Themes by tag: russian crimes
Viktoriia Didovets, a charge nurse in the Intensive and Efferent Therapy Department for Acute Intoxication at the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt, was injured during a missile strike on the hospital on July 8, 2024. As the attack unfolded, she was evacuating children on dialysis to a shelter when a missile struck the building.
By the time Viktoriia was rushed to the operating room, her pulse was barely detectable. She was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, an open hip fracture, a ruptured liver, and injuries to her face and ear. For more than eight months, she has been undergoing treatment, determined to regain a full life.
By prior arrangement, Viktoriia is available for interviews in Kyiv or online.
Background: On July 8, 2024, a russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were inside. The strike killed two people – a doctor and a patient’s relative – while injuring 35 others, including nine children. On July 10, a boy who had been in critical condition in intensive care at the time of the attack succumbed to his injuries in a Kyiv hospital.
Yevhen Spirin, originally from the Luhansk oblast, studied at the Academy of Internal Affairs (leaving after two years) and later pursued philosophy at university. Eventually, he worked in a morgue and a funeral home.
In 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity, he became a freelance correspondent for a Kyiv-based media outlet in Luhansk. Yevhen documented everything happening in the city, which had become a target of russian hybrid aggression. After receiving threats due to his work, he relocated to Kyiv and continued his media career.
Following the liberation of Bucha, a friend called Yevhen and asked for help identifying the bodies of civilians murdered by russian forces. For a year and a half, he was involved in exhumations and the identification process. Afterward, he enlisted in the National Guard of Ukraine.
There, he took on the role of a “nursing sister” – since, as he explains, the military does not officially recognize the title of “nurse” for men. Yevhen now assists the wounded while writing a book about how people unexpectedly find themselves in the military and discover their purpose there.
Yevhen Spirin is available for interviews online or in-person in Kyiv by prior arrangement.
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.
