Themes by tag: russian crimes

Valentyna Hantseva, a stalwart of the Soldatske village library in Sumy oblast for over three decades, faced the ultimate test of resilience as the invasion broke out. Months before the onslaught, the library had undergone a modern facelift and invested in state-of-the-art equipment. However, the structure crumbled under Russian airstrikes, leaving nothing but the skeletal remains of walls and roofs.

Undeterred by occupation and aerial threats, Valentyna, alongside her husband, embarked on a daring mission to salvage the literary treasures. Amidst the chaos, they meticulously stowed away over 1,000 undamaged books in grain sacks, shielding them from destruction.

The tide turned in April 2022, as Ukrainian forces liberated the village. Generosity from a German philanthropist breathed new life into the ravaged library premises. Last autumn, Valentyna proudly swung open the doors, welcoming readers back to the cherished institution.

For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces fully liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that full control over the state border in Sumy region was restored.

• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Sumy

Larysa Zahryva devoted 25 years of her life to education. The woman worked as a teacher, and in 2022 she headed the Social Services Center in Chernihiv oblast. With the beginning of the full-scale war, Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske village, where Larysa lived and worked, was occupied. For 37 days, the woman continued going to work and taking care of elderly people who remained in the village. Larysa hid documents from the russians and was at gunpoint five times. The invaders came to her house in the middle of the night and interrogated Larysa’s husband.

After Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske was released, Larysa managed to found the University of the Third Age with the support of the UN Development Program. Currently, several areas of study are available there: the Faculty of Healthy Lifestyle, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Faculty of Applied Arts. In addition, Larysa created a project to ensure mobile social assistance – a car with volunteers helping residents with house chores that travels around Chernihiv oblast.

For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from the russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces fully liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that full control over the state border in Sumy region was also restored.

• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Chernihiv

Scientists of the V. V. Tarnovskyi Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum continue to make records of historical artifacts in the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv oblast. (In the spring of 2022, the occupiers kept more than 300 local residents in inhumane conditions for almost a month in the basement of the school).

Specialists have been making trips to the school in Yahidne since September of last year. During this time, they examined and described more than 1,000 artifacts, which include: clothes, shoes, personal belongings, backpacks, books, boxes from enemy dry rations, tubes of antiseptics, russian newspapers, wooden pallets that the prisoners had to sit and sleep on and even plastic water bottles, which people had to use as a toilet. Experts have already finished describing all the rooms in the basement. And now they are still documenting (photographing and making records) artifacts on the territory of the settlement, including: remnants of enemy equipment, uniforms and ammunition boxes. They are also in communication with local residents.

All items studied by the scientists will remain in place. The authorities plan to create a memorial complex in Yahidne, and the school basement, where the prisoners were kept, will be a part of it.

Journalists have the opportunity to learn more and join the trip of the museum’s scientific staff to cover their work.

For reference: The village of Yahidne is located near Chernihiv. At the start of the full-scale invasion, the russians set up a command point in a local school. In its basement, they kept local residents — 299 adults and 67 children — for almost a month. (Almost the entire population of the village). The area of the basement is 197 square meters. Due to the lack of space, people had to sleep sitting up, and they also had trouble breathing. Ten people died then.

In February, the famous American TIME magazine released a cover with the Yahidne village basement.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

Olena Yuzvak found herself under the occupation immediately after the beginning of the big war. Hostomel, a town in Kyiv region, where a doctor was staying, was captured by the russians. Olena stayed there to continue working and helping people who could not leave. Olena distributed medicine and cared for the wounded until the occupiers captured her. The doctor was released a day later, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian military liberated Hostomel. Olena immediately returned to work and began working to restore the medical institutions she managed. One of these facilities is located in Moshchun village, Kyiv region, which was destroyed by a direct hit in the shelling. With the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it into an energy-independent Invincibility Center. The Health Center in Moshchun has been successfully operating since its opening. Currently, the doctor continues to work on the restoration and opening of modern medical facilities.

For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces fully liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that full control over the state border in Sumy region was restored.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Veronika Sheldahaieva, Chair of the Children’s Creative Council of the “Voices of Children” Charitable Foundation, recently spoke in the Churchill Hall of the British Parliament as part of the event “Echoes of Tragedy: Testimonies on russia’s War in Ukraine.” The young woman told members of parliament, diplomats and human rights defenders of Great Britain about the horrors of life under the russian occupation.

The girl, who lived in occupied Kherson for 7 months, said that the russian military came to her school and threatened the school management to make them side with the occupiers. Parents were blackmailed with deprivation of parental rights if their children did not go to occupier-controlled schools and study under the russian curriculum. Veronika did not go to school while living under the occupation. Therefore, she was very afraid that she would be taken away from her family. She even hid when someone knocked on the door. Full story is available here.

Oleh Afanasiev, whose story was featured in the documentary film “The Distant Barking of Dogs” also gave a speech in the British Parliament. The boy talked about 40 days of life in Mariupol under russian shelling in the spring of 2022.

