Themes by tag: russian crimes
Reconstruction has begun on a building at Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, nearly a year after it was hit in a russian missile strike that killed three people and wounded dozens more.
On June 6, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital signed agreements to begin restoration work on its medical and diagnostic building, which was damaged in the July 2024 attack. The project, including construction and technical oversight, is expected to cost 295 million hryvnias (about USD 7.2 million) and will be funded by the Okhmatdyt – Healthy Childhood Foundation.
For reference: On July 8, 2024, a russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck the hospital while 627 children were inside. A doctor and a patient’s relative were killed at the scene, and 35 others were injured, including nine children. Two days later, a critically injured boy who had been in intensive care died in a Kyiv hospital. Five hospital buildings were destroyed or damaged in the strike, and medical equipment worth an estimated 338 million hryvnias was lost.
Oleksii Polukhin, a 21-year-old openly LGBTQ+ activist from Kherson, joined the resistance movement in the first days of russia’s occupation, coordinating with Ukraine’s Security Service, Armed Forces, and intelligence units.
Until May 2022, Oleksii was gathering critical intelligence for Ukrainian special services. On May 9, during a reconnaissance mission, he stumbled upon a newly established russian checkpoint. He is certain that someone informed the occupiers about his activities, as they were already waiting for him at the checkpoint. They confiscated his phone and passport, forced him to strip, blindfolded him, and drove him around the city for hours before taking him to a detention center for interrogation.
When his captors discovered Oleksii was queer, they subjected him to psychological torture — forcing him to wear a dress, denying him showers, outdoor time, medical care, or legal assistance. Though they avoided physical violence, the relentless psychological abuse lasted two months before his release. Even after, Oleksii remained in Kherson and only left his hometown after it was de-occupied. Now, he undergoes therapy and continues to volunteer for the Ukrainian army.
Journalists can communicate with Oleksii Polukhin online or in person in Lviv by prior arrangement.
The international forum Unbroken Justice will run for two days in Lviv, bringing together leading voices in law, human rights, and trauma recovery.
The program will begin on June 23 with a public discussion titled Justice and Time, featuring British legal scholar and author Philippe Sands alongside French psychoanalyst Beatrice Patsalides Hofmann.
The following day, June 24, will mark the official opening of the St. Leo the Great Mental Health Center, the first facility in Ukraine specifically designed to support individuals who have endured captivity, torture, and psychological trauma. The center will also host a series of panel discussions exploring critical topics, including:
– Psychological support for victims of torture;
– Accountability for crimes against humanity;
– The prospect of establishing a tribunal for vladimir putin;
– Community resilience in the face of war.
Among the featured speakers are neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjorn Berge, and Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center.
Ukrainian human rights defender and Armed Forces officer Maksym Butkevych, who spent two years and four months in russian captivity, will also take part in the discussions.
Advance registration is required to attend the event.
Ukrainian activist Iryna Horobtsova is being transferred to women’s penal colony No.2 in the Yavas settlement of russia’s Republic of Mordovia. Yavas is located approximately 1,700 kilometers from Kherson, Horobtsova’s hometown. Her father, Volodymyr, says that the transfer is likely underway, with Iryna’s last letter dated June 10 originating from Ryazan.
According to her father, Iryna’s sentence has already taken effect, so the only remaining legal recourse is a petition for clemency.
Iryna Horobtsova’s parents are available for interviews in Kherson or online, pending prior coordination.
Background: In August 2024, russia illegally sentenced Ukrainian citizen Iryna Horobtsova to 10 years and six months in prison. She was accused of “espionage”.
Horobtsova, a Kherson resident, worked for a Ukrainian IT company. After russian forces occupied Kherson in spring 2022, Horobtsova gained attention for social media posts documenting life under occupation, including photos with Ukrainian symbols. She dubbed her apartment a “home resistance headquarters”. On May 13, 2022, russians abducted her from her home and held her in a detention center in occupied Crimea, denying all external contact.
