Themes by tag: Zaporizhzhia

Azat Azatyan has become a displaced person three times in his life. As a child, he moved with his family from Armenia; in 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region; and in 2022, he found himself under occupation in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk, feeding people waiting in lines at checkpoints and helping them evacuate to Ukraine-controlled territories.

This work angered the russian military, who subsequently abducted Azat. He was held in captivity for 43 days and subjected to torture. Only thoughts of his wife and three children helped Azat survive the abuse. After escaping the occupied area and undergoing medical treatment, he chose to continue helping those in need, opening 11 centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In 2025, alongside other civilians who survived captivity, he founded the “Way of the Free” rehabilitation center in Zaporizhzhia for those who suffered in confinement. The center provides psychological and legal assistance free of charge, as well as physical rehabilitation sessions. Additionally, this summer, the NGO presented a documentary about captives titled “Fire Does Not Burn the Fierce.” The film compiles the stories of seven civilians who survived russian captivity.

Azat Azatyan is available for interviews both online and offline in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

Azat Azatian has been uprooted three times in his life. As a child, he left Armenia with his family. In 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region. And in 2022, he once again found himself under occupation, this time in Berdiansk, in the Zaporizhia region.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk. He brought food to people stranded for hours at checkpoints and helped civilians evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory. That work drew the attention of russian forces. Azat was abducted, held in captivity for 43 days, and subjected to torture. He later said that thoughts of his wife and three children were what allowed him to endure the ordeal.

After managing to leave the occupied territory and undergo medical treatment, Azat chose not to retreat into private life. Instead, he returned to helping others. He went on to open 11 assistance centers for displaced people, providing support to those who, like him, had lost their homes and sense of security.

In 2025, alongside other civilians who had survived captivity, Azat co-founded the Way of the Freeman rehabilitation center in Zaporizhia. The center focuses on people who endured detention and abuse, offering free psychological counseling, legal support, and physical recovery sessions.

Azat Azatian is available to speak with people seeking support both online and in person in Zaporizhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

Vadym Shevchenko was living with his parents in Polohy, a city in the Zaporizhia region, when russian forces seized it in early March 2022. As explosions shook their neighborhood, the family sheltered in the basement of their home, hoping the fighting would pass.

Just two weeks later, on March 15, 2022, the 25-year-old and a neighbor attempted to flee the occupied city. According to the woman who was with him, armed men in uniforms of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic stopped their car at the final checkpoint and pulled Vadym out. His mother, Olena, believes his lifelong burn scars on his hands led the occupiers to mistakenly suspect he was a soldier.

He was first detained in Melitopol and later transferred to facilities in Donetsk and Olenivka. Today, he is being held in a penal colony in Mordovia, russia. Olena sends letters through the International Committee of the Red Cross and has received two replies from her son. 

She has also learned that he has lost about 30 kilograms during his imprisonment.

Determined to help others facing hardship, Olena now volunteers with the charity “World. Ukraine. Polohy,” supporting families in frontline communities with food assistance.

Interviews with Olena can be arranged in Zaporizhia, in Kyiv, or remotely.

• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Zaporizhzhia

Journalists are invited to cover a special “Lesson in Caring” on December 9 at an underground school in Zaporizhia, offering a safe space for children to learn the power of empathy even amid wartime conditions.

Organized by the Academy of Care in partnership with the Presidential Advisor on Children’s Rights and the Zagoriy Foundation, the lesson, titled “Create a Miracle for Someone Else: Giving Tuesday and the Culture of Charity,” aims to show that caring is a superpower accessible to everyone. It emphasizes that charity extends beyond financial support, encompassing time, attention, and meaningful action.

Tetiana Melnykova, communications manager at the Zagoriy Foundation, will lead the session, guiding children through practical exercises that illustrate the culture of giving. Students will play the “Kindness Meter” game to identify areas where they can help, ranging from animal welfare to supporting friends, and hear the story of A Little Carrot, a character who discovers that empathy can be more powerful than any magic.

The event offers journalists the opportunity to witness how interactive activities and games are shaping a generation for whom kindness and support are second nature.

The program includes:

– A tour of the underground school, showcasing learning conditions during the war.

– An “Lesson in Caring” public lecture for fourth-grade students.

– A press conference and interaction with speakers and organizers.

A separate press release detailing the lesson “Create a Miracle for Someone Else: Giving Tuesday and the Culture of Charity” will also be available for journalists.

• children
• Zaporizhzhia

Maksym Kharkivskyi is a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier serving in the Zaporizhzhia sector. In the spring of 2023, a bull found its way to his position. His comrades sent a message: “You have visitors”, and the soldier saw the animal walking along a mined path towards them. That same day, Maksym and a comrade evacuated the bull, named Martyn, to a safe location. Maksym started posting videos with the animal on TikTok, and Martyn became popular.

