Themes by tag: russian crimes

For 15 years, Tetiana Hrek has dedicated her life to teaching karate to both children and adults. Together with her husband, she established a private gym in Bucha, Kyiv region. However, the full-scale invasion changed everything. When the war erupted, Tetiana and her family found themselves trapped under occupation. During this harrowing time, their gym was looted by invaders, and their home came under fire.

After two weeks of living under occupation, Tetiana and her family managed to escape to territory controlled by Ukraine. It wasn’t until a year later that she felt ready to return to Bucha. In her absence, fellow coaches who had remained in the city took it upon themselves to restore the gym and resume classes for children. When Tetiana finally returned, she was welcomed back by eager students waiting to train with her again. Additionally, a public martial arts school in Bucha reopened, and she was invited to join as an instructor.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

On August 7, Kyiv will host the inauguration of the “Alley of Unbreakable Cities,” an exhibition organized by Dobrobat. Sculptor Jan-Pavlo Roman, the exhibition’s creator, describes it as a tribute to the remarkable strength and resilience of Ukrainian cities subjected to russian missile attacks over the past two and a half years.

The exhibition will showcase columns, each dedicated to a different Ukrainian city that has endured the aggressor’s strikes. These columns are adorned with fragments of missiles that have struck buildings, transforming deadly remnants into symbols of defiance, resistance, and renewal. The notches on the columns represent the number of missiles that have targeted each city.

This exhibition serves not only as a memorial to the war’s victims but also as an expression of solidarity and gratitude toward cities that have steadfastly resisted occupation and continue to fight back.

For reference: Dobrobat is a volunteer building division focused on the urgent restoration of housing and infrastructure in areas recently liberated from occupation.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On August 7, a peaceful rally titled “russia Kills in Captivity” will take place in Kyiv. 

The event seeks to remind the public of the tragic reality that russia is responsible for the deaths of both civilians and prisoners of war from Ukraine. 

Over the past two and a half years, more than 160 bodies of Ukrainian defenders, showing signs of torture, have been returned from captivity.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has been invited to participate in the event.

For reference: The march is organized by the Association “Strength of the Marine Corps,” the NGO “Faithful Always 2022,” the NGO “Union of Prisoner of War Families of the 501,” and the NGO “Condemned but not Forgotten.”

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Aiden Aslin, originally from the UK, never served in the British military. His journey into conflict began in 2015, when, at 21, he traveled to Syria and spent a year and a half there. 

His interest in Ukraine led him to follow events in the East, and in 2018, he enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the 137th Marine Battalion of the 35th Brigade. He later transferred to the 1st Battalion of the 36th Marine Brigade, where he served for nearly four years. Aslin found himself in Mariupol during the full-scale invasion, where his unit was encircled for over a month. Captured by russian forces, he endured six months in captivity, during which he faced allegations of mercenarism, terrorism, and attempting to overthrow Donetsk’s “constitutional order,” leading to a death sentence. Subjected to torture, he despaired of ever returning home.

In September 2022, Aslin was released in a prisoner swap. After receiving psychological support in the UK, he has returned to Ukraine and now serves with the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. 

Aslin is available for interviews by prior arrangement, both online and in person.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes

Tamara Koriahina and her husband, Serhii Mykhailenko, both hail from Mariupol. In 2019, Serhii enlisted in the Azov unit, which has since been absorbed into Ukraine’s National Guard.

When the full-scale invasion began, Serhii, who had been training in the Lviv region, returned to Mariupol to defend their home. Meanwhile, Tamara endured the relentless russian shelling, struggling to survive in the besieged city.

On March 18, 2022, Tamara managed to escape. She later discovered that, in early April, Serhii had suffered a shrapnel wound. Tragically, he was unable to undergo surgery due to a shortage of medical supplies.

Tamara last heard from her husband on May 16, 2022: he informed her that he had received orders to surrender and added, “See you soon, get ready for the wedding.” Tamara says this message has sustained her for the past three years. During this period, she has not received any letters from him and has only seen him in russian propaganda videos. She is convinced that her husband is being tortured in the Polar Wolf penal colony in Siberia, where he is currently held. Before being transferred there, Serhii underwent an illegal trial in occupied Donetsk and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In June 2024, Tamara joined a delegation of POWs’ wives who appealed to the Pope for assistance in securing the release of Ukrainians unlawfully detained in russia. 