On June 12, a recreated version of Alla Horska’s legendary Boryviter mosaic was unveiled at Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square. The project was initiated by ROZETKA, Ukraine’s largest online marketplace, in collaboration with Ukraine WOW, and the Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretskyi Foundation. A team of 15 monumental artists and researchers, led by Horska’s granddaughter Olena Zaretska, contributed to the restoration. The recreated mosaic replicates everything to the smallest detail, after the Mariupol original was severely damaged during the full-scale russian invasion.
The artistic team spent three months assembling the mosaic. To achieve maximum accuracy, they sourced over 700 kilograms of materials from across Ukraine and abroad, including opaque cobalt glass, tiles in matching colors, metal sheets, and even aluminum spoons.
Boryviter will now go on an international tour to raise awareness of Ukrainian art, sharing the stories of artists whose work russia seeks to erase.
The initiative also produced a second replica of the mosaic, divided into 1,250 fragments. Each piece was made available for purchase, allowing individuals to become custodians of Boriviter with the hope of one day restoring Horska’s masterpiece in a liberated Mariupol. All the fragments were sold within a single day.
By prior arrangement, journalists may view the panels in Kyiv and speak with the team behind the project.
Background: In the summer of 1967, a team of monumental artists led by the renowned artist Alla Horska created the Boryviter mosaic in Mariupol. The composition, featuring a falcon in flight, captivated viewers with its dynamic form and movement. Its bold mix of materials, alternating colors, and interesting textures made Boryviter a symbol of creative freedom. Just three years later, Alla Horska, a leading figure of the Ukrainian Sixtiers movement, was murdered by Soviet security services. In 2022, the mosaic was severely damaged during russia’s invasion. Its current condition remains unknown.
Viktoriia Holovina served in the military for 33 years. She worked as a senior nurse at a military unit’s infirmary and later as the commandant of the Officers’ House in Vinnytsia, before the full-scale invasion. Her contract was set to expire on February 26, 2022, but following russia’s escalation into a full-scale war, retirement was no longer an option.
On July 14, 2022, a russian missile struck the Officers’ House. Viktoriia doesn’t recall the moment of impact, but remembers getting up from the ground while engulfed in flames. She began tearing off her burning clothes and tried to extinguish the fire using rainwater from a puddle. Using the last of her strength, she flagged down a car that rushed her to the hospital.
Viktoriia suffered burns covering 45% of her body. Miraculously, her face and hands were spared. The most severe injuries were on her lower back, and a shell fragment struck her temple. She spent two and a half months in intensive care. After being discharged, she struggled to come to terms with her new reality, until she took part in the Sculpted photo project, where she shared her story and revealed the physical aftermath of the explosion.
Following her injury, Viktoriia began making mochi, a traditional Japanese rice cake. She soon received her first orders, and now she teaches mochi-making professionally.
Viktoriia Holovina is available for interviews both online and in person in Vinnytsia, by appointment.
Mykhailo Brytsyn is the pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Grace in Melitopol, Zaporizhia oblast (the city has been under russian occupation since March 2022). Despite the occupation, the church has continued to hold services for its congregation and provide aid to locals. During this time, an interfaith prayer gathering was organized in the city square, uniting clergy from different denominations. Meanwhile, the occupiers were attempting to coerce local religious leaders into collaborating with them.
On September 11, 2022, russian forces stormed the Church of Grace in the middle of a service. Armed, masked soldiers blocked the exits, trapping worshippers inside. The soldiers fingerprinted everyone, photographed their documents, and recorded their addresses. Church ministers were taken away for interrogation.
Pastor Mykhailo was interrogated as well. The occupiers raided his home and seized church documents. The russians issued him an ultimatum: “We give you two days to get out, or we’ll kill you”.
The occupiers turned the Church of Grace into their so-called “Ministry of Culture of Zaporizhia Oblast” and cut down its cross.
Today, Pastor Mykhailo holds online services for his scattered congregation. The Church of Grace also organizes prayer breakfasts for displaced people in various cities.
Beyond his pastoral duties, Brytsyn collects and analyzes evidence of russian crimes against religious communities in occupied Ukraine. He monitors the situation, compiles detailed reports, and presents them to the international community.
