Themes by tag: russian crimes

On September 19, in Zhovten cinema in Kyiv, journalist Danylo Mokryk will present an investigative documentary for The Kyiv Independent “Children Who Never Were.” The film tells about the murders of Ukrainian children by the russian military.

Pre-registration is required.

• russian crimes

Lyceum No. 3 will be opened in Irpin, Kyiv region, on September 16. The institution suffered the greatest destruction at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The Lyceum building and the surrounding area were hit by 30 enemy shells and mines. The level of damage was about 75%.

The restoration of the building of Irpin Lyceum No. 3 is currently being completed. The work was funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. Foreign and Ukrainian philanthropists have also contributed to the reconstruction of the lyceum, and funds have been raised from the local budget.

The opening ceremony will be attended by:

– Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine;

– Ruslan Hurak, Head of the State Education Quality Service of Ukraine;

– Serhii Babak, Chair of Verkhovna Rada’s Education, Science, and Innovations Committee;

– Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of Kyiv Oblast Military Administration;

– Danylo Mavlianov, Head of Bucha District Administration;

– Oleksandr Markushyn, Mayor of Irpin.

Event accreditation is required.

For reference, Irpin Lyceum No. 3 is one of the largest general secondary education institutions in the community and the only one located in a densely populated city neighborhood. Before the start of the full-scale war, about 2,000 students took morning or evening classes. 

• children
• occupation
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

A short film, “What Have We Lost?” written and acted by teenagers, will be screened in Kyiv. The film’s authors are children who survived the occupation, life near the fighting unfolded, traveling abroad, and other challenges of war. They will also present the film to journalists.

The teenagers created the film as part of an art therapy screenwriting course implemented by the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation. For three months, under the supervision of the director Marisa Nikitiuk, a group of children learned to live through the trauma of war through art.

The private screening of the film will take place on September 13.

Participants of the conversation:

• Nastia, Valeria, and Sofia, participants of the course, screenwriters, and actors of the film;
• Olena Rozvadovska, children’s human rights activist, Chair of the Voices of Children Foundation;
• Marysia Nikitiuk, film director (Ya.Nina, When Trees Fall), the screenwriting course tutor.

Actress Irma Vitovska and Azad Safarov, the second director of the “A House Made of Splinters” documentary, are others in attendance. 

Event accreditation is required.

For information: The Children’s Voices Charitable Foundation provides psychological and psychosocial support to children and parents affected by war.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In the Korolenko State Scientific Library of Kharkiv, emergency works are currently ongoing. In particular, a temporary protective cover is being installed over the building.

In March 2022, the entire library complex was damaged due to rocket attacks by the occupiers on the center of Kharkiv. For instance, fragments of shells and rockets pierced the roof of the main building, destroyed the lantern above the atrium (damaging stained glass windows). Blast waves knocked out windows throughout the library. The ceilings in the workrooms began to crumble. The heating system was destroyed. Workers are trying to keep the library fund safe from moisture and mold.

According to preliminary estimates, UAH 70 million are needed for repair and restoration works.

For reference: The main building of the library was designed by O. M. Beketov, an outstanding Ukrainian architect (built in 1901). The building is an architectural monument and a part of urban infrastructure of state importance. It is under state protection.

• culture
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kharkiv

On September 11, a presentation of a VR exhibition about the crimes of russians in the temporarily occupied territories will be held in Kyiv. During the presentation, the authors of the exhibition will show a clip from the documentary film, photos, as well as a VR-video with testimonies of Ukrainian citizens from de-occupied territories.

The VR video of the documentary project “Deoccupation ” will allow “transporting” the viewers to the de-occupied territories and, with the stories of eyewitnesses, viewers will be able to experience everything that happened there more fully. It will be possible to “visit” Kharkiv, Kukhari village (Kyiv Polissia) and settlements of Sivershchyna.

Participants:

• Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director at the Center for Civil Liberties
• Vitalii Poberezhnyi, Producer of the docuseries “Deoccupation”
• Karina Piliugina, Producer and Author of Ukraïner projects
• Spokesperson for the National Resistance Center of Ukraine

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Ukrainian VR project “FIRST DAY” directed by Valeriy Korshunov and produced by Svitlana Korshunova will be presented for the first time at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.