Tamara Koriahina resides in Dnipro. Serhii Mykhailenkos’s wife is willing to speak with journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Dnipro

On July 30, Media Center Ukraine will host a presentation of a report on the enforced disappearance of civilians — one of the crimes committed by russia in the occupied territories. It is a practice when the state or its agents arrest a person without due process or simply kidnap them. Victims cannot speak to a lawyer or relatives and are usually instead of prison or detention center they are held in a location where they can’t rely on the protection of the law.

The T4P initiative managed to identify 5,340 victims of enforced disappearances and filed submissions to the International Criminal Court as well as summaries to the UN Working Group, substantiating that russia deliberately and systematically uses this practice, mostly by persecuting people who have a pro-Ukrainian position, have served in the Ukrainian army, police or civil service.

Participants:

• Hanna Ovdiienko — a lawyer, Co-Author of the report,
• Mykola Komarovskyi — a lawyer of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, Co-Author of the report,
• Oleksandra Romantsova — Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties

Prior accreditation is required.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 28, a charity run to support Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital Okhmatdyt will be held in Kyiv to commemorate the Medical Workers’ Day.

The goal of the race is to help the hospital recover from the russian missile attack on July 8, 2024 by collecting UAH 1 million.

For reference: As a result of the russian attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital on July 8, 2024, two people died. 32 injured people sought medical help.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• doctors
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 28, Kyiv will unveil the exhibition “OLENIVKA: The Quintessence of Cruelty,” marking the second anniversary of the Olenivka terrorist attack. This event, organized in collaboration with the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, aims to highlight the suffering endured by Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The exhibition’s opening coincides with an action organized by the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families, which has been holding weekly demonstrations across Ukrainian cities. Their posters, featuring slogans such as “They saved us, now we have to save them” and “Fight for them as they fought for us,” call for support for prisoners of war and missing persons under the #FREEAZOVSTALDEFENDERS campaign.

Journalists planning to attend the exhibition must register in advance.

Additionally, on the same day, Kyiv will host a requiem event titled “Olenivka – pain that will never go away.”

For context: The attack occurred on the night of July 29, 2022, when the russian federation targeted a barracks at the Olenivka penal colony, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Azovstal defenders and injuring over a hundred.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 24, Media Center Ukraine will hold a press conference entitled: “Missing 16 Sailors: The Fate of the Crews from the Sunken ‘Sloviansk’ and ‘Stanislav’ Boats.” Two Ukrainian ships sank in the spring of 2022 following missile strikes by the russian forces in the Black Sea. Some of the sailors were saved. The fate of 16 remains unknown. For two years, the United by the Sea NGO, founded by the families of missing sailors, has been collecting information about how the ships went down. However, there is still no information about what happened to the 16 sailors. At the same time, some unofficial reports have started circulating claiming that the sailors were captured by the russians.

During the press conference, representatives of the families of the missing sailors, the Navy Command and the Media Initiative for Human Rights will talk about the search for the crews, attempts to reach the boats, cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Maritime Coalition led by the UK and Norway.

Participants:

– Olesia Aulina, Head of the United by the Sea NGO, wife of the missing Damir Aulina, commander of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”;

– Tetiana Sherishorina, mother of the missing Nikita Sherishorin, sailor of the patrol boat “Sloviansk”;

– Olena Bieliachkova, Coordinator for Groups of Families of Prisoners of War at Media Initiative for Human Rights;

– Andrii Ursol, Captain (First Rank), Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy for Moral and Psychological Support, Department Head. 

For reference: The Sloviansk sank on March 3, 2022, in the area between the Kinburn and Tendra spits, 2 km from the coast. The vessel was the first combat casualty of the Ukrainian Navy during russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Stanislav sank on May 7, 2022, 20 meters from Snake Island, it now lies at a depth of about 20 meters.

Pre-registration is required.

• casualties
• military
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On July 28, Kyiv will host a requiem event entitled “Olenivka – pain that will not go away.” The organizers invite everyone to commemorate the brave and loyal heroes of Ukraine who went through the defense of Mariupol with dignity. The enemy could not defeat all of them on the battlefield, and on the night of July 29, 2022, the adversary made a despicable act and blew up almost 200 Azov soldiers in the colony in occupied Olenivka.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days, 82 of them – completely besieged. From May 16 to 20, 2022, the Mariupol garrison carried out the order to stop the defense of the city and go into captivity.

On the night of July 29, 2022, the russian federation committed a terrorist attack, setting off an explosion in the barracks of the penal colony in Olenivka, which housed Ukrainian prisoners of war. At least 50 defenders of Azovstal were killed in the act.

• casualties
• dead
• military
• russian crimes
• Kyiv