning of July 10, 38 people injured in the attack remain hospitalized, with 6 in serious condition.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Kateryna Lukiienko hails from the small village of Zalyman in the Kharkiv region, home to about 800 people before the full-scale invasion. When the all-out war erupted, Zalyman quickly fell under enemy control. Kateryna, along with her sister Lidiia and her children, was trapped in the village with no communication. Determined to document the atrocities, Kateryna began recording everything she witnessed. She took pictures, made videos, and kept detailed notes, compiling evidence of russian crimes in the region. During this time, she survived a russian shelling that left her with a traumatic brain injury. Her collected evidence, including testimonies, photos, and videos, has been submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Following the village’s liberation, Kateryna and her family relocated to the Chernihiv region. She is currently awaiting state compensation for their destroyed home in Zaliman.

Kateryna Lukiienko remains in the Chernihiv region and is available for interviews, both online and in person.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Chernihiv

Anna and Oleh’s journey began in 2020 when they met while Oleh was serving in the Azov Brigade. Their connection blossomed from phone calls and letters into a committed relationship. Their daughter was born just before the outbreak of the full-scale war.

Oleh and his twin brother Vitalii both served in the Azov Brigade, defending Mariupol from the war’s outset. In April 2022, while attempting to reach the Azovstal steel plant, their unit was ambushed. Vitaliy was killed, and Oleh, though wounded, managed to reach Azovstal before being captured a month later.

On the night of July 28-29, 2022, Oleh and 192 fellow prisoners were detained in Volnovakha Penal Colony No. 120 in Olenivka. Several explosions that night killed over 50 Azov Brigade members and injured more than a hundred. When russian media released lists of the wounded and deceased, Anna was horrified to see her husband’s name on both. Later, she discovered that Oleh had survived. Since then, Anna has tirelessly worked to secure his release, joining the Olenivka Community NGO to aid her efforts.

Anna Lobova is currently in Zhytomyr and is available for interviews, both online and in person.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Zhytomyr

On July 8, Media Center Ukraine will host a presentation of the trailer for the film “People of Steel.” The event will also feature a presentation of results of the pre-premiere screening of the film about the Mariupol defenders in front of European diplomats.

The documentary, which took more than a year to complete, uses unique footage from the prison in Olenivka and Mariupol, where the russians committed numerous war crimes.

Participants:

• Serhii Fomenko, musician and director, frontman of the band Mandry;
• Kateryna Prokopenko, Association Azovstal Defenders’ Families;
• Andrii Rizol, Head of the association “Watch Ukrainian!”;
• Petro Yatsenko, representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

For reference: This film was developed as part of the Culture VS War and Between Light and Evil projects, involving the NGO Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

IMPORTANT NOTICE! Starting from the beginning of July, Media Center Ukraine will be located in the comfortable public space Urban Space 500, at 9 Hrinchenko Street in Kyiv. All events will take place there.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Mariia Aleksieievych is 26 years old, for two of which she has been waiting for her husband Serhii Aleksieievych, a soldier from Azov Regiment. On May 16, 2022, he carried out the order and surrendered to the enemy.

Mariia and Serhii met before the full-scale invasion. Both studied in Khmelnytskyi, majoring in psychology. The couple lived for several years in a civil marriage, and officially married online in April 2022, when Serhii was already in surrounded Mariupol.

While Serhii was fighting in Mariupol, he tried to get in touch, asked his wife to hold on, work and study. The last time Mariia communicated with her husband was on May 13, 2022. The woman came across a video where she saw Serhii being captured, later she found confirmation that he was in Olenivka. After the explosion in the barracks of the Olenivka colony, the woman found her lover’s name on the list of the wounded.

Mariia says that Serhii Aleksieievych was officially recognized as a prisoner of war only on August 31, 2023. Every once in a while Mariia learns about her husband’s condition from former captives who return in prisoner exchanges.

Currently, Maria heads Olenivka Community NGO. She is also actively involved in public work to investigate the events in the Olenivka colony, bring the culprits to justice, and help Ukrainian prisoners of war and their families.

Mariia Aleksieievych is in Vinnytsia region and is ready to communicate with the media, both in person and online.

For reference: On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka, which housed Ukrainian prisoners of war. At least 50 defenders of Azovstal were killed in the blast.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Vinnytsia