Themes by tag: russian crimes
Anatolii Levchenko, a prominent figure in Mariupol’s theater scene, who in 2015 spearheaded a new era of contemporary Ukrainian theater at the city’s renowned theater, previously labeled as a “russian” theater. Levchenko, along with his wife Hanna, cared for their non-verbal autistic son and his wife’s 90-year-old mother. When russian forces launched an offensive on Mariupol, the Levchenko family found themselves unable to evacuate promptly. While they successfully arranged their release in May 2022, Anatolii’s freedom was short-lived. He was apprehended by russian authorities the day prior, following betrayal by former colleagues turned collaborators.
Initially left in the dark about her husband’s whereabouts, Hanna later discovered he had been charged with extremism and transferred to occupied Donetsk. Over more than 10 grueling months, she tirelessly sent clothing, medications, and messages to the detention center. Occasionally, Anatolii would manage to call her, often in the dead of night. Throughout this ordeal, Hanna single-handedly cared for their autistic son, scrounging for food and water, and cooking meals over an open fire with the help of neighbors.
On March 9, 2023, Hanna’s phone finally rang with news of Anatolii’s impending release. However, his nearly year-long confinement had taken a toll on his health. In the summer of 2023, the family seized the opportunity to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory, finding refuge in Kropyvnytskyi, Kirovohrad region. Despite the hardships, Anatolii resumed his theater work.
For reference: The battle for Mariupol raged on for 86 harrowing days until May 20, 2022, when russian forces seized control of the city. Human Rights Watch’s grim assessment puts the civilian death toll from russian shelling at a staggering 8,000, with thousands more left maimed and traumatized. Many suffered life-altering injuries, including loss of limbs, sight, hearing, or memory, often due to traumatic brain injuries inflicted by relentless explosions. By mid-May 2022, an estimated 400,000 residents, out of a pre-war population of 540,000, had fled Mariupol in search of safety.
The future Mykolaiv School No. 48 will become one of the most modern educational institutions in the south of Ukraine. Before the war, 690 children had studied here, and after the reconstruction, its capacity will double to 1,326 students. According to the architects, the top priorities of the team working on the project were energy efficiency, a human-centered approach and the ergonomic design.
The territory of the new school is to be 17,500 square meters, and its building is designed for 49 classrooms. The premises will also have 3 open classrooms in gazebos with solar panels for conducting master classes in the open air, a greenhouse for growing plants and recreation areas for junior and senior schoolchildren. The architects also plan to add solar thermal collectors and heat pumps. The school will have a well functioning as its water source. Laboratories, conference halls and workshops, as well as several gyms, a museum of local history and a museum of military and patriotic education are all part of the school building design. The school will have a shelter with control and engineering rooms, bathrooms and inclusive infrastructure.
All this will become possible if the city manages to collect the necessary funds. Therefore, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine brokered the signing of a memorandum between the Mykolaiv City Council and the American Sweetanok Foundation. Sweetanok raises funds for the Ukrainian front, but the management and employees of the foundation have always dreamed of the opportunity to help children.
On March 22, 2022, near Izyum in the Kharkiv region, russian forces shot down an SU-24M plane piloted by Oleksii Kovalenko and navigator Serhii Verbytskyi. While Verbytskyi managed to survive and reach an evacuation point, he remained unaware of his partner’s fate. Major Kovalenko was initially considered missing due to the russian occupation of the area. It wasn’t until the liberation of the Kharkiv region that it was confirmed Kovalenko had been killed, allowing his family closure. In 2023, both Serhii Verbytskyi and Oleksii Kovalenko were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
In October 2022, the Museum of War spearheaded an expedition into the reclaimed territories of the Kharkiv region, aiming to gather artifacts and immortalize russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. Among the items collected were fuel tanks, flight instruments, and a parachute from the downed plane, along with personal effects donated by Oleksii Kovalenko’s family. Retrieving the wreckage initially seemed improbable.
However, this year, Viacheslav Skoriak, an officer of the 10th Army Corps, in collaboration with the Come Back Alive Foundation, orchestrated the transfer of the legendary Su-24M bomber to the Museum. The aircraft is now prominently showcased at the Memorial Complex.
Journalists are invited to witness the plane wreckage and other recovered war relics, access expedition photos, and engage in discussions with its participants.