FIRST DAY is a fully immersive first-person VR experience that transports the visitor to the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion, and allows them to experience the internal transformation that Ukrainians went through on February 24, 2022.

The project is based on the stories of real people. The viewer will be able to see the houses of Borodyanka and Bucha destroyed by invaders’ shells. Along with a large number of other artifacts of the war, the buildings were scanned and then reproduced in virtual space.

The project will be presented in Ukraine on September 7. At the closed press event, journalists will have an opportunity to visit the project’s virtual location in VR helmets, talk with the authors of the project and the founders of Venice Immersive in a live virtual format. Residents of Borodyanka and Hostomel, who witnessed the occupation and who can share their experiences, are also invited to the project presentation.

Prior accreditation is required.

For reference: The 80th Venice International Film Festival began on August 30 and will last until September 9.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes

Almost 9,500 children have been left without parental care since the beginning of the full-scale war. Of them, almost 1,500 were orphaned due to the terrorist actions of the russian federation. (Data of the National Social Service of Ukraine)

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the adoption of children during the war from representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

“Partnership for Every Child” charitable organization educates families who want to adopt a child into their family. The students of the express courses are people who want to become: adoptive parents, foster parents, patronage caregivers and adopters.

Journalists are welcome to talk to experts from the organization (in particular, instructors, who conduct training), as well as families who adopted children during the war.

• children
• russian crimes

On September 1, a briefing “School education under Russian occupation: Incitement to hatred and destruction of Ukrainian identity.”

Participants:

– Peter Pomerantsev, British journalist, specialist in media and propaganda in modern Russia (online);

– Yevhen Bondarenko, Head of the Information Support Department of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea (in person);

– Valentina Potapova, Head of the Direction of National Advocacy Department of the Almenda Center for Civic Education (in person);

– Anastasiia Vorobiova, analyst at Almenda (online);

Topics of focus:

– Narratives that Russia imposes on children in the Russia-controlled territories through textbooks;

– How Russia’s educational propaganda is gaining momentum. What to expect soon? How does Russian propaganda affect children, and what is its effectiveness?

– Legal assessment of Russia’s actions to impose Russian education on the temporarily occupied territories. Is it possible to bring to justice the authors and distributors of the textbook?

– What to do after de-occupation, how to reintegrate youth and children. Strategy from the Ukraine President’s Mission in the AR of Crimea.

For reference: On September 1, a new academic year begins for children from occupied territories. For some, it will be the 10th year, and for others, it will be the second year of living in such circumstances. For all these years, Russia has been using education for propaganda purposes, destroying the Ukrainian identity of children and militarizing them. And school textbooks are an integral tool.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes

Dobrobat volunteers are helping to restore a destroyed school in Romny, Sumy region. They are currently clearing the rubble and repairing the roof of the workshop.

Four people: the school director, her deputy, a secretary, and a librarian died, the school building was destroyed, and the nearby facilities were vandalized as a result of a Russian drone hitting the educational institution on August 23. 

For reference, as of July 2023, according to the Ministry of Education, 180 schools were completely destroyed, and more than 1,300 educational institutions were damaged as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Dobrobat” is a volunteer construction division that helps victims in the urgent restoration of housing and social infrastructure in the de-occupied territories.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Sumy

On August 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Center for Civil Liberties is organizing “VOICES” rally in support of civilian prisoners.

The purpose of this rally is to draw the attention of both the Ukrainian and the global community to the problem of civilians forcibly detained by russia.

The rally will include the following events:

1. A meeting with relatives of civilians detained by russia;

2. Performance by the Actors For Future team, during which actors will show the conditions in which civilians are being kept;

3. Presentation of a brochure containing 50 stories of civilian prisoners, created within the framework of the Prisoners Voice initiative.

Accreditation is required. The rally will take place in Kyiv.

For reference: The Center for Civil Liberties is aware of more than 150 penitentiary facilities in russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine that detain civilians abducted during the occupation without reason. The prisoners were kidnapped from their own homes, on the way to the store or from the workplace.

If journalists are interested in the topics and stories of civilian prisoners and need professional comments, they are welcome to contact the Center for Civil Liberties.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv