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 Global Sisters Report a project of National Catholic Reporter Sign up now walks near the center of an apartment complex in Borodyanka which collapsed when it was hit by a Russian missile on April 5 View Author Profile the war's relentless reach was evident even far from the front my colleague Gregg Brekke and I heard air raid sirens for the first time While expected, they were still startling and cause for unease — as were poignant moments, like seeing young soldiers on railroad platforms, headed east to the front, saying goodbye to friends and family members. (I only saw male soldiers that afternoon but thousands of Ukrainian women are also serving at the front.) Seeing the departing soldiers was a stark reminder of the costly the war is often portrayed as 'Who's winning who's losing,' " one Dominican sister in Mukachevo told me "But what's forgotten is the human cost." Some of that cost became quietly apparent near Mukachevo a local priest with ties to Dominican sisters and to Caritas is overseeing a project to expand housing for a group of displaced orphans and adults from the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol Our time with this group — 22 children and nine adults darkened two-story house — was all too brief But I sensed that the residents were deeply traumatized an army chaplain and leader of a group formed to help fellow displaced persons — displacement that dates back earlier than 2022 to the initial incursion of Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014 (GSR photo/Gregg Brekke) an army chaplain and leader of the group who has formed a charity to help fellow displaced persons — displacement that dates back earlier than 2022 to the initial incursion of Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014 which is why they call the events of the last year "Russia's full-scale invasion.") Recalling the utter confusion and daily bombardments that drove him and others to leave Mariupol Zavadski spoke plainly and starkly: "I'm totally lost I have lots of friends who died in the army at the hand of the Russians Zavadski's comments felt as bracing as the biting wind from the snow-covered steppes near Serednje — air so frigid in the darkening late afternoon that my eyes watered Zavadski's sober observations helped frame the nearly 10 days we were in Ukraine — as did being in once-peaceful towns near the capital of Kyiv damaged and brutalized by Russian forces early in the war and only now recovering those were not the sole frames we experienced Stark reminders of war were nearly always offset of those both suffering and those offering succor Edita Vozarova is seen during a visit to the nearby town of Serednje where a project to expand housing for a group of displaced orphans and adults from the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol is under way In an environment where an invading country's blunt searing and often unspeakable violence is met with small of acts of resistance and courage Edita Vozarova is both welcome and even healing herself displaced first in 2014 and then in 2022 There we joined other members of the congregation who had kindly offered us to stay in their convent for a few nights Blessed with a wry sense of humor, and deep modesty — she put off an interview as long as she could — Sister Edita, 53, recalled that in the war's first days she was not sure what to do to help the Ukrainians crossing into Slovakia. An early gesture, she said, was offering freshly baked cake to the arrivals and making coffee for Order of Malta volunteers at the border "We didn't know what else to do at first," she said Edita Vozarova is pictured during an interview at her congregation's convent in Mukachevo hosted GSR journalists Chris Herlinger and Gregg Brekke in February But in working with the volunteers as well as local parishes and Caritas she noted that ministries both in Mukachevo and across the border in Slovakia like establishing kindergartens for displaced Ukrainian children were made possible by the support of Dominican networks globally Other efforts: sending shoes and food to the front for Ukrainian soldiers; collecting clothing for the displaced and offering refugees shelter for the first six months or so of the war (Most of the families have since returned to Ukraine.) "It has changed life in our community," Sister Edita told me of the sisters' lives at their convent in Kosice "We are not used to children crying and laughing But it gave us a lot of light and energy for our sisters." who is from the now-besieged city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine said her family's "light and energy" come from the sisters while Natalia's husband works for a hydropower generating company north of the capital of Kyiv "Сooperation with the sisters gave me strength at the moment when I felt the weakest in all 37 years of my life," said Natalia a journalist who assists the sisters with their humanitarian work see Chris Herlinger and Gregg Brekke off on the train platform in Mukachevo "When I didn't know if I was doing the right thing by staying in a foreign country when it was difficult for me to survive the separation from my husband and my family when my children were having a hard time being separated from their father," she said "the Dominican sisters took them for walks allowing me to be alone and make important decisions." Natalia said she constantly feels the sisters' "prayers and support." Natalia said that in "the convent of the Dominican Sisters of Blessed Imelda in Kosice "I don't know how our destiny will develop but I'm just learning to feel again and hear the voice of faith." Natalia and Sister Edita bid us farewell on the same railroad platform where we saw the departing troops We didn't know what to expect next in Lviv a city with a culturally polyglot past — at times Jewish Polish and now Ukrainian — and a stop for those headed west to Poland and other countries during the first months of the war Some sense of normalcy was visible in Lviv and a nightly curfew didn't seem terribly well-enforced Young soldiers gather in the center of Lviv Yet idylls can be suddenly interrupted — and not only because of the constant hum of electrical generators heard on the city sidewalks I ran into two Ukrainian soldiers brandishing Kalashnikov rifles The next day we saw a group of young — and I mean young — soldiers none older than their mid-20s I would guess The same day we saw displays touting Ukrainian soldiers' heroism outside one of Lviv's handsome cathedrals — displays suggesting that the soldiers are blessed by saints there are always contradictions that complicate easy narratives An interview one afternoon with a parish priest a Franciscan sister and a lay Christian educator veered into uncomfortable territory on the issue of conscription about two dozen young men have been conscripted The sister and priest spoke of small numbers of young men hiding to avoid military service and the priest said he has presided over two funerals for those who have died in battle The toll this cumulative anxiety is taking on society is considerable. "The psychological stress is very big," the sister said no one can predict with any certainty what the next months will bring — though there is still a widespread belief that the question hanging over society is a constant thrum — "What's next?" That question took on more urgency as we got closer to the front the memories of a thwarted Russian takeover of the capital in the early days of the war remain raw Within days of the 2022 war's start, Russian tanks had entered Kyiv — a shock to residents like Sr. Yanuariya Isyk, a member of the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great whose ministry is based in the capital 'How did they arrive so quickly in Kyiv?' " she recalled speaking animatedly at the small monastery apartment shared with two other sisters Though the Russian forces were quickly repelled it is not easy for Sister Yanuariya to forget having to seek shelter it became safe to return home — though there were still Russian saboteurs in her neighborhood That left a mark on Sister Yanuariya's apartment building where a gaping bullet hole is still visible in a third-story stairwell prayer — "living with faith," "living to trust God" — proved to be both a source of comfort and a lodestar of resilience Sister Yanuariya related her experiences over plates of homemade cookies and cups of steaming tea and coffee — simple hospitality that is the norm in Ukraine but speaks to a wider sense of generosity a member of the Sisters of the Order of St Basil the Great whose ministry is based in the capital of Kyiv here in the small monastery apartment shared with two other sisters Something of that spirit is also apparent among those who are not avowedly religious The last third of our assignment — in and around Kyiv — could not have been accomplished without the help of Iryna Chernikova They are both Kyiv residents and are expecting their first child in about two months the young couple have had to fully reorder their lives Both lost livelihoods: Stas is an environmental attorney in a country where environmental law is not a priority now; Iryna is a furloughed flight attendant for the Ukrainian national airline Iryna and Stas spoke of their challenges over lunch at restaurant in Bucha — a city just west of of Kyiv best known for civilian atrocities committed by Russian troops last year In Bucha we saw families reconstructing their homes — and "Who knew Bucha would ever be famous?" Iryna said as we dug into bowls of hot bograch We pondered something several people had told us in interviews — that Ukraine is now a damaged society Overcoming that challenge touches both the collective and individual Despite the tragedy of the massacre of civilians in Bucha families are reconstructing their homes — and a city just west of Kyiv and famous now for atrocities committed by Russian forces early in the war: "Who knew Bucha would ever be famous?" Iryna said An abandoned Russian tank just off a highway near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv (GSR photo/Chris Herlinger) Posters declaring the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces are common everywhere This one is seen on a street in the western city of Lviv Some people even became heroic — joining the armed forces "But others become thieves," she said of people trying to profit from the war The couple wants to be on the side of the angels — both volunteer with the Territorial Defense Forces and they are forming a charity to help war veterans and their families recover from the moral injury of war "People need psychological help — they are damaged inside," Iryna said "Every day it becomes worse and becomes a bigger problem for our society." Stas picked up on that "It is something we have to deal with now," he said The outskirts of Kyiv are littered with the detritus of war — abandoned Russian tanks sit rusting along the sides of roads the imposing forests outside of the capital are now littered with land mines It could take years — perhaps as much as a decade Iryna said — before the armaments are all removed We passed the church in Irpin where the Orthodox priest who married the couple presided: Fr Vladimir Bormashev died while helping evacuate local residents "No one knows if it was artillery shelling or a mine that flew," Iryna said of the cleric's killing Our last full day in Ukraine was marked by hearing air-raid sirens and learning that rockets were bound for Kyiv launched by Russian forces in the Black Sea "Maybe we'll see them