24-year-old Belarusian volunteer soldier killed in action near Bakhmut
Maria Zaitseva joined the Ukrainian army after the start of Russia's full-scale war and fought with the 2nd International Legion Battalion.
Volunteers
Volunteer recruitment up 3.5 times over past 2 months, military says
Recruitment for voluntary service in the Ukrainian army has increased by 3.5 times over the past two months compared to the period from late 2022 to spring 2024, Roman Horbach, head of Ukraine's General Staff's personnel department, said on July 19.
Donetsk bear adopted by Scottish zoo dies after medical procedure
Yampil, a bear that was evacuated from a zoo in Donetsk Oblast in 2022, has died after not waking up from anesthesia, Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland announced on July 13.
Third Estonian volunteer killed in action in Ukraine
Martin Jaager, an Estonian citizen who served in Ukraine's defense forces, was killed in combat in the Luhansk region, Estonian news outlet Postimees reported on June 23.
‘Night Train to Odesa’ is a remedy for reading about wartime despair
At a bar in Moscow leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reporter Jen Stout interrupts a local parroting lines of propaganda from state-controlled television about so-called Ukrainian Nazis by asking him if he’s ever actually been to Ukraine. He seems taken aback by such a simple
‘You stay because you're needed.’ Foreigners volunteering in wartime Ukraine (Photos)
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, volunteers from around the world have come to Ukraine to support the country’s struggle. They have not only joined the foreign battalions to fight on the front line but have also helped various volunteer initiatives: from weaving camouflage nets for the
Swiss volunteer injured in Russian attack on Vovchansk
The Swiss volunteer had come to Ukraine to help evacuate people and animals from the areas of active combat operations. He was injured on May 30 during a humanitarian mission in embattled Vovchansk and received medical treatment, the prosecutors said.
Who was Pavlo Petrychenko, the prominent activist recently killed in combat?
In his battle for Ukraine, Pavlo Petrychenko used not only weapons but also his voice. A renowned Kyiv activist, he fought for the prosecution of corrupt Ukrainian officials, demanding justice for his fellow activists, including Kateryna Handziuk, who was murdered in 2018. As a team member of the Serhiy Prytula
How Ukrainian social media influencer raised over $50 million for military thanks to ‘typing’
To see some of the horrors Russia’s war has brought to Ukraine, one just has to click on the #RussiaIsATerroristState hashtag on social media. Given the scale of Russia’s ongoing attacks, which have left entire cities blacked out and destroyed, and thousands of people killed, the hashtag is
2 Georgian volunteers killed fighting for Ukraine
Georgian volunteer fighters Nodar Nasirov and Giorgi Gogiashvili have been killed in Ukraine, the Georgian Legion reported on March 9.
Authorities ban foreign humanitarian workers from parts of Kherson Oblast after French citizens killed in Russian attack
Foreign volunteers, NGO workers, and embassy staff are banned from entering parts of Kherson Oblast without permission from the authorities after two French citizens were killed in a Russian strike on Feb. 1, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration announced on Feb. 5.
US veterans come to Kyiv to support Ukrainians with music and friendship
Every head turns in a downtown café in Kyiv when U.S. citizens Ron Wallace and Michael Edison enter. Edison, 61, is wearing a cowboy hat and a vyshyvanka – a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt – while 62-year-old Wallace is dressed in a kilt, part of his bagpiper uniform. He’s also
Donations on decline: Volunteers get creative to keep raising funds for military
When the famous U.S. pop band Backstreet Boys released their signature hit "I Want It That Way" in 1999, they could hardly have imagined that nearly a quarter of a century later it would be used to help the Ukrainian military fight off a brutal invasion by Russia. But
Plans, dreams shattered: The 2022 that could have been for Ukraine
For many Ukrainians young and old, perception of time, memories, and dreams are split between two worlds, that before Feb. 24, 2022, and that which came after. Even in cities far from the front lines, wartime Ukraine is a world of sirens, blackouts, curfews, donation drives, and an enduring wish
How volunteers risk their lives to rescue abandoned animals amid war
When Ukrainian soldiers were entering the village of Yampil in Donetsk Oblast after five months of Russian occupation, they discovered an abandoned zoo on the outskirts. Dozens of animal corpses, either killed by Russian troops or dead of starvation, were lying throughout the zoo’s territory. But in one locked
How volunteers helped Kherson residents survive through the occupation
KHERSON – When Russia captured Kherson in March, disrupting supply chains to the city, local Ukrainian volunteers kept it running. When people had no food, they set up free hot meal cafeterias. When people had no medicine or hygiene goods, they brought them in from Odesa. When children needed to take
In constantly shelled Mykolaiv, volunteers do not back down
Located a mere 30 kilometers from the war’s southern front lines, Ukraine’s shipbuilding capital Mykolaiv has been a constant target for the Russian military throughout its full-scale invasion. Shelled almost daily, the regional capital with a pre-war population of 480,000 has seen over 500 residential buildings destroyed
Volunteers keep Donbas running through its darkest hours
As the four-van convoy rolls into the village of Stepanivka in Donetsk Oblast, volunteers hop out and raise a large tent to shield them from the summer sun. A small group of local onlookers quickly grows as people stream out of their homes towards the tent. The humanitarian aid is
Volunteers create coordination platform for foreigners who want to help Ukraine
After Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, businessman Vasyl Yabryk, rushed to help temporarily displaced Ukrainians with housing and humanitarian aid. But soon he learned that it takes more than a desire to help to be an effective volunteer. Yabryk says that the more experienced volunteers,
In the nation’s darkest hours, Ukrainians look out for each other
Sixteen-year-old Ukrainian Anna Liutyk will never forget that early morning when she woke up to her mother screaming the most terrifying words she had ever heard. “The war has started,” Liutyk's mother cried out.“ (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin started a war.” Multiple Ukrainian cities were shelled that same day on
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