I was in a taxi on my way to the Ukrainska Pravda Award when a car crashed into ours. I was jolted a great deal, and while I was trying to figure out if my head, arms, and legs were intact, I was thinking – just not today, I have to present an award to a special person. 1/8
Olena Tolkachova, the head of Azov’s patronage service, received the UP award in the "Civic Stance" nomination. She has been at war since 2014 and managed to build an institution that provides full medical support to wounded soldiers and takes care of the families of the fallen.
Other units explore their experience as they fearlessly and effectively save lives. Life is the most valuable.
3/8
On stage, I quoted my teacher, philosopher, author, and dissident Yevhen Sverstiuk. He would often say, "One man on the battlefield is a warrior." It is about each person's responsibility to do everything and even more in the place where he or she is. 4/8
However, since February 2014, the "battlefield" has ceased to be a metaphorical expression. Owing to Olena and her team, no one is alone on this battlefield. 5/8
The award was presented to another special person. Posthumously. Many people watched the video of the last words of Oleksandr Matsiievskyi, who threw "Glory to Ukraine" at the occupiers and was shot by machine gun fire. 6/8
This is not just an act of defiance. This is the manifestation of dignity.
7/8
We really have something to count on. There are many bright people around. We support each other. Together we will get through these difficult and dark times. 8/8
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10 years ago, we created Euromaidan SOS. A few hours after the students had been dispersed in Maidan, we published the first post. It looked like this, "If you were beaten, you lost contact with your relatives, or they were arrested – text us, we can provide free legal aid.” 1/7
At that time, there were lawyers among us, but there was no advocate. So, the second post was an appeal to the lawyers who were willing to help for free. And it worked. We launched hotlines to help those who were beaten on the night of November 30, 2013. 2/7
Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine that we’d be working 24/7 for several months and that hundreds and hundreds of beaten, arrested, tortured, and accused in fabricated criminal cases would be served by us every day. The relatives of the killed people followed them. 3/
#EmptyChairWeek is coming to an end, and during this week we were commemorating the people of culture who lost their lives due to Russian aggression. I would like to tell the story of 46-year-old musician Yurii Kerpatenko, who was the conductor of the Kherson Philharmonic. 1/6
Yurii loved music and his native Kherson. He spoke Russian in his everyday life, he was educated with Russian music and Russian culture, but could clearly distinguish between art history and occupation tools. 2/6
That is why when Russian tanks appeared in the city, Yurii publicly expressed his pro-Ukrainian stance on his Facebook page. 3/6
Today is my birthday. I would like to share a lesson that is important to me. Maybe it will help someone to get through difficult trials. 1/11
The war started for me in February 2014. We at Euromaidan SOS did not have time to mourn the slain –the Heavenly Hundred – and to reflect on three months of working 24/7, as we were already directing the first mobile groups to Crimea, and then to Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. 2/11
I started working with the testimonies of people who survived captivity. These stories were very frightening. We sent dozens of reports to all possible international organizations, but the situation did not change. 3/11
On the night of July 28-29, 2022, a powerful explosion took on the territory of the former penal colony in the occupied Olenivka. Ukrainian prisoners of war were held there in a separate barrack. 1/9
A day before the explosion, the russians took roghly 200 soldiers of the Azov Regiment and moved them there. As a result of the explosion, about 50 people died, and another 70 were injured. 2/9
Eyewitnesses say that people who were placed there simply burned alive. Those who tried to run into the road were shot. No one provided medical assistance. The Russians just watched people die. 3/9
Russia is forcibly holding at least 500 Ukrainian doctors. There are both civilians and military medics among them. 1/5
The occupiers are committing war crimes against medical personnel. Doctors are intended to save lives and relieve suffering but they are punished for performing their professional duty till the end. 2/5
According to International Humanitarian Law, degrading their dignity, torture and ill-treatment are prohibited! Also, doctors must not be held captive if there is no direct necessity. 3/5
On June 14, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don began hearing the case of 22 Ukrainian defenders from the "Azov" brigade. Eight women are among them. This process violates the norms of international humanitarian law. 1/5
Accusing the Ukrainian military of "participation in a terrorist organization" and "actions aimed at seizing power," the Russian authorities violated the privilege of combatant. 2/5
The privilege of combatant
guaranteed to them by Article 43 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. 3/5