In the early days of the all-out war, russian forces seized control of Krasiatychi village in the Kyiv region, where Nadiia Smyrnova resided. Nadiia, alongside her mother and 9-year-old son Sashko, remained in the village. The invaders ransacked their home, even attempting to detonate a grenade, putting the family’s lives at risk. Sashko’s grandmother bravely intervened, shielding her loved ones from harm, despite facing the barrel of russian machine guns. Surviving nearly a month under occupation, the ordeal left a lasting impact on Sashko, who vividly recalls the harrowing experiences shared with his mother and grandmother.
At the onset of the full-blown war, Sashko’s father voluntarily served in defense of Ukraine. Tragically, on August 29, 2022, he fell victim to a russian mine in the Donetsk region. Now, the family receives support from the Children of Heroes charity foundation.
Journalists seeking to interview Nadiia in the Kyiv region must arrange it in advance.
For reference: As of April 2, 2022, the Kyiv region has been completely liberated from russian occupation.
Children of Heroes Charity Fund aids youngsters who’ve lost one or both parents due to russia’s large-scale invasion, offering financial aid, psychological and legal assistance, and fostering their educational and personal growth until adulthood.
Svitlana Trubachova is from Luhansk region. She is the mother of two children: 11-year-old Ihor and 5-year-old Polina. Svitlana’s husband, Volodymyr, served in Ukraine’s Border Guard Service for 18 years. The last time the woman saw her beloved was on February 24, 2022, when he left for work. And at the beginning of March, Troitske village, where the family lived, was occupied by russian troops. The russian soldiers started coming to Svitlana’s house, took the woman away for questioning, and even searched her. They also burned down all the clothes of her husband.
On April 13, 2022, Volodymyr died near Lysychansk. He was buried in Dnipro, and Svitlana could not even go to the funeral, because she was in the occupied territory. She managed to leave Luhansk region only in the summer, and the first thing she did was visit her husband’s grave. And then she went to Kyiv with her children.
Currently, Svitlana works at a center that helps children with autism spectrum disorders. She entered the university and is studying to become a psychologist. Svitlana also runs fundraisers for the Border Guard Service, because she wants other parents to return to their children.
By prior agreement, journalists have the opportunity to talk with Svitlana in Kyiv.
For reference: The Children of Heroes Charity Fund takes care of this family. The fund helps children who lost one or both parents as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund also provides financial assistance, psychological and legal support, facilitates education and development of children until they reach adulthood.
Before the full-scale war, Olha Leus worked at an administrative service center in Mariupol. She was raising two sons: They are 10-year-old Hera and 16-year-old Mykhailo. Olha’s husband Volodymyr worked at the Azov Shipyard, and shortly before February 24, 2022, at the port.
Despite the escalating concerns about wider war, the family initially chose to remain in Mariupol, hoping for a swift expulsion of the invaders. However, as the situation worsened and the city became blockaded, evacuation became impossible.
Olha experienced relentless russian shelling and bombing for 11 consecutive days, culminating in tragedy on March 20, 2022, when her younger son sustained injuries from an enemy shell hitting their home, leaving him with leg wounds. A week later, her husband tragically passed away after leaving the house and never returning. His body was discovered by his mother-in-law and laid to rest in a local green space that once served as a sports ground.
It wasn’t until April 15, 2022, that Olha and her family were able to escape Mariupol. Following their displacement, the Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation stepped in to provide support, with Olha eventually joining as a specialist in aiding affected families. Meanwhile, her eldest son aspires to become a psychotherapist, aiming to assist those scarred by the horrors of war.
Journalists seeking to speak with Olha can arrange interviews in the Kyiv region.
For reference: After enduring 86 days of fierce defense, Mariupol fell under russian occupation on May 20, 2022. Human Rights Watch reports a staggering civilian death toll of at least 8,000 due to russian shelling, with thousands more suffering life-altering injuries, including amputations, blindness, deafness, and memory loss, often stemming from traumatic brain injuries caused by explosions. By mid-May 2022, approximately 400,000 residents had fled Mariupol, significantly reducing the pre-war population of 540,000.
In the wake of this devastation, the Children of Heroes organization steps in to aid children who have lost one or both parents in the war. The foundation offers financial assistance, psychological and legal support, and advocates for the education and development of these children as they transition into adulthood.