Shortly after, the soldier’s comrades rescued a wild boar: the animal had been injured by enemy shelling. Maksym took the boar in and named her Mashka. After recovering, she became a social media star alongside Martyn. A malnourished roe deer, found in a Kyiv forest, also joined “Maksym’s Ark”, as the soldier calls his animal farm. The young animal had lost its mother, so caring people fed it from a bottle and later contacted Maksym for help.

Thanks to the animals’ popularity on TikTok, Maksym manages to meet his unit’s needs — the soldier hosts live streams to raise funds. Over five streams, he managed to raise enough to purchase 100,000 hryvnias worth of drones. Maksym calls his animals military volunteers. He hopes that after the war, people will visit the farm to meet the animals and learn their stories.

Interviews with Maksym Kharkivskyi can be arranged online or in person, by prior appointment.

• animals
• military
• Zaporizhzhia

Before the full-scale invasion, Tymur ran his own business selling sauna accessories.

In the first month of the great war, he baked bread for the troops. By December 2022, he joined the 1st Separate Assault Battalion named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo and served in the Dyke Pole reconnaissance company. In September 2023, near Bakhmut, Tymur stepped on a landmine and lost his leg. 

After evacuation, treatment, and rehabilitation, he has been confidently using a prosthetic limb for eight months. He recently underwent another surgery and is currently continuing his recovery.

Tymur is available for interviews online or in-person in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement. On August 24, he will participate in “MOVE ON SPORT: Sunset Swim”, a charity swimming event at a lake near Lviv.

• casualties
• military
• Lviv
• Zaporizhzhia

Oleksii and Tetiana have been together since the start of russia’s annexation of Crimea and its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Nine years ago, Oleksii volunteered for military service, and Tetiana later joined as well.

They were initially mobilized to different units when Tetiana served as a nurse, and Oleksii as an infantryman. Later, both transferred to the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, where they could serve in the same unit.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, the couple was stationed in Mariinka, Donetsk Oblast. There, they began working in medical evacuation: Oleksii drives the vehicle, while Tetiana monitors and assists wounded soldiers during transport.

They note that serving together brings both increased stress and greater responsibility.

Meetings with Oleksii and Tetiana can be arranged in advance, either online or in person in Zaporizhia.

• military
• women
• Zaporizhzhia

In 2018, Olena Nabokova and a group of friends founded the NGO Ukrainian Womanity in Zaporizhia. At the time, she was also the sole caregiver for her son Sasha, who lived with bronchial asthma. In 2020, Sasha, then 17, went to bed one night and never woke up. Devastated by the loss, Olena turned to a psychiatrist for support, unable to cope on her own.

When russia launched its full-scale invasion, Olena was still in her hometown of Zaporizhia. She immediately began volunteering, transforming her apartment into a hub and storage space for humanitarian aid. “We gathered medicine, batteries for hearing aids, food, hygiene items, anything people with health conditions might need,” she recalls.

As it became clear that the war would not end quickly, Olena expanded her efforts. She launched a Center for Children and Women in Difficult Circumstances. Over time, the focus shifted from emergency relief to long-term support, offering training sessions and educational programs for both adults and children.

Now studying to become a positive psychotherapy therapist, Olena continues her work with renewed purpose. Meetings with her are available both online and in person in Zaporizhia, by appointment.

• casualties
• volunteers
• women
• Zaporizhzhia

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Mykyta Kozachynskyi lived and worked in Dnipro. In 2016, he and his friends launched a Module nightclub, which later evolved into a music label. Kozachynskyi recorded up-and-coming artists and released vinyl records.

On the second day of the war, he reunited with the club’s bartender and administrator at the enlistment point for the 128th Territorial Defense Brigade, known as “Dyke Pole.” They were assigned to the same battalion. Not long after, another co-founder of the club joined their ranks. Following their first combat operations in April 2022, Kozachynskyi and his comrades began forming an eponymous drone unit, Module. Initially focused on aerial reconnaissance, the unit eventually became an assault force.

Today, Kozachynskyi is leading the development of a training center that prepares drone pilots for all five battalions of the brigade. There, service members are trained on existing platforms and introduced to emerging technologies being adopted across the Ukrainian military.

Interviews with Mykyta Kozachynskyi can be arranged in advance, online, or in person in Zaporizhia, with approval from the brigade’s press officer.

• military
• Zaporizhzhia

Before the full-scale invasion, Svitlana worked as an intensive care nurse at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro. In the early days of the war, she joined the Ukrainian military as a combat medic.

In May 2024, her unit was stationed at a stronghold in Donetsk oblast when russian forces surrounded their position. While her comrades held the line, Svitlana grabbed a grenade launcher and maneuvered toward the enemy. She flanked the building where the russians were stationed and fired, eliminating the entire hostile group in one strike.

Her actions allowed Ukrainian forces to conduct a rotation and evacuate personnel from the besieged positions. For her bravery, Svitlana was awarded the Cross of the Land Forces.

Journalists can interview Svitlana online or in person in Zaporizhia, by prior coordination with her press officer.

• doctors
• military
• women
• Zaporizhzhia