In particular, he mentioned that he and his brothers, aunt and grandmother lived in the basement for two months. They had almost no food and water. In the middle of the night, the boy would wake up from hunger. He saw dead bodies. In order to escape, he had to go through the russian infiltration camps. Full story is available here.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Oleh in Kyiv region, and Veronika – in Odesa.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes

The founders of the T4P (Tribunal for putin) initiative — the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, the Center for Civil Liberties, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union— and Ukrainian Crisis Media Center invite journalists to discuss the issue of mass abduction and detention of Ukrainian civilians by the russian military on February 27 in Kyiv. The scale of the problem indicates that it is a target policy of the russian authorities to destroy the Ukrainian people.

Topics for discussion:

▪ Large-scale detention of Ukrainian civilians by the russian occupation authorities is a war crime committed by the russian federation

▪ What happens to civilian hostages after detention?

▪ What to do if your loved one is taken hostage? Instructions for relatives of civilian hostages

▪ What to do to facilitate the release of civilian hostages?

▪ Where should the family turn for psychological support?

Speakers:

• Yevgeniy Zakharov, Director at the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
• Oleksandr Pavlichenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
• Nataliia Yashchuk, Project Management Coordinator at the Center for Civil Liberties
• Tetiana Marina, a representative of Civilians in Captivity NGO
• Olena Tsyhipa, the wife of illegally convicted activist Serhii Tsyhipa
• Anna Mushtukova, “Our Closest People” initiative group

The event requires accreditation.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On the morning of February 24, just as two years ago, the Irpin city council will hold a session. Just as then, the session will be short. The only issue on the agenda is the allocation of additional aid for the military.

A moment of silence will be observed in the city. Later, everyone will gather on the “Road of Life” – Romanivka Bridge to express gratitude to those who helped save thousands of citizens, defended the hero city of Irpin, and to commemorate those who gave their lives for Ukraine.

Journalists can find out more about the start time of the events.

For reference: in February-March 2022, the city of Irpin, Kyiv region, became a battlefield in the russian offensive on Kyiv. One third of Irpin was occupied, and it was here that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces managed to stop the russians.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the civilians of Irpin were being evacuated through the Romanivka bridge. Then the russian army attacked the bridge, which made evacuation even more difficult. The Romanivka bridge was restored in November 2023, and opened for all types of transport.

The reconstruction of Irpin is still ongoing.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

With backing from the Ukrainian President and spearheaded by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the Ukrainian National Film Festival “Cinema for Victory”, showcasing films created during the Russia-Ukraine war, commemorates the tenth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the second anniversary of full-blown warfare.

The primary objective of the 2024 Cinema for Victory Film Festival is to promote documentary works created during the Russia-Ukraine war. This year’s lineup will spotlight films exposing Russian war crimes and presenting firsthand accounts of Ukrainian experiences.

Positioned as a platform for informational resistance countering Russian aggression and facilitating the development of wartime content, the Cinema for Victory Film Festival aims to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the film community.

Attendance requires pre-accreditation. 

Further information to be disclosed post-accreditation for security purposes.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 21, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will host a presentation of the analytical report entitled: “Rescue mission: what is happening in russian captivity and how to prevent captured Ukrainian soldiers from dying.”

During the presentation, the Media Initiative for Human Rights will present the analytical report on the testimonies of prisoners released in prisoner exchanges, who claim that Ukrainian soldiers died in russian captivity as a result of beatings or torture. They also claim that some prisoners committed suicides due to psychological, sexual or other types of violence in captivity. In response to the MIHR’s inquiry about the number of Ukrainians who died in russian captivity from February 24, 2022 to November 16, 2023, the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine stated 49 people.

Participants:

– Tetiana Katrychenko, Executive Director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR);

– Maria Klymyk, MIHR journalist;

– Anastasiia Hondiul, wife of an Azov regiment soldier who was heavily injured in the Olenivka barrack, Olenivka Families Community NGO;

– Bohdan Slobodian, witness to a Ukrainian serviceman’s death in russian captivity;

– Andrii Yakovlev, lawyer, MIHR international law expert;

The event requires registration.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 21, Civil Network OPORA will hold a reflective discussion entitled “russians’ cultural policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine” in Kyiv. Everyone is invited to discuss the consequences of the deliberate policies aimed at destruction of Ukrainian culture and the forced imposition of russian culture.

During the event, Civil Network OPORA will present a report, which is the first to attempt the best possible assessment of the cultural policy of the occupation authorities in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied since 2014. The report also describes the “Crimean scenario” of cultural occupation, which is currently being implemented in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.

Participants of the discussion:

• Anasatasia Romaniuk, digital platforms analyst at Civil Network OPORA;
• Olga Snopok, digital platforms analyst at Civil Network OPORA;
• Mariam Naiem, cultural studies expert and postcolonialism researcher (online);
• Anton Liagusha, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Dean of the Graduate Department of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Kyiv School of Economics;
• Oksana Sarzhevska-Kravchenko, Director at IZOLYATSIA Platform for Cultural Initiatives.

The event requires accreditation.

For reference: the russian federation pursues a deliberate policy of changing the identity of Ukrainians in the occupied territories. In parallel with the active hostilities, the russians have been destroying Ukrainian culture under occupation since 2014.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv