Themes by tag: women

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.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

On April 22, courses in computer diagnostics for women who have found themselves in difficult life circumstances will start in Kyiv. In particular, these are women who experienced domestic violence or suffered from war (those who had to leave their homes, lost their jobs, survived the occupation).

A total of 10 participants will be enrolled. During the selection process those with driving experience, basic knowledge of the structure and operation of the car and women planning to connect their work with computer diagnostics were given preferences.

The course is basic and will include one theoretical lesson and two in-depth practical ones.

By prior agreement, on Wednesday (April 24), journalists have the opportunity to cover a practical session at one of the capital’s service stations.

• casualties
• women
• Kyiv

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.

• dead
• military
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

During russia’s initial aggression against Ukraine in 2014, Halyna Klempouz was still a student but quickly immersed herself in volunteer work. In 2016, she decided to enlist in the military, undertaking various roles before specializing in aerial reconnaissance. However, her military service was cut short a year later due to personal tragedy—the loss of her father, and the need to care for her mother. Despite her eagerness to join the fight when full-scale invasion loomed, Halyna made a promise to her boyfriend, a defender of Mariupol, to remain in the rear until his safe return. Unfortunately, he was captured by russian forces alongside fellow Azovstal defenders, redirecting Halyna’s efforts toward advocating for Ukrainian prisoners. Today, she serves as a communication officer for the Association of Azovstal Defender’s Families. 

For reference: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 grueling days, with Ukrainian forces eventually ceasing resistance and surrendering to the enemy on May 20, 2022, resulting in russian occupation.

• women

Soldier Karma, withholding her identity for safety, fled Luhansk in 2014 with her young daughter amidst militant occupation. A routine visit to her parents in 2016 turned into over three years of enemy detainment after she was accused of associating with detained football ultras. Despite her captivity, Karma’s daughter remained with her parents.

Finally, on December 29, 2019, Karma, alongside 75 others, was freed and returned home. Following rehabilitation, she resumed her studies, earning her diploma. A year later, she resolved to enlist in the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

While Karma maintains contact with her family, who still reside in the occupied territory with her daughter, she remains committed to her military service. 

Furthermore, she is stationed on the front lines and open to engaging with journalists online.

• doctors
• military
• prisoners
• women

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.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv

Since the fall of 2019, Nataliia Haietska has been the head of the “Mariupol Zero Waste” initiative group, which includes “Eco Gurt” (eco team) environmental NGO. She has also been an activist in Mariupol. Her activity began with large waste sorting centers in Mariupol. Her team also introduced waste sorting in about 100 housing co-ops of the city. In 2020, the team engaged in environmental education for adults, children and students. They held the first eco-festival in Mariupol and launched a project to implement waste sorting and composting in Mariupol hospitality establishments and parts of Pryazovia area. Their plans were to cover the entire hospitality industry of the region.

Nataliia was caught by russia’s full-scale invasion in Mariupol. She could not leave in the first days because of sick parents. The woman had to survive under the siege for three weeks – under shelling and bombing. Upon receiving help, together with her parents, she was evacuated to Zaporizhia. Then they got to Lviv by evacuation train.

Despite the war, Nataliia together with her colleagues from Kherson in 2022 implemented an international project on making the hospitality sector of Ukraine greener. In 2023 it was scaled up to the current project “Restoration and Modernization of Hospitality Establishments Based on Zero Waste & Climate Friendly Principles for the Sustainable Development of Ukrainian Communities.” 

Nataliia is available for interviews in Lviv offline or online by appointment.

• casualties
• ecology
• occupation
• women
• Lviv

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.

• casualties
• doctors
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women

Maryna and Mykola are both military; they met in 2019 in the army. The woman had two daughters from a previous marriage — Olena and Oleksandra. Mykola also has a daughter named Milana. At first, the family lived in Mariupol, Donetsk region (now the city is occupied), then they moved to Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (now the city is occupied).

The couple served in the Azov brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2020, Mykola resigned from the Azov and joined the Marines. Maryna’s contract ended in November 2021, but she did not want to leave her brothers in arms.

When the full-scale invasion began, Maryna, along with other Azov defenders of Mariupol ended up at the Azovstal plant (i.e. Iron and Steel Works where fierce battles with the enemy took place in the spring of 2022). Mykola wanted to switch with Marina and go to Azovstal instead of her. The woman persuaded him not to do this because at the checkpoint, the russians shot three guys who were on their way to meet their girlfriends, and many others who broke through to the plant went missing. Even then, Maryna understood that she and other military personnel were unlikely to get out of the Azovstal alive. And she asked her husband to take care of her daughters. On May 8, 2022, the woman died in a fire at the Azovstal.

Now Mykola is fighting for the right to adopt his deceased wife’s daughters and give them a happy future. He is purchasing a three-room apartment for the girls in the Kyiv region so they can live together as a family.

With the help of the Children of Heroes Fund, Maryna’s daughters received gifts and visited a rehabilitation camp, which helped them to distract themselves from terrible memories and disturbing thoughts.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped putting up the defense, left Azovstal, and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol was occupied by russia.

The Children of Heroes Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund offers financial aid as well as psychological and legal support. The organization helps these children with education and development until they reach adulthood.

As of the beginning of February, 7,889 wards are under the care of the Fund. Of them, 1,062 are IDPs, 151 children have lost their mother and father, 177 are children with disabilities, and 970 are children from large families. Every week, about 80 children are included in the list of recipients of the fund’s help. Among the fund’s children, 88% are kids of military personnel, while the remaining 12% are civilians.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv

Olha Tymchenko, Head of Communications of Voices of Children Charitable Foundation and children’s writer took a 17-year-old orphan girl, Lera under her care. She was deported by the russians from occupied Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region.

Lera’s town was occupied on the first day of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A year and a half later, the russians announced an evacuation and took 500 children from Nova Kakhovka to occupied Crimea. The girl stayed there for 2 months, until her grandmother managed to take her from there.

Later, Lera returned to Ukraine-controlled territory herself. She went through occupied Melitopol, Berdiansk, Mariupol, and then through russia. She had to go through all that to arrive at the only open checkpoint on the Ukrainian-russian border in Sumy region.

After her return, the girl received consultations from a psychologist at the Voices of Children, where she met Olha Tymchenko.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk with Olha and Lera in Kyiv by prior agreement.

• children
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv