Themes by tag: women

The founder of Repower charitable foundation, Maryna Sadykova, was an event organizer before the full-scale invasion. After February 24, 2022, her team began to help the military. Due to active volunteer work, the woman began to feel psychological exhaustion and constant anxiety. So, she went to the Carpathians to recover. This experience prompted Maryna to start a program of psychological support: at first, she wanted to help military volunteers like her, but the financial resources of the foundation were limited. That’s why the team decided to focus on medics who save the lives of soldiers at the front, and the Repower project was founded in Kyiv to restore the mental health of Ukrainian combat medics. Maryna’s team created a sustainable program of psychological support – a 10-day retreat in Sweden. Together with medics, Ukrainian psychologists go abroad as well. The 10-day program consists of psychological exercises, individual sessions, group meetings, art therapy, music therapy, etc. As of now, the charitable foundation has managed to organize 3 trips for 300 participants.

• doctors
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women

Antonina Demydenko lived with her son in Vuhledar, Donetsk region. (Her son was disabled, so Antonina took care of him).

On May 13, 2022, the enemy shell hit her apartment resulting in Antonina’s son’s death. The woman lost a leg and an arm.

Antonina is currently undergoing rehabilitation in the ergonomic therapeutic kitchen in the Superhumans Center in Lviv. She makes cookies and buns with one hand, then she treats the team with them.

Superhumans plans to publish a book of Antonina’s recipes in the near future (the initiative is implemented in cooperation with famous chef Olga Martynovska). Royalties from sales of this book will go to Antonina.

Meanwhile, the woman dreams of returning to Vuhledar to rebury her son, whose body was buried near the entrance to their building.

For reference: Vuhledar is a small mining town in Donetsk region that had about 15,000 residents before russia’s full-scale invasion. For a year and a half, the russian army continuously tried to capture the city. There is not a single building left standing in Vuhledar anymore.

• casualties
• women
• Lviv

On February 21, an interactive presentation of the photo project entitled “Stronger than the Elements” will take place in Kyiv. The event will include a presentation of an art calendar featuring servicewomen (including those released from captivity), veterans, doctors, volunteers and more.

Twelve Ukrainian women who took part in “Stronger than the Elements” photo project are depicted as various natural phenomena. In addition to the four main elements — water, fire, earth, and air — the women personify lava, downpour, avalanche, thunder, lightning, wind, and other formidable natural phenomena.

For example, some of the participants of the photo project include: “Lava” — Valeria “Nava” Subotina, defender of Mariupol, writer; “Lightning” — Dzvenyslava Sira, medical curator of the “Azov” Patronage Service, soldier of the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine; “Hurricane” — Natalia Nahorna, military correspondent of TSN, 1+1 TV channel and others.

The initiative to bring these women together for a joint project belongs to Anna Murashenko, Founder of the YOUkraine Charitable Foundation.

The women who took part in the photo project, volunteers, soldiers and representatives of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War will take part in the event.

Funds from the sale of the charity calendar will be spent to purchase drones for the 72nd Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians.

The event requires accreditation.

• culture
• military
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Svitlana Oleksandrenko, a senior inspector on duty at Police Station No. 1 in Korop village within the Novhorod-Siverskyi district police department in Chernihiv region, has taken on the responsibility of caring for five orphaned children amidst the ongoing conflict. Balancing her duty in daily patrols with the care of her own seven children, Oleksandrenko and her husband Serhii became foster parents to three orphans—two brothers and a sister—a year before the outbreak of full-scale war.

As the Ukrainian Defense Forces pushed back the Russian invasion from the northern regions of the country, two more girls, Katrusia and Sofiika from the Liubech community bordering Belarus, were welcomed into the Oleksandrenko family. Tragically, these girls lost their mother, who had been raising them alone, in June 2022. Upon learning of their situation from social workers, Svitlana and Serhiy wasted no time in extending their care to the sisters.

For reference: Ukraine’s troops retook the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions from Russian occupation on April 2, 2022, though the Russians had previously held approximately two-thirds of the Chernihiv region.

• children
• women

The “Bagira” kids and youth sports school, once a prominent Ukrainian women’s futsal and soccer club, faced glory in pre-war times, clinching championships and accolades in nationwide tournaments while competing in the Ukrainian Futsal Premier League. Now, those who stayed in the team now find themselves grappling with the aftermath of infrastructure destruction, compelling its members to train outdoors amidst the absence of basic amenities such as heating and electricity. 

Despite these adversities, with the youngest member being just 13 years old, the youth’s passion for soccer remains unwavering. Oleksandr Reznikov, a seasoned head coach in women’s soccer and futsal in Donetsk Oblast manages the team. 

Nevertheless, financial constraints pose a significant obstacle, hindering their ability to partake in competitions as they did before.

For reference: the town of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, situated perilously close to the front line, endured occupation from late May to early October 2022, leaving 85% of its housing stock either destroyed or damaged. Once home to over 20 thousand residents, the town’s population now stands at approximately 5 thousand inhabitants remaining.

• children
• women

Olesia Korzhenevska is a producer and volunteer who has been taking care of the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers since 2014 when Russia unleashed its first attack on Ukraine.

With the full-blown war outbreak, Olesia’s beloved bound for the frontline, and she took up supporting military units this time again. Now she travels to the frontline position every month to deliver another batch of aid and see her significant other.

The whole thing started with Olesia’s friend’s interest in joining the military, but having no clue what to expect, he found himself quite puzzled. His lack of understanding with the army issue inspired her to start the school. The woman wondered how many other potential enlistees in Ukraine were both willing and afraid to join the army. So Olesia decided to set up a school that would make people absolutely love the Armed Forces affairs. The idea was supported by Olesia’s military friends. And within a few days, the results beat expectations, bringing so many people willing to study leaving the business owner unsure about whether it’ll be possible to accept everyone. The “school of gentle military mobilization,” as Olesia calls her initiative, covers several disciplines: the theory and practice of drone control, tactical medicine, and close combat techniques. The school offers online and offline training sessions delivered by the military personnel of various service branches, including intelligence officers, assault troops, and infantry. Olesia explains that “Zesykas 9 ¾” (the diminutive word for Armed Forces of Ukraine service members) is not about joining army ranks, but an opportunity to learn about military jobs and various military occupational specialties, recruits are more interested in qualifying for when enlisting in the military in the future.

For reference: February 24, 2024, Ukraine marks 2 years since Russia commenced its unprovoked criminal full-scale invasion. This attack was the culmination of the initial war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for 10 years. This armed conflict was ignited on February 20, 2014. Back then, Russians invaded the territory of Ukrainian Crimea giving no obvious sign of its covert military operation in the now-occupied peninsula. After that, Russia started a war in Ukraine’s east.

• volunteers
• women

Agnieszka has worked as a guide in the Biebrza National Park in Poland for 15 years. The woman has 4 children (the youngest is 5 years old, and the oldest is 26). When russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Agnieszka sheltered more than 20 refugees from Ukraine in her apartment in Poland. Particularly, she gave shelter to families with children. People had lived there for several months before they managed to rebuild their lives a little by finding a job or starting to study.

Later, Agnieszka started visiting Ukraine herself: first as a driver for another volunteer, and later she began taking aid to the front. She was in the hottest spots: the Kupiansk, Zaporizhia, Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar sectors. The soldiers she helps have already become her friends. Agnieszka knows who likes coffee and who will be happy to receive candy. The woman brings a wide variety of aid to the frontline — food, medicine, as well as clothes, sleeping bags, charging stations, etc.

• volunteers
• women

With the beginning of the full-scale war, Mykola Volyka, a resident of Lebedyn village in Cherkasy oblast, was approached by a fellow soldier and asked to make 300 staples for his unit. Mykola, who had never dealt with metal before, set up a forge right in his yard. He studied blacksmithing together with his friends, whom he also invited to join in. Later, he involved his fellow villagers to the forge to produce not only staples, but also potbelly stoves, axes, pickaxes, anti-tank hedgehogs and spades.

Tetiana Chepur, now a craftswoman in the forge, says that women actively took up the new activity. And now they are the main workers as a total of five female blacksmiths volunteer at the forge. They often work in the evenings after finishing their day jobs.

Since the forge was created, volunteers managed to make 156,000 staples, 13,000 pickaxes and 10,000 spades.

• volunteers
• women
• Cherkasy

Katrin Zabotkina began learning sign language at the age of 16. As a teenager, Katrin was struck by how a boy with hearing impairments adapted a participant’s song during one of the talent contests. This prompted Katrin to study sign language. She looked for various video lessons, constantly learned new gestures and revised them thousands of times in front of the mirror to improve her skills.

Katrin learned to adapt songs for people with hearing impairment. And in the end, she became the first to provide sign language interpretation for the Ukrainian National Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Katrin spent two days on adapting each of the songs, because she wanted to preserve the meaning of the song, emphasize main musical instruments, work out facial expressions, rhythm, mood and emotions of the piece. The sign language singer plans to continue adapting songs for people with hearing impairment.

• women
• Kyiv

Prior to the full-blown enemy invasion, Violetta Oliinyk used to make custom jewelry. The girl’s life changed on February 24, 2022, when her father and brother volunteered for mobilization to the Defense Forces. Violetta recalled her experience as a volunteer in 2014, when Russia first attacked Ukraine and her brother stood up to defend the country. So she started setting up fundraising, buying everything the service members needed, including drones, thermal imagers, tile carriers, sights, and cars.

Later, she decided to try to build a drone herself, as purchasing them does not come cheap. For that, Violetta took two free online courses that taught her how to assemble FPV drones, passed a theory exam, ordered the first parts, and equipped a small workshop in Chernivtsi. Nine of Violetta’s FPV drones are already eliminating the occupiers at the front. She recently assembled four more, which she sent to her brother, and soon six more will be ready for her father. The craftswoman says she get inspired by the military’s feedback and videos of her “birds” in use.

• volunteers
• women
• Chernivtsi