Media Center Ukraine Producer Department

At just 16, Sofiia has lived through more than most her age. When russia’s full-scale invasion forced her family to leave Kyiv, they resettled in Switzerland, where she faced months of loneliness and difficulty adjusting to an unfamiliar culture. Seeking support, she turned to the Voices of Children Foundation, where online counseling sessions helped her manage stress and gradually find her footing in a new community.

For a school project, Sofiia chose to honor a powerful symbol of her homeland: the AN-225 Mriya airplane, the world’s largest cargo plane that was destroyed in the early days of the war. With painstaking effort, she built a model of the aircraft by hand, measuring 113 by 110 centimeters. When she unveiled it at a school presentation, Sofiia spoke to classmates, teachers, and parents about the war in Ukraine and the hardships children endure under constant russian attacks. She appealed to the Swiss community to donate and stand with Ukrainians in need.

Her project grew into something bigger. Determined to expand her effort, Sofiia launched a large-scale fundraiser to support children most affected by the war. Ukrainian businesses soon took notice. Inspired by her initiative, the Voices of Children Foundation partnered with SkyUp Airlines and the jewelry brand Kochut to launch a charity drive aiming to raise 500,000 hryvnias (about USD 12,500). Proceeds will fund vital psychological support for children in frontline regions who have lived through the trauma of war.

Journalists can arrange online interviews with Sofiia, as well as speak with representatives of the Voices of Children Foundation in Kyiv.

• children
• culture

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

Crimea-born artist Kateryna Tutierova, has transformed a soldering iron into an unlikely tool of artistry. Born in Bakhchisarai, she entered university in 2014, the year russia annexed the peninsula. Tutierova wanted to transfer to the mainland, but as a minor, she needed her parents’ consent, which they refused to give. Three years later, she graduated with a russian diploma and moved straight to Kyiv.

In Kyiv, she earned a second bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s in cultural studies from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, before starting a career in social media management. But after russia launched its full-scale invasion, Tutierova came across an online video demonstrating how to make jewelry with a soldering iron. Intrigued, she borrowed one from a friend, picked up the basics, and began experimenting. By March of that year, she had sold her first piece.

Today, Tutierova works with an alloy of tin and copper, metals that are both environmentally friendly and safe to wear. She began with earrings and chokers, then expanded into larger pieces such as handbags and paintings. Her bold, sculptural designs have since appeared on Fashion Week runways and on Ukrainian celebrities featured in magazines and music videos. Last year, singers Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona performed at the Eurovision Song Contest wearing her creations.

Tutierova named her brand Sfurato,  a word she once misspelled during a university class. What started as a personal experiment has grown into a distinctive label defined by resilience, artistry, and reinvention. 

Those interested in her work can reach her online or arrange an appointment in Kyiv.

• culture
• women
• Kyiv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

At 23, Artem Yerokhin has taken on a mission that blends endurance with compassion. Once employed by a humanitarian organization, he lost his job after U.S. funding was cut. Instead of standing still, he decided to set out on foot across Ukraine.

Yerokhin mapped out a 1,200-kilometer route from Dnipro, a major city in central Ukraine, to Uzhhorod, a city in the country’s far west bordering Slovakia, and launched a charitable initiative called Spilnokrok, to raise one million hryvnias for wounded Ukrainian soldiers. 

Eighty-four days into his journey, he has already walked more than 2,000 kilometers and collected 350,000 hryvnias. Much of that support, he notes, has come in the form of cash donations along the way, something he hadn’t expected. Funds raised will help provide treatment, prosthetics, and rehabilitation for soldiers injured in combat.

Yerokhin pushes himself to cover roughly 30 kilometers a day. He says the physical challenge pales beside his motivation: supporting those who sacrificed their health in the war.

People can meet with him in person along his route to Uzhhorod, or reach out to him online by appointment to learn more about his effort.

• volunteers

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.

Peaceful demonstrations will take place in 29 cities across Ukraine to draw attention to the plight of Azovstal defenders and other service members who remain in enemy captivity.

On September 13, rallies will be held in Lviv, Arbuzynka, Pivdenoukrainske, Okhtyrka, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Bila Tserkva, Pavlohrad, Shpola, Volochysk, and Poltava.

On September 14, events are scheduled in Kyiv, Krolevets, Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, Obukhiv, Irpin, Ovruch, Cherkasy, Uzhhorod, Dolynska, Berdychiv, Lozova, Kropyvnytskyi, Shostka, Odesa, and Chernivtsi.

The rallies are organized by families of prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison. Ukrainians who have been released from captivity frequently take part, standing in solidarity with those still held.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

If you are interested in this topic, you can obtain the subjects’ contacts from the Producer Department of Media Center Ukraine.