Journalists can arrange an interview with Rev. Mykhailo Brytsyn in person in Rivne oblast or online.
Before russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast had a population of roughly 50,000. At the time, every third household subscribed to Ridne Misto, a local newspaper with a circulation of 6,000 and a staff of seven, led by editor Maksym Zabielia.
Zabielia recalls sending the newspaper to print on February 23, 2022. The next day, the Kharkiv-based printing house stopped responding to messages. Since then, Ridne Misto has relied on the Kramatorsk Printing House, which stepped in and kept the paper going.
In early summer 2024, the editorial team was forced to leave Myrnohrad due to a mandatory evacuation order. In August, the newspaper’s office was destroyed by enemy shelling. Today, the relocated newsroom operates with a staff of four. The paper is no longer distributed in Myrnohrad, but volunteers continue delivering it to hubs for internally displaced people. Despite the setbacks, the team has no plans to stop printing. Zabielia says they feel a deep sense of responsibility to their readers.
Zabielia is available for interviews both online and in person, by prior arrangement, in Odesa or Kyiv.
For reference: Myrnohrad, located in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, remains under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The city lies approximately one kilometer from the front line. As of late 2024, about 3,000 civilians remained in the area.
On June 4, the Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing: “Defenseless in War. Ukrainian Children Enduring 11 Years of russian Aggression”
Participants:
– Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;
– Oleksandra Dvoretska, Human Rights Activist, Head of Policy at the Bring Kids Back UA Initiative;
– Valentina Potapova, Head of Direction of National Advocacy at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda NGO;
– Leviza Dzhelyal, Public Activist, Wife of Former Political Prisoner Nariman Dzhelal;
– Alevtina Kakhidze, Ukrainian Performance and Media Artist.
Topics of focus:
– Life under occupation: Current conditions faced by children living in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia oblasts, and Crimea.
– Children of political prisoners: Emotional and social impact on minors whose parents have been arrested or imprisoned, with a particular focus on stories from Crimean Tatar families.
– Militarization and indoctrination in Crimea: The ongoing transformation of education to serve russian propaganda narratives, including the militarization of school curricula and the role of organizations such as the Youth Army Movement.
For reference: June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, established by the UN General Assembly in 1982.
The latest rescue operation has brought 11 more Ukrainian children back from russian-controlled areas, thanks to the continued efforts of the Save Ukraine team and the support of the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Among those brought home are two orphans, two children of Ukrainian service members, and a family torn apart by war for nearly four years.
Marharyta, a defender with the Azov Regiment, spent more than three years in russian captivity. Her eldest son, also a soldier, left the besieged Azovstal plant with her. They were sent to different penal colonies, and for a long time, Marharyta didn’t know if her son was still alive. By chance, she saw him during a prisoner exchange, on the same bus. But she still had one wish left: to reunite with her youngest daughter, who had remained an infant under occupation. That dream has now come true. The mother is finally with her children again, and still can’t believe it’s no longer just a dream.
Ostap hadn’t seen his father, a Ukrainian soldier, in three years. His older brother, who fought alongside their father, was captured and spent 1,111 days in detention. He is now undergoing rehabilitation. For the first time in three years, Ostap was able to embrace both of them.
Anatolii, an orphan, was abducted after discovering ammunition in the woods. He was taken straight from a classroom, soldiers burst into the principal’s office, put a bag over his head, tied his hands, and dragged him to a basement, where he was beaten. Just one week before his 18th birthday, he received a draft notice. No one even considered his right to education. The occupiers gave him only one choice: to join a specific military unit. Fortunately, he was able to contact Save Ukraine in time.
Interviews with Save Ukraine representatives are available upon prior arrangement.
The rescue operation was made possible through the support of partners #WeAreAllUkrainians, Humanity Foundation, Reload Love, and the Joint Center for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War and Persons Illegally Deprived of Liberty as a Result of Aggression Against Ukraine. To date, Save Ukraine has returned 659 children, including 145 orphans.