on the way," Iryna said casually as we headed for a morning interview south of the capital cloudless blue sky enveloping an expanse of flatlands similar to the plains of the Upper Midwest greeted us we didn't see any incoming rockets — though we did see soldiers along the highway at the ready with surface-to-air weapons "People are adaptable," said Slava Esmontov a Protestant chaplain we met later that morning in the city of Bila Tserkva and who has shepherded humanitarian aid to the besieged areas of eastern Ukraine an American Presbyterian laywoman who heads a charity which assists Ukrainians living with physical disabilities agreed that humans are surprisingly adaptable "It's not normal," she said of the current situation we headed west on a 14-hour train journey to Warsaw The trip required a stop the next morning along the Polish border for Ukrainian officials to query young Ukrainian men about their military eligibility Edita Vozarova is pictured in a visit to the town of Serednje a local priest with ties to Dominican sisters and to Caritas is overseeing a project to expand housing for a group of displaced orphans and adults from the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol In a cramped sleeper car that dated from the Soviet era humanitarian workers — would say they are in any way remarkable they are simply doing their best in demanding trying and even absurd situations — a new normal my thoughts strayed back to the early days of our assignment in Mukachevo I recalled what Sister Edita told me about meeting the displaced community in Serednje "We don't really have a collaboration with them yet," she said during our interview "But I've been thinking since yesterday that maybe we can provide some pillows and dishes to help them." I reminded Sister Edita that she had brought a crate of oranges for the residents "It's always nice for children to have some fresh fruit." But in a country where war is now normalized then enter your email address and click "subscribe" Global Sisters Report  (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 Far-right Euroskeptic candidate George Simion head of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan placed second with 20.99% of the vote and the candidate from the ruling coalition 10 of conducting searches in connection with a $2.7 million corruption scheme in the Mukachevo City Council in the western Zakarpattia Oblast The searches took place at the offices and properties of Mukachevo Mayor Andrii Baloha, the head of the Mukachevo District Council Mykhailo Lano, and some local companies, among other places, Hromadske news outlet wrote The corruption case involves local officials selling a plot of land on the territory of the city's sports complex at a below-market price, according to the SBU and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) conducting the investigation Hromadske's source said the sports facility in question is Avanhard Stadium in central Mukachevo the Mukachevo City Council put three hectares of communal land around the stadium up for auction setting the price at ten times lower than the land's actual value The land plot was eventually sold to a company allegedly belonging to Lano the Ukrainian state lost around Hr 100 million ($2.7 million) due to the corruption scheme Baloha is not the first Ukrainian mayor to be alleged of corruption while in office The party representing the 150,000-strong Hungarian minority in Ukraine has protested official action against the display of minority symbols and Hungarian-language inscriptions In Mukachevo (Munkács) and some villages of the surrounding sub-region where the majority of the population is ethnic Hungarian national flags and signs in Hungarian were removed from public institutions Well-respected heads of several Hungarian institutions were also dismissed the leaders of local institutions in and around Mukachevo were instructed to remove the Hungarian national flag and Hungarian inscriptions from the buildings of their institutions the Mukachevo municipal police carried out the act without force Hungarian language Ferenc Rákóczi Secondary School in Mukachevo head of the Cultural Center of Dercen for 18 years were both dismissed from their positions without cause Mindful that these acts can show Ukraine in a negative light representatives of the Hungarian minority addressed their concerns to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a meeting in the Transcarpathian County Council executive vice-president of the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Sub-Carpathia (KMKSZ) said in his speech that the Hungarian national symbols were removed without consultation with the Hungarian community and without approval by representatives of the Munkachevo Regional Council the leadership of KMKSZ had issued a statement protesting these actions which come upon the heels of consternation caused by the removal of a significant Hungarian symbol Statement by the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Sub-Carpathia (KMKSZ) The Board of the KMKSZ protests against the removal of the heads of Hungarian educational and cultural institutions belonging to the Mukachevo microregion and considers the unjustified dismissal of the director of Mukachevo II Ferenc Rákóczi Secondary School to be an illegal measure that threatens the quality of Hungarian-language education The nationalities law currently in force ensures the free use of the national symbols of minorities The provisions of the Language Act allow the posting of public signs in minority languages in addition to the state language in settlements inhabited by minorities the Presidency considers the removal of Hungarian flags and inscriptions in the settlements of the Mukachevo micro-region to be an arbitrary move READ Original in Hungarