Metrics details Stroke is an extensive health problem in Ukraine the prominence and effects of which are aggravated by the burden of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War we aimed to holistically examine the overall stroke epidemiology in Ivano-Frankivsk using data from a secondary healthcare center in the city We determine an increasing trend in stroke admissions since 2020 a significant non-linear relationship between stroke incidence and frequency of news about attacks was observed Ordinal regression analysis of general sociodemographic and healthcare-related factors influencing outcomes for intravenous thrombolysis-treated patients revealed the significance of the 24-h National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (0.32 ± 0.03) and interaction of age and Door-to-Needle Time (− 0.28 ± 0.08) the extension of the latter independently is not significantly correlated with patient outcomes and lack of adequate chronic cardiovascular disease management are primarily responsible for these results Modulations and improvements to the current healthcare system including managing chronic diseases and early stroke symptom recognition are necessary to optimize patient outcomes were based on data collected prior to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 research investigating stroke epidemiology during the war has not been conducted the intricacies of the potential effects of war on stroke incidence in Ukraine remain undetermined war conflicts induce population migration and the rapid growth of refugees overloading city infrastructure and restricting healthcare services struggle to adapt to the intensifying socio-humanitarian crisis The city is characterized by a network of healthcare providers but stroke admissions are managed by two healthcare centers—secondary and tertiary clinical hospitals contracted with the National Health Service of Ukraine to provide stroke service Our study aimed to holistically examine overall stroke epidemiology among the civilian population of Ivano-Frankivsk using data from a secondary health care center—Ivano-Frankivsk Central City Clinical Hospital An in-depth investigation of underlying general trends will provide insight into the reasoning behind such patterns identifying potential general sociodemographic and healthcare-related factors influencing outcomes for patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis will highlight areas for potential improvements in healthcare services Statistical analysis was performed in R v. 4 (https://www.R-project.org/) Descriptive parameters were provided as absolute numbers and frequencies for categorical variables and median (Me) and maximum (Max) for continuous data due to their non-normal distribution (Shapiro–Wilk test) Proportions were compared using the pairwise.prop.test procedure with FDR adjustment (R-stats); continuous variables across the groups were analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test and post-hoc pairwise comparisons (with Bonferroni adjustment) Relationships between variables were investigated with Spearman correlation analysis (two-sided) and reported as rho-value and 95% CI Discovering associations between stroke incidences and number of days they occur was performed using general additive models (R-mgcv) and reported as effective degrees of freedom (EDF) and odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI for non- and linear relationships ordinal regression (R-ordinal) was applied to determine the significant sociodemographic and healthcare-related predictors of mRS at discharge and the final set was upsampled and balanced with the R-caret package; in univariate analysis The model was assessed with Lipsitz goodness of fit test (R-generalhoslem) and determining pseudo R2 (R-rcompanion) A threshold of P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant 3.5 for R was used to graphically support the results This retrospective observational study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University The study protocol adheres to ethical guidelines and standards ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of patient data As the study analyzes overall stroke epidemiology and is based on deidentified and aggregated data no personal identifying information was used ensuring compliance with privacy regulations Due to the retrospective observational nature of the study the Ethical Committee of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University waived the need to obtain informed consent Dynamics of stroke cases (a) and mortality rates (b) during 2019–2023 Mortality rates of IS were relatively stable, with a slight increase observed in 2020 (Fig. 1b) showed a descending trend in mortality rates consisting of a single positive deflection in 2021 and a plateau from 2022 to 2023 no significant differences between analyzed years were observed Relations between mass media coverage of attacks and the number of strokes per month in 2023 Profile of patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis compared to mRS at discharge. Each plot presents the distribution of patients’ (blue—male, red—female) characteristics during treatment in relationship to the mRS score at discharge. Associations between ODT and DNT compared to mRS at discharge and blue—90% percentile (99 min—severely extended DNT) Solid blue line represents the ODT-DNT correlation (rho = − 0.20 Probabilities of mRS at discharge depending on NIHSS 24 h after admission. Cross-tabulation matrices of model accuracy (a) Tabulation of observed and predicted counts (n = 134) (b) Accuracy (overall = 41.5%) in terms of percentages internally displaced persons accounted for only a small percentage (4.6%) of all patients hospitalized for stroke in our sample peaks of IS occurrence correspond to decreases in that of HS while HS remains comparatively stable and even slightly reduced as there is sufficient time to administer IVT within the Therapeutic Window (TW) timeframe; a long ODT will no significant correlations between extended (> 63 min) or severely extended DNT (> 99 min) and mRS at discharge were found NIHSS scores at admission and after 24 h are lower the mentioned peculiarities and varieties of the study population accompanied by the influence of other modifiable and non-modifiable factors lead to differences between our results and those of prior studies A limitation of our study is the limited data availability: we were restricted to general data for the last five years and expanded data for 2023 this study may not provide a complete depiction of stroke-related morbidity and mortality in Ivano-Frankivsk since one other hospital admits and treats stroke in the city as well Future research should aim to address the aforementioned limitations An in-depth analysis of the aftermath of individual stroke patient outcomes would further assess the quality of treatment of stroke in our region as well as the level of post-stroke disability Merging stroke statistics with the other stroke package service provider in the city—Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Clinical Hospital—would provide a more accurate portrayal of stroke incidence in Ivano-Frankivsk Further exploration of the impact of conflict-induced stress and other less obvious factors of war on stroke incidence is necessary The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request Onset-to-door time (The time from the onset of symptoms to the arrival of the patient at the hospital) Door-to-needle-time (The time from patient arrival at the hospital to the time of IVT Therapeutic window (The sum of the ODT and DNT It is the time from the onset of symptoms to the time of IVT Modified rankin scale (Used to determine the degree of disability post-stroke only numbers determined at discharge were used) National institutes of health stroke scale (Used to determine stroke severity only numbers determined at admission and after 24 hours were used) Report on Situational Analysis Results of Acute Stroke Care in Ukraine (WHO Regional Office for Europe Erameh, C. 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Neurosci. 16, 1007571. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1007571 (2022) Download references This research does not have any financial support Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University Ivano-Frankivsk Central City Clinical Hospital Department of Social Medicine and Public Health Final approval was provided by all authors The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70270-4 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science On April 25, the Svoe.IT conference took place in Ivano-Frankivsk dedicated to those who create ‘their own’ — reliable and cybersecurity experts gathered to discuss how to transition to national digital solutions and what more is needed to strengthen Ukraine’s digital sovereignty The event was organised by the Ivano-Frankivsk IT Cluster and GigaCloud General partners were the IT Ukraine Association and UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group ITU Ambassador in Great Britain and a Head of Global Affairs в Sigma Software.. as part of the regular ITU Legal Talks format by the IT.. 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We support the Sustainable Development Goals Phone:+38 099 266 39 03 E-mail:hello@itukraine.org.ua We use cookies to improve your browser experience Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine on Friday firing 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said describing it as one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago including 11 cruise missiles that were intercepted by F-16 warplanes provided by Western allies earlier this year WATCH: Pentagon holds news briefing as U.S. warns Russia may use new missile against Ukraine Russia is “terrorizing millions of people” with such assaults renewing his plea for international unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin “A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction This is the only way to stop terror,” Zelenskyy said But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital U.S the Defense Ministry said the Russian military used long-range precision missiles and drones on “critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex.” The strike was in retaliation for Wednesday’s Ukrainian attack using U.S.-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System Trump said in an interview published in TIME magazine on Thursday that he was against allowing Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil using U.S Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Trump’s stance “conforms to our position.” we have a shared vision of causes of escalation and that is positive Trump realizes what escalates the conflict,” Peskov told reporters Embassy in Kyiv said Friday’s attack also targeted transport networks and other key facilities said the attack “seriously damaged” its thermal power plants Russia has repeatedly attempted to cripple Ukraine’s electricity system in an effort to break the will of civilians left in the dark with no running water or heating and to disrupt Ukrainian defense manufacturing Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said energy workers were doing everything necessary to “minimize negative consequences for the energy system,” promising to release more details on damages once the security situation allowed it Ukraine’s air force reported multiple strike drones launched at Ukraine overnight followed by swarms of cruise missiles in the country’s air space It said Russia also used air-launched ballistic Kinzhal missiles against Ukraine’s western regions 28 involved about 200 missiles and drones and left more than a million households without power until emergency teams restored supplies READ MORE: Power to 1 million homes cut in Ukraine after latest ‘massive’ Russian aerial attack Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling cruise and ballistic missiles for more attacks Russia for the first time used an intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile to strike an industrial plant in the city of Dnipro Putin described the attack with the Oreshnik missile as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with longer-range Western weapons He declared that more attacks with the new weapon could follow officials warned Wednesday that the Oreshnik could be used again in coming days There was no immediate sign one was launched in Friday’s attack Around half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed during the war and rolling electricity blackouts are common and widespread Kyiv’s Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defense systems to help it protect critical infrastructure but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defenses with combined strikes involving large numbers of missiles and drones called “swarms.” Russia has held the initiative this year as its military has steadily rammed through Ukrainian defenses in the east in a series of slow but steady offensives © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins That was reported by the SSU the attack was carried out by two local youths aged 15 and 17 The two minors were recruited by the Russians via Telegram channels promoting easy ways to make money the 17-year-old perpetrator was killed instantly while his 15-year-old accomplice was hospitalized with severe injuries the boys created homemade explosives following instructions from a Russian handler They assembled two explosive devices disguised as thermoses in an apartment rented by the handler near the railway station Both explosive devices were equipped with detonators that could be remotely triggered and additional shrapnel elements in the form of metal nuts The minors completed the explosives and prepared them for detonation as instructed by their Russian handler the two agents were en route to plant one of the devices at a designated location The Russian intelligence services remotely tracked their movement via GPS and detonated the devices while the agents were walking Russian forces remotely detonated the second explosive device left in the rented apartment The SSU has filed charges against the 15-year-old in connection with the following Criminal Code articles of Ukraine: The young man faces a life sentence with property confiscation The issue of qualifying the actions of two 15-year-old girls who were with the perpetrators during the preparation of the attack The SSU emphasized that Russian intelligence services are using a new tactic of detonating their own agents after using them for "dirty" tasks "If anyone offers you or your friends to 'just deliver a package' to a military enlistment office know that they want to kill you," the SSU warns Citizens are urged to report recruitment attempts to the SSU's chatbot Spali FSBe-shnyka The SSU guarantees complete confidentiality and thorough investigation of each report as a result of explosions in Ivano-Frankivsk While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 About 800 million euros ($905 million) will be allocated for the acquisition and installation of anti-tank mines to deter potential aggression  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:37 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims, ahead of Victory Day parade. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce."  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:36 am)War analysisFrance is sending Ukraine more AASM Hammer bombs — here's what they can do Polish President Andrzej Duda said the United States has tools that can effectively influence the Kremlin arguing that only President Donald Trump has real leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin The number includes 1,430 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21 A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported "I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous war between Russia and Ukraine ended — now!" U.S Putin's Victory Day truce "doesn't sound like much if you know where we started from," Trump told reporters at the White House on May 5 by Kateryna DenisovaThe recruited agents were two teenagers aged 15 and 17 who sought quick money on Telegram channels the Security Service of Ukraine said.Russia's intelligence service blew up two teenagers it had recruited to carry out a terrorist attack in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk on the evening of March 11 the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on March 12 Explosions were reported near the railway station and in a high-rise building in Ivano-Frankivsk One person was killed and three other injured The remote detonation of self-made devices used in Russian intelligence planned attacks is a new tactic of Moscow's in its covert operations against Ukraine, allowing it to carry out attacks while getting rid of perpetrators, Serhii Andrushchenko, SBU's deputy head, previously told the Kyiv Independent the recruited agents were two teenagers aged 15 and 17 who sought quick money on Telegram channels Russian intelligence services allegedly recruited them online and offered payment for carrying out a series of terror attacks in the city A Russian handler rented an apartment for the teenagers in a high-rise building near the local railway station, the SBU said the two made explosives and two devices disguised as thermoses They equipped both explosives with remote detonators The teenagers were allegedly heading to a designated location to place one of the explosive devices when the Russian intelligence service activated the explosives in their package Another explosive was detonated in the rented apartment and the 15-year-old was hospitalized with serious injuries Two passers-by — a 20-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman — also suffered injuries the 15-year-old could face life imprisonment In February, the SBU reported that Russia recruited the attacker responsible for a deadly explosion at a military enlistment office in Rivne Russia also recruited minors via social media to set fire to military cars parked in Ukrainian cities, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Last year, cases of setting fire to military vehicles were recorded in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany This was reported to Ukrinform by the press service of the State Emergency Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region “The explosions occurred at two locations near the train station It is not yet known whether these explosions are related Rescuers and police are working at the scene The information will be clarified,” the press service of the regional office of the State Emergency Service said According to the police of Ivano-Frankivsk region 2 explosions occurred in the city near apartment buildings on Pryvokzalna Street Ukrzaliznytsia reported that “the explosions in Ivano-Frankivsk The sound of the explosion was only heard at the train station.” Passengers and employees of the station were not injured Earlier, the media reported that an explosion occurred in Ivano-Frankivsk near the train station Police and rescuers are working at the scene The chief of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Military Administration, Svitlana Onyshchuk A critical infrastructure facility sustained damage Part of the city was partially de-energized The emergency repair crew is already working on restoring energy supply," the post says The fire caused by the impact has been put out with no casualties reported The local power distribution company, Prykarpattiaoblenergo reported on Facebook that as a result of an overnight attack by Russian drones electricity transmission networks were affected in Ivano-Frankivsk community the central part of Ivano-Frankivsk is currently in blackout As emergency response crews scrambled to eliminate the damage Prykarpattiaoblenergo says it will take time to restore power supply to the affected households and commercial consumers Russia attacked an energy infrastructure facility in Mykolaiv region where parts of the area were de-energized as a result by Martin FornusekFirefighters putting out a fire in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast following a mass Russian aerial attack on Dec (State Emergency Service/Telegram)Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack against Ukraine's energy infrastructure early on Dec firing around 290 missiles and drones across multiple regions "The enemy continues its terror. Once again, the energy sector across Ukraine is under massive attack," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said Air defense is active in Kyiv Oblast, the regional administration said Explosions were also reported in the Odesa and the Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles Russia launched at least 93 missiles, including those supplied by North Korea, President Volodymyr Zelensky said including 11 intercepted by Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets Moscow's forces also deployed close to 200 drones making it "one of the largest strikes on our energy grid," Zelensky said "As a result of the mass missile-drone attack, energy facilities in multiple regions were damaged," the state energy operator Ukrenergo said but the scope of emergency shutdowns will increase Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast suffered the "most massive attack during the full-scale war," Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk announced Cruise missiles and drones struck critical infrastructure facilities in the region but no casualties were reported at the moment Neighboring Ternopil Oblast was also impacted the regional military administration said without revealing details "There are no casualties. Critical infrastructure facilities are operating normally," the Ternopil Oblast authorities said on Telegram officials said that half of the region's residents were without power due to emergency shutdowns Two people – employees of a civilian enterprise – were injured in the village of Myrne in Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported initially Five of Ukraine's nine operational nuclear reactor units have reduced power output due to the attack, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said The Polish Air Force scrambled its fighter jets as Russian drones and missiles entered western Ukraine a usual precaution Warsaw takes during Russian mass strikes "This is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s 'peace' plan – destroying everything by terrorizing millions of people," Zelensky said "Oil gives Putin enough money to believe in impunity A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction." Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies The post claims that her husband was allegedly beaten because he allegedly joined the so-called "language patrol." As "evidence," the post contains a photo of a man with visible bruises on his face because most of the face in the picture is not visible we found the original photo with a man who was beaten This photo has nothing to do with the alleged incident in Ivano-Frankivsk The original photo was published on Ukrainian news sites five years ago - in 2019 The victim in the photo is Ihor Matviienko a physical education teacher from a Kyiv-based school The beating occurred due to a conflict with a schoolchild's father the teacher's colleagues declared a strike Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv earlier announced the introduction of language inspectors in the city their functions have nothing to do with the so-called "patrols" or "Nazi practices" – something that Russian propaganda usually writes about The work of language inspectors is aimed at popularizing the study of the Ukrainian language and ensuring compliance with Ukrainian legislation according to which the Ukrainian language is mandatory in all spheres of public life Martsinkiv explained that such inspectors would tolerantly make remarks about the use of the Russian language and invite people to attend Ukrainian-language courses the participants of which will not have special powers will not punish violators and will not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of language Such fakes are aimed at spreading enmity and hatred in Ukrainian society Propagandists are once again trying to play the "language card" to create artificial conflicts in Ukraine Russian propaganda is also trying to incite hatred towards Russian-speaking internally displaced persons who have been forced to flee the war due to Russia's armed aggression According to a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center on July 24 more than 70% of Ukrainians speak Ukrainian in their everyday life Earlier, Russian propaganda intimidated foreigners in Ukraine with fakes about employees of territorial recruitment and social support centers by Olena GoncharovaPhoto for illustrative purposes A drone approaches for an attack in Kyiv on Oct (Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP via Getty Images)Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated Several explosions were heard overnight on Jan 27 in the western Ukrainian cities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi as Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv urged residents to stay in shelters as the air raid alert had been active in the region for over two hours Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast had previously been targeted by Russia on Jan. 15 with the attack damaging "critical infrastructure facilities" in the area though no casualties were reported at that time Meanwhile, a drone attack on Jan. 27 also damaged a multi-story residential building in Dnipro The explosion and debris caused significant damage to vehicles parked nearby No immediate reports of injuries or fatalities have been confirmed Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018 Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia This was reported to Ukrinform by the medical director of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital (RCH) “One patient is critically ill. He has amputated lower limbs, an eye injury, and a penetrating chest wound The patient is 15 years old,” noted Yavorsky doctors diagnosed the wounded girl with a penetrating chest wound with damage to the lung “She has been operated on and her condition is stable,” the doctor added among the wounded is a young man born in 2004 He is in satisfactory condition with a penetrating chest wound As reported by the agency, yesterday explosions occurred near the railway station in Frankivsk, there was a dead man and injured. 2024 6:43 PM10 min readCarolers dressed in traditional Hutsul attire perform the Christmas koliada in Kryvorivnya village in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent) by Vitalii PoberezhnyiIVANO-FRANKIVSK OBLAST — Father Vasyl Diychuk shows the spot near the river where his village used to build an ice town on Epiphany A line of parked cars would stretch for several kilometers — people from all over Ukraine and abroad came to Sokolivka to see the chapels the village hasn't built its famous ice town — the winters are so warm that there is nowhere to get ice Snow and frost on winter holidays now come as a surprise to Ukrainians winters in Ukraine can feel like a very extended November In western Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains, the land of Hutsuls, where unique Christmas customs require cold weather The Hutsul region, in the mountainous southwestern part of Ukraine is one of the country’s most ethnographically vivid regions it has always been challenging for whatever state controlled the region to truly establish its rule in the area New technologies have always reached it late The Carpathians became part of the Soviet Union only after World War II Ukrainian rebels continued to resist the Soviet regime for a decade Local traditions are also closely linked to Christianity so the Hutsuls did not tolerate the atheistic Soviet government If the authorities found out that you went carolling you could be laid off," Ivan Zelenchuk a physicist and local historian from Kryvorivnia in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 Father Vasyl Diychuk conducts the Christmas Day service in the church in Sokolivka (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)A man rings church bells in Kryvorivnya village (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)The most famous Hutsul tradition is koliada it’s a centuries-old custom when a group of singers goes to each home in their village The carolers sing briefly outside the house and then if the family invites them for a festive dinner Ivan Zelenchuk recalls that when he was a child koliada would always be accompanied by deep snow and severe frost The weather of 30 degrees below zero Celsius (22 below zero Fahrenheit) was normal on Christmas It was easy for carolers to lose their voices or catch a cold “It was so cold that sparrows would fall in flight,” Zelenchuk recalls The children also had a favorite winter pastime: throwing a cup of water into the air and watching it freeze before it reaches the ground shows his grandfather's festive vest (kuzhukh) He says that nowadays tailors make vests much thinner because usually there are no more strong frosts those severe winters are no more than a legend told by older people even carolers went barefoot because it was 10 degrees Celsius outside locals say that now it’s a “real Christmas.” celebrate Christmas in Kryvorivnya village (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)People gather for Christmas service in the church in Kryvorivnya village (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)“If there’s frost of 15 degrees below zero Celsius and snow up to the ankles then the snow would hiss and the hatchets (part of a Hutsul costume) would glisten in the sun it's even easier to get sick than in cold weather made from natural fibers and meant to be worn in subzero temperatures Christmas in the Carpathians has been accompanied by rain so carolers had to run from house to house Add the local landscape to the mix: In Hutsul villages most houses  are on the slopes — and a rainy Christmas means that carolers have to walk uphill in the mud koliada has begun to attract tourists to the area thousands of people come to Kryvorivnia to watch the ritual the first Christmas since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion a record 5,000 people gathered near the church in Kryvorivnia where the caroling begins the local community was one of the first in Ukraine to switch to the Gregorian calendar and celebrate Christmas on Dec as it used to be in Ukraine for over 100 years The rest of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches switched next year The rainy weather also makes tourists less likely to come, according to Ivan Rybaruk, a priest from Kryvorivnia came to Kryvorivnia for koliada this year because they knew it was snowing in the Carpathians They say that if the weather had been rainy ‘Snow in the Carpathians is extremely important to us in winter The change of weather is also impacting a key Christian tradition in the area a cross carved out of ice is placed in the spot where the priest blesses the water then carefully placed on a sledge and taken to the place where the priest will bless the water a craftsman from Kryvorivnia who organizes the carving of the cross for Epiphany every year has a pond near his house where he usually sources the ice The pond is located right under a mountain There are potholes in the ice — the man goes to the pond to measure the thickness of the ice the ice in the pond was 12 centimeters thick That should work: Anything more than 10 centimeters is fit for cross-making But there’s no guarantee the ice will hold until Epiphany Carolers in traditional Hutsul clothes perform the Christmas custom of koliada in Kryvorivnya village in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)The custom of carving crosses out of ice has a century-long continuity — Dzhelema’s father and grandfathers used to organize the cross carving for centuries the new tradition of ice towns was born in the local village of Sokolivka shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union several men from Sokolivka gathered on the Rybnitsa River and carved not one and the year after that — three crosses and an altar table for them so Sokolivka started making whole ice stories on Christian topics Tourists started coming to Sokolivka to see the ice fairy tale Some neighboring villages were inspired by the Sokolivka example launched its own ice sculpture festival on Epiphany but had to stop in a few years — the winters got warmer regrets that the village had to stop the festival saying that in the 2010s it had huge success among tourists the winters became warmer and carvers had to get more creative Sokolivka’s carvers were taking the ice from the local river so carvers started sourcing ice from ponds winters became so warm that sometimes there is no ice at all The temperature can stay at 5 degrees Celsius so carvers had to use birch for other decorations managed to make the traditional ice cross only once in the past 10 years Last year's wooden crosses still stand on the river banks both in Sokolivka and Kryvorivnia That’s also a manifestation of the changing weather when the mountain rivers get overflown from the melting ice and snow He blames global warming and fears what will become of the Hutsul winter traditions a craftsman from Kryvorivnya in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Dzhelema organizes the carving of ice crosses for Epiphany It's getting harder for him to source the ice (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)Three wooden crosses on the bank of the river in Sokolivka in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Vitalii Poberezhnyi / The Kyiv Independent)Another thing is gone for locals: ice hockey the local Cheremosh River used to freeze so well that one could drive a car between villages as if it were a road Hutsul priests are not afraid of the new climate Father Ivan Rybaruk from Kryvorivnia says that climate change affects what the holiday looks like “I was also surprised to see Santa Claus on the beach in Australia but that's how people live,” says Rybaruk Father Vasyl from Sokolivka also says that when it comes to Christmas people tend to pay more attention to the material than to the spiritual Many locals simply don't pay attention to the weather change because the Russian-Ukrainian war is a much more pressing issue for them 13 men who used to be carolers were killed or went missing on the front Many can’t join the koliada tradition because they serve in the army It has become a challenge to gather caroling groups The war itself is accelerating climate change The fighting and the intensified work of the defense industries increase carbon emissions “In the first two years of the full-scale war additional emissions (in Ukraine) amounted to 175 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent which is more than the annual emissions of the Netherlands,” says Bohdan Kuchenko The mix of war and climate shift is forcing the Hutsul traditions to change The Hutsul carol tradition has pagan roots The custom has survived the merger with Christianity But mud and rain are testing the Hutsul traditions like never before Vitalii Poberezhnyi is a Ukrainian journalist and producer "Those are not fields burning," about the Russo-Ukrainian War Vitalii worked on the documentary project "Deoccupation" for the Ukrainer media which was shortlisted for the Shevchenko Prize in 2023 This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website by Abbey Fenbert, Boldizsar GyoriA Russian Tupolev Tu-95 flies over Moscow during the general rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in Moscow 07 May 2022 (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated Russia launched a large-scale missile attack against Ukraine on the morning of Jan The Russian Defense Ministry had previously threatened to retaliate after Ukraine targeted military and industrial sites throughout Russia in a mass attack on Jan Ukraine's Air Force issued a nationwide aerial alert in the early hours of Jan. 15, following warnings that a group of Tu-95MS strategic bombers had taken flight from Russia's Olenya airfield in Murmansk Oblast Russia also reportedly launched ballistic missiles from Belgorod Oblast Explosions were reported in Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky Oblast, and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. In Lviv Oblast Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said Russian forces had "attacked the energy infrastructure of our region and Ukraine." Later in the morning of Jan. 15, officials Lviv Oblast said critical infrastructure facilities had been hit in two districts of the oblast but added there were no casualties There was no information on what was hit or the extent of the damage caused Svitlana Onyshchuk, head of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Military Administration, said the attacks had targeted "critical infrastructure facilities" in the oblast but had not caused any casualties "It's the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel later in the morning on Jan "More than 40 missiles were involved in this strike There were also more than 70 Russian attack drones overnight," he added "We constantly need to strengthen the existing capabilities of the Ukrainian air shield Our partners at the NATO summit in Washington and in the Ramstein format made promises that have not yet been fully realized." the all clear was given across much of the country Poland scrambled fighter jets due to the Russian missile threat in western Ukraine according to the Polish Operational Command Ukraine's state grid operator, Ukrenergo, imposed emergency blackouts as a preventative measure, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko announced City Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv reported this on Telegram Yesterday we visited the Svoboda Battalion of the National Guard.. and other assistance so that these guys could beat the enemy in the Siversk axis," said Martsinkiv He expressed his condolences to the family of the fallen Vasyl Osoba He was a son-in-law of a Ukrainian language advocate Iryna Farion the Edelweiss 10th Mountain Assault Brigade the Sapsan Tactical Group with the 24th Brigadem and the 4th Panzer Brigade also received assistance from municipal authorities fighters with the rifle battalion of the Zaporizhzhia police received drones and gear donated by the regional authorities targets energy gridRussia targeted "power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine," according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko 2024 2:46 pm)6 min readThe aftermath of a Russian attack against Odesa Oblast Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight on Nov leaving at least seven civilians dead and at least 19 injured across multiple regions Multiple loud explosions were reported in the capital according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground Russia's latest barrage of missile strikes marks the first mass missile attack on Kyiv in over 2 months, with Russia instead utilizing more frequent drone strikes in recent months to attack the capital Further explosions were also heard in the cities of Kropyvnytskyi as well as in the Khmelnytskyi and Volyn oblasts Russia targeted "power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine," according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko "The transmission system operator has urgently introduced emergency shutdowns," Halushchenko said. Officials have been warning that Russia may resume strikes on the energy grid as temperatures drop mirroring the strategy used in the spring and summer of this year and in the autumn-winter season of 2022-2023 An apartment damaged in Kyiv's Percherskyi district as a result of falling drone debris drone attack against Ukraine in the early hours of Nov (State Emergency Service / Telegram)An apartment damaged in Kyiv's Percherskyi district as a result of falling drone debris (State Emergency Service / Telegram)Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said that as a result of falling drone debris an apartment on the fourth floor of a five-story residential building caught fire in the Pechersk neighborhood of the city One person was hospitalized as a result of the attack while one other person received medical treatment on-site Debris was also reported in the Holosiivskyi and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration Several residential and commercial buildings A 45-year-old woman was injured in Kyiv Oblast, suffering a head wound, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported Fallen debris damaged industrial facilities In addition to the attack on Kyiv, at least two people were killed and seven injured in the city of Mykolaiv amid Russia’s mass drone and missile attack In the city of Dnipro, a 42-year-old man suffered shrapnel wounds as a result of the attack Russia also struck a railway depot in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing two railway workers and injuring three Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) said on its Telegram channel It is not immediately clear whether the number of injured includes the 42-year-old man reported previously by the governor Critical infrastructure facilities were hit in the Vinnytsia, Odesa, and Volyn oblasts leading to power outages and emergency shutdowns Odesa also faced problems with the water supply Infrastructure facilities were also targeted in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Two people were reported injured in the regional center, the city of Zaporizhzhia. A 59-year-old man was hospitalized, and an 18-year-old man received medical assistance on the spot, Governor Ivan Fedorov said In Lviv Oblast, 12 garages caught fire due to fallen missile debris. A 66-year-old woman was killed in her car by the debris in the Sheptytskyi (formerly Chervonohrad) district, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported Two people were killed, and a 17-year-old boy was injured in Odesa Oblast, Governor Oleh Kiper reported. One civilian was reportedly hospitalized with serious injuries in Poltava Oblast An outbuilding and a house were damaged in Zhytomyr Oblast Regional authorities also reported that a critical infrastructure site was damaged in Rivne Oblast and a house was damaged by fallen debris in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast around 120 missiles and 90 drones (were launched by Russia)," President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the attack This makes it one of the most massive strikes launched at Ukraine throughout the full-scale war "Our air defenses destroyed more than 140 aerial targets.. We are grateful to our air defense forces involved in the attack everybody worked in an organized manner," Zelensky said In response to the mass attack, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces scrambled fighter jets to protect the country's own airspace. "Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," the Operational Command added The aftermath of a Russian attack on Zhytomyr Oblast (State Emergency Service/Telegram)The aftermath of a Russian attack on Zhytomyr Oblast (State Emergency Service/Telegram)The aftermath of a Russian attack on Lviv Oblast (State Emergency Service/Telegram)Ukraine's Air Force issued air raid alerts across all regions of the country around 6 a.m The alert ended in much of Ukraine at around 9:30 a.m Ukraine's Air Force reported earlier in the night that Tu-95 strategic bombers took off from the Russian airfields of Olenya in Murmansk Oblast the War Monitor Telegram channel reported that a total of 17 Tu-95 strategic bombers were in flight with seven taking off at the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast In recent months, Russia has primarily focused on large-scale drone attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses in cities across the country. The Ukrainian Air Force previously said that Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024 While missile attacks are a common occurrence in Ukraine's eastern oblasts have largely been spared from large-scale Russian missile attacks on infrastructure in recent months — with the last large-scale missile attack occurring in late August Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University On the night of Monday, January 27, the Russian army attacked Ukraine with drones. The explosions were also heard in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, according to the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, Svitlana Onyshchuk, and the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ruslan Martsinkiv. a series of explosions occurred in the Ivano-Frankivsk region that night Russia attacked the region multiple times with drones The Russians targeted critical infrastructure facilities a fire was detected at one of the attack sites and the relevant services are working there “We thank the air defense forces for their protection And to everyone who is involved in eliminating the consequences of Russian attacks I appeal to the residents of the region not to neglect the air raid alerts and take care of their safety,” she wrote Martsinkiv clarified that the Russians were attacking both the Ivano-Frankivsk region and Ivano-Frankivsk itself Russia launched a large-scale attack on the region and tried to hit the community there was no damage to civilian property,” he said the State Emergency Service clarified that as a result of a Russian night attack on an infrastructure facility in Ivano-Frankivsk district Rescuers quickly localized and extinguished the fire with an area of 100 square meters A 500-square-meter fire is currently being extinguished A total of 58 rescuers and 25 pieces of equipment from the State Emergency Service were engaged the Russian army again launched attack drones at the territory of Ukraine from different directions air defense was reported to be operating in the capital Rector of Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas said this at a briefing in Ivano-Frankivsk "One of the university buildings was damaged quite badly the roof and one corner of the building are completely destroyed and the laboratory and training facilities are completely destroyed... Nearly 12 buildings of the university were damaged - windows and doors were broken the university staff is currently assessing the damage to the institution Russia’s strike on Ivano-Frankivsk damaged a university  (Updated:  November 28, 2024 9:30 pm) • 3 min readby Abbey Fenbert, Kateryna HodunovaIllustrative purposes: Residential buildings are seen during a power outage in Odesa on Nov (Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack against Ukraine the morning of Nov targeting energy infrastructure across the country The Air Force announced a nationwide aerial alert after warning that Russia had launched seven Tu-95 strategic bombers. Explosions were reported in mulitple cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Lutsk Local officials also reported strikes in Sumy, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Volyn oblasts the debris damaged an enterprise in the latter district "The missiles approached Kyiv from different directions," Serhii Popko the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration adding that all aerial targets were shot down which is over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the Russian border Russian forces attacked a critical infrastructure facility Several houses were damaged by falling rocket debris One woman in Vinnytsia Oblast was injured in a missile strike, authorities said The attack also damaged residential buildings A Russian missile hit local infrastructure in the town of Shostka, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported The consequences of the attack are still being investigated The densely populated Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv was also struck by a missile during the morning attack, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said Business and residential buildings were damaged and emergency services are at work on site Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia struck a "massive blow" at the nation's power grid with attacks on energy infrastructure occurring throughout the country announced emergency blackouts in multiple regions in an effort to safeguard the energy system from Russia's assault Russia has already begun redoubling attacks on Ukraine's power grid as the country enters its third winter at war Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said on Nov 28 that Russia was deliberately stockpiling weapons in order to launch mass attacks on cities and infrastructure "They stockpiled missiles for strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure for warfare against civilians during the cold President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 24 that Russia had launched more than 800 KAB-guided aerial bombs and more than 20 missiles over the past week Along with intensifying aerial strikes, Ukraine has recently faced another threat from Russia: a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) dubbed "Oreshnik," which Russia launched in a Nov The attack triggered an emergency meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Nov. 26 and renewed calls for advanced air defense systems from Western partners On the morning of August 26, Ukrainians suffered one of the largest combined assaults since the Russians launched its full-scale invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed At least five people were killed around the country with at least another 17 injured in the latest Russian bombardment Explosions were heard in numerous Ukrainian cities “More than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred Shahed drones targeting critical civilian infrastructure Most of our regions – from the Kharkiv region and Kyiv to Odesa and our western regions,” Zelenskyy said The invading state deliberately targeted the nation’s energy infrastructure “The situation is difficult; the consequences of the attacks are being clarified Power engineers are already working on eliminating them,” he explained Emergency power outages have been urgently introduced across Ukraine The extent of the damage is still being assessed The Russians also targeted the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant Zelenskyy emphasized the pressing necessity for Ukraine’s partners to fulfill their promises we must finally come to a collective shooting down of Russian missiles and drones we could do much more to protect lives if the aviation of our European neighbors worked alongside our F-16s and alongside our air defense,” the president said “Putin remains true to himself – it is a sick creature; this has long been clear to everyone But it is also clear that he can only do what the world allows him to do,” Zelenskyy pointed out Photos: Ruslan Kravchenko on Facebook; SESU [email protected] [email protected] FB: @uwcongress A typical Ukrainian village is full of everyday bustle the dizzying smell of bread and home-cooked meals; it is white with flowers in spring and colorful with harvest in autumn; if there’s a wedding Now all Ukrainian towns and villages are in mourning There probably isn’t a single village left that has not buried those who died for their land Journalist Eva Raiska and photographer Kateryna Moskaliuk visited a community in the Ivano-Frankivsk region to tell the stories of a modern Ukrainian village tormented by the Great War people are slowly lining up along the village road Women hold black lace scarves in their hands throwing the light chiffon over her shoulders Several men are huddled on the other side of the road leisurely puffing on cigarettes as the smoke curls upward The May sun generously throws its rays on the faces of old women as they expose their cheeks to the heat holding colored plastic lamps in their hands Now its light blows smooth and level the flickering light that barely smolders from the candles Gardens with branched alleys diverge in all directions Peony bushes are neatly planted near the houses watches what is happening on the road through the gate Their voices become louder and their gazes more focused The monotonous gray noise creates a polyphony of sounds An old woman helps a little boy light a blue lamp by pulling it out from under a purple packet “They’re here!” someone in the crowd exclaims in the Pasichna territorial community of the Ivano-Frankivsk region A black Renault minivan is the first in the convoy On the car’s windshield is the inscription “On the Shield” Behind it are a dozen cars with yellow-and-blue and red-and-black flags flapping in the wind Only the birds are trying to drown out the horns of the cars bringing Ruslan Hodziura home with their deafening chirps Mariya Khudak is the wife of one of the fallen heroes of the Pasichna community she got a job at the social welfare department of the Pasichna village council where she is in charge of veteran policy and assistance to veterans and their families Mariya says that this work allows her to share the pain and sublimate it into helping others — those who have also lost their loved ones to the war she is primarily responsible for the funeral process while the village council of Pasichna territorial community takes care of all the organizational and financial needs She also provides moral support to the mothers and wives of soldiers The women get together regularly to feel sisterly support and not be alone with their grief This helps them find the strength to carry on Mariya Khudak recalls her beloved with special tenderness Mariya and Andrii were born in the village of Zelena her husband served in the military in the town of Bila Tserkva he made a living doing various manual labor abroad Andrii decided to return to Ukraine and fight for his land he joined the Pasichna territorial defense the defenders were sent to the eastern and southern borders of Ukraine Andrii fought both in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions He was the commander of the 1st rifle platoon of the 1st rifle company of the 76th separate battalion of the 102nd separate brigade of the territorial defense He had all the best in him,” says his wife Mariya gently “I have never met someone as kind and sincere as him in my life along with two brethren from the Pasichna community All three were killed in a battle near Huliaypole shared childhood and later adolescent troubles They were faithful to friendship and brotherhood to the end and even death in the war did not part them Ihor and Vasyl were buried next to each other in the village cemetery of the Pasichna community Andrii was buried in the village of Zelena the head of the Pasichna territorial community went to get the body of the fallen soldier at the Frankivsk morgue He does this every time a hero from his community returns home on the shield Preserving the memory and honoring the fallen Ukrainian soldiers is a priority for both local residents and village authorities Hunda personally informs about every funeral procession on his social media publishing all the necessary information: the time of the funeral cortege’s passage through the village which one of his colleagues serves in small paper cups with a picture of a Ukrainian Mriya airplane politely and without unnecessary formality tells us about the life in his community during the war Without looking into the piles of papers and folders on his desk he gives us clear statistics about the community’s residents including those who joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army Both returned to the ranks of the Ukrainian army the Pasichna territorial community had 21,000 residents 240 men of conscription age continue to fight in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the eastern and southern borders of the country A few days after the conversation with the village head the news came: Andrii Plitus was killed at the front he and his comrades held the defense in Mariupol at Azovstal and were taken prisoner by Russia becoming the deputy battery commander for personnel of the mortar battery of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion Andrii was killed near the Serebriansky forest by the village of Dibrova exactly one year after his release from captivity — on May 6 The village of Pasichna is located in the northeast of Prykarpattia on the right bank of the Bystrytsia-Nadvirna river valley and the area itself is a real oil clondike The history of oil production and the rich oil fields of Prykarpattia were mentioned by Ivan Franko in his novel Boryslav Laughs where he described the life of the workers of that time Oil production here began in 1771 and continued until recent decades the Museum of Oil Fields of Galicia in the village of Pniv reminds us of the region’s oil past and later became a place of active struggle for the OUN-UPA The mountainous landscapes of the village allowed the insurgents to resist and partisan in the local dense forests Today, among the monuments that can tell us about those times is the grave of Sofia Halechko a Lieutenant of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen The monument with a bronze bas-relief depicting a woman in a military uniform is located in the Roztoka tract of the Pasichna community Sofia remains a symbol of the Ukrainian spirit Halechko was one of the world’s first female officers She was born in Novyi Sącz into a Polish-Ukrainian family but despite her Polish-speaking surroundings she voluntarily joined the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen were a Ukrainian volunteer battalion within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and fought against the Russian Empire He is the head of the culture department of the Pasichna territorial community Oleksii was a musician and had his own band A saxophone tattooed on his left arm is a reminder of his musical past The position of the head of culture requires a lot of managerial experience as well as constant participation in official community events That’s why there is almost no time for creativity and even less since the beginning of the great war Oleksii and the village head go to escort the soldier on the shield he actively helps collect the necessary things for the Armed Forces: military equipment There are several such cemeteries in the community the families of the fallen soldiers often want their sons to be buried near their family graves it is not only the places of eternal rest that remind us of the wounds and pain of war On the central facade of the Pasichnyansky Lyceum there are plaques in honor of the former students who died in combat All the plaques are in the same style: light shades of white and pastel; smiling young faces of the boys frozen in the blue sky that hangs so still over the roofs The central windows of the local lyceum are filled to the brim with sandbags which were placed here in the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion where the place of memory of the heroes is located behind a small mountain and immediately drives up the dirt road to the top of the mountain shimmering under the last crimson of the sun We are slowly moving away from the din of the village low white huts swarming somewhere behind us only the rustle of alder trees now and then breaks through the silence of the graves The wooden crosses bear the year of birth of the deceased: 1996 1993… Nearby are two graves of comrades who died almost at the same time: Volodymyr Mykhailiuk three dead soldiers were brought to the village of Pasichna Two of the heroes were buried next to each other Oleksiy stops near the grave of Ivan Pitchuk He recalls how he was always the life of the party The Ukrainian defender served in a tank brigade in the Ukrainian Army Oleksii stares intently at the portrait of his friend He is silent for a few minutes and then goes to start the car there are information stands with portraits of the heroes and short biographical information Oleksii Tomyn shows on his smartphone a model of future billboards that the Pasichna village council plans to place in each of the four villages We walk to another cemetery in the village of Pniv A wide panorama of hilly landscapes opens before us This is the most remote place in the village where the boundary of time intersects: the mundane and the eternal once again reminding us of the place of memory of the fallen heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war It was them we saw lighting a lamp by the roadside saying goodbye to a fellow soldier of Maria’s son Volodymyr who continues to fight in the Donetsk region I ask the woman about her son’s service at the front She only shakes her head and keeps walking Its distant and somewhat lost refrain splashes across the village Someone is cleaning copper pots outside in preparation for Easter the snow-white curtains shudder in gusts of wind The day slowly fades into the embrace of the evening The article was created and published with the support of the Media Network Support Zaborona on Patreon so we can produce even more interesting stories unbiased journalism on socially important topics and aim to deliver reliable and transparent information to our readers Subscribe to Zaborona to get access to high-quality and vivid stories Choose how you prefer to support Zaborona so the editorial team can continue to produce content for you ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " A joint training exercise for volunteers of Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response teams called “Carpathian Manoeuvres II,” recently took place in the Ivano-Frankivsk region Emergency response teams from the Zakarpattia along with the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross first responders from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) and students from the College of Physical Education participated in the exercise the participants gained new knowledge and skills The exercise aimed to coordinate and practise joint actions between emergency response teams from different regions of Ukraine and first responders from the SES of Ukraine during search and rescue operations National CommitteeUkrainian Red Cross Society by Nate OstillerF-16 fighter jets during a military parade on Polish Armed Forces Day in Warsaw (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces warned residents on Aug 26 that Polish and other allied jets were active in the southeastern part of the country amid a massive wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine As of 10:09 a.m. local time, at least three people were killed in Ukraine "All necessary procedures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace have been launched and the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces is constantly monitoring the situation," the Operational Command wrote on X there has been intense activity of long-range aviation from (Russia) related to strikes being carried out on targets located in the western part of Ukraine," it said The Operational Command said that the last time such "significant activity" of Russian attacks was recorded was on July 8, when at least 42 people were killed across Ukraine and more than 200 were wounded The Okhmatdyt hospital in Kyiv Ukraine's largest children's medical center was hit by a ballistic missile in the attack Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast and focused primarily on digital misinformation Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine Practical insights from and foracademics and university staff Everything you need for each stepof your study abroad journey When all the lights went out just before the start of the film night that I had arranged in a dormitory at Ukraine’s Precarpathian National University earlier this year the 20 or so people in the audience hardly uttered a sigh in the country’s relatively safe south-west but classes are interrupted on a near daily basis by air raid sirens Still, this is nothing compared with what other Ukrainian institutions have been through. As a visiting academic, I was living in a dormitory shared not only with students but also, I had heard, with employees of Kherson State University who were housed there after fleeing their own city when the Russians occupied it soon after launching their invasion in March 2022 A film night seemed like an ideal opportunity to meet some of them There was no knowing how long it would last a man in the audience told us to hold on and left the room He returned several minutes later with a hand-held generator which provided enough electricity for the computer and projector This was not the limit of the audience’s ingenuity but the students managed to stream the film – in line with our original intentions – via their phones often switching quickly between them when one person’s signal grew weak Want to write for THE? Click for more information I ought not to have been so surprised by this lesson in improvisation had been living in a dormitory room with his wife and teenage daughter for the last two years The former assistant to the president of Kherson National University (KNU) Oleksandr Soloveyko had fled Kherson with his family and many of his colleagues when my host university generously agreed to provide KNU with an administrative building to allow it to continue functioning in exile Around $10 million (£7.6 million) had been invested over the previous four years in a campus accommodating 3,400 students and about 300 teachers but the Ministry of Education approved its temporary relocation – shortly before the Russians imposed a new president through dozens of enemy block posts,” the university’s legitimate president when a masked soldier points a gun at you and starts asking questions.” Some staff did not escape in time and were arrested including the vice-president of the university who was held in a tiny room for three days before being released The Russians’ withdrawal was accompanied by extensive looting and destruction of university equipment and furniture staff had smuggled out some of the more sensitive information (both electronic and paper) which was proudly shown to me when I visited their building in Ivano-Frankivsk Find out more about how to get full unlimited article access to THE for staff and students. Kherson remains the target of regular Russian shelling and less than a quarter of its population remains enrolling approximately 1,100 new students this year employing the catchy motto “Unbreakable University”) The temporary home of Donetsk National Technical University in Pokrovsk was shelled only a few days ago Arguably even more problematic than the loss of buildings and equipment for exiled Ukrainian universities is their loss of contact with students many of whom are either stuck in occupied territory financial difficulties and problems accessing services Those still in Ukraine are in constant danger and experience regular blackouts including loss of connectivity to online classes Brain drain is an ongoing issue as students and sometimes teachers decide to move to other universities or even abandon academia We in the West should do all we can to help exiled Ukrainian universities endure as the war rages on I visited eight in person and gave guest online lectures for another four Everyone I met was eager to develop cooperation with institutions and scholars in the West – not just around teaching but also around research; I am currently co-authoring several academic articles with Ukrainian colleagues And academic exchanges of students and staff provide much-needed respite and inspiration for exhausted scholars A number of grants are available to facilitate such interactions. And even if the power goes off, Ukrainian colleagues will find a way. As a Kherson State University press release put it: “We cannot be broken.” social and humanitarian research and education affairs Already registered or a current subscriber Successful university twinning arrangements were set up remarkably quickly They must not be allowed to peter out slowly Institutions are setting the scene for a thriving international system post-war displaced institutions are still teaching in temporary premises and online But with a host of urgent quality problems to overcome is it time for Ukraine’s academic diaspora to come home Call for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ is scarcely better than the ‘stop arming Ukraine’ motion that led to resignations a year ago University and government projects relied heavily on American funding put on hold by Donald Trump Moves to appoint supervisory boards made up of business and public sector representatives seen as ‘logical step’ in sector development With new restrictions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine academics prioritised protecting teaching over research Forced to leave their homeland because of political persecution or international isolation Russian academics reflect on life in Western academia communicating with old colleagues and what happens after Putin leaves office Subscribe today to receive unlimited news and analyses commentary from the sharpest minds in international academia our influential university rankings analysis and the latest insights from our World Summit series and Environment Section of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Energy Sector Coordinator at the EU Delegation to Ukraine were in Ivano-Frankivsk to inspect Nefco-managed projects in the city the EU representatives met with Ruslan Martsinkiv Among the visited project sites was the reconstructed dormitory of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas The facility was turned into energy-efficient housing capable of accommodating 150 IDPs under the “EU Support for Urgent Housing Needs for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ukraine” action financed by the European Union and managed by Nefco Another project under this action – an administrative building transformed into IDP housing for approximately 40 people – opened its doors to new residents in May The representatives of the EU Delegation to Ukraine also inspected a plot of land for a new EU-financed project this project involves the construction of new housing for IDPs expected to accommodate approximately 550 people The project design has been completed and the tender procedure is ongoing During a meeting with the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk Jocelin Cornet and Andriy Bandura discussed the city’s needs during the war and how international donors can support the city in providing urgent accommodation for internally displaced persons Situated at a considerable distance from active hostilities serves as a major hub for those fleeing war-affected regions of Ukraine and for wounded soldiers undergoing rehabilitation This situation underscores the importance of IDP housing projects for the city also helps strengthen the community’s energy resilience amidst Russia’s continuous attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure “The EU is pleased with the progress of Nefco-managed projects in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine We take pride in witnessing the outcomes of our efforts to provide shelter to those in need offering them a safe space to rebuild their lives We are grateful to the Ivano-Frankivsk administration for the productive dialogue and their commitment to fostering hope among the city’s new residents for a better tomorrow and driving Ukraine’s green transformation,” says Jocelin Cornet Yuliia.Shevchuk@nefco.int