Olha was an operating room nurse at the Department of Surgery in Hospital No. 555 in Mariupol. Russia’s full-scale invasion caught her while in Mariupol: she was helping to rescue wounded soldiers and civilians (including children). At that time, the medics did not even have time to sleep.
The enemy bomb hit the hospital on March 16, 2022. (The woman was in the operating room at the moment of the attack. The blast wave blew away her and her colleagues). The next day, the nurse was sent to the Ilich Iron and Steel Works together with other doctors. Under extremely tough conditions, in a bunker, they had to do, among other things, bandages and amputations, and doctors even performed open brain neurosurgery.
On April 12, 2022, the nurse and other doctors were taken prisoner. Olha was held in occupied Olenivka, Russian Taganrog, Valuiky, and Kursk, among other places. She was held in captivity for six months. The woman faced humiliation, interrogations, physical and psychological pressure.
Journalists seeking to interview Olha can reach her either in person in Kyiv.
Haiane Avakian from Bakhmut found out about her destroyed home from photos of the city in the russian social media. Yuliia Mashuta watched a livestream of her house in Severodonetsk burning down after a rocket hit. Currently, these women are a part of the team of the “Sviy Dim” platform, which collects testimonies by people whose property and homes were destroyed by russia.
“Sviy Dim” is a platform for people who are building the foundation of a new life in Ukraine. Over 600 testimonies have already been published. Most of them are from the people who come from the regions of active hostilities (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions as well as others). The platform records russian war crimes related to the destruction of the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine: apartment buildings and detached houses, schools and kindergartens, cultural and sports facilities. Every story is human-centered. Those who lived or worked there share stories of their house, factory or cultural center.
The platform is also creating a database of objects that need restoration. A separate section – reconstruction – tells stories of those who are rebuilding the affected regions right now.
By prior agreement, journalists can talk with Haiane Avakian, Product Development Director of the Abo Agency, who founded the “Sviy Dim” platform, as well as with other people who have shared their testimonies on the platform.
Anastasiia Buhera faced the brutal reality of the full-scale Russian invasion alongside her parents in Izium, Kharkiv region. Originally there on vacation from her studies at a Kharkiv university, Anastasiia witnessed firsthand the devastation wrought by the enemy upon the captured city. She meticulously tracked the relentless bombardment, tallying the number of bombs dropped by Russian forces hourly. Every trip for bread was a perilous gamble, as each outing carried the risk of becoming her last. After a harrowing five months under occupation, Anastasiia managed to escape back to government-controlled territory. Upon her return, she received devastating news: her beloved Kostiantyn, who had been defending Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol since February 2022, had been captured by the enemy. Their last conversation took place on April 24, 2022, when Kostiantyn sent her photos and videos, promising his imminent return. Now, Anastasiia waits anxiously for Kostiantyn’s safe return, tirelessly working to keep the plight of those still held captive by Russian forces in the public eye.
12-year-old Yana Stepanenko, who lost both legs in a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, will take part in the Boston Marathon. On April 13, the girl will run a 5-kilometer distance on prosthetics to show the whole world the indomitability of the Ukrainian people. Another of Yana’s goals in Boston is charity. She will be raising funds for a sports prosthesis for Andrii Kropyvnytskyi, seriously wounded defender and a patient of the Unbroken Center, who lost a limb in the war.
For the past two months, the girl has been training hard to participate in the Boston Marathon. Yana was invited to participate in it by the American foundation One World Strong, which helps veterans and civilians who suffered as a result of terrorist attacks and hostilities.
On April 4, Yana Stepanenko will hold an open training session for the media in Lviv.
The event in Lviv requires registration.
For reference: on April 8, 2022, as a result of a russian terrorist attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, Yana Stepanenko lost both legs. The photo of her being carried by the surgeon of the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital of Lviv’s First Medical Association went viral around the world. Yana received her first prostheses for walking and running in the USA. Last summer, after a year of recovery abroad, she returned to Ukraine. Yana continued her rehabilitation here and already managed to get new artificial limbs for walking from the Unbroken Center’s prosthetic workshops.
The Boston Marathon is one of the largest and most prestigious events in the world. About 30,000 people from all over the world take part in it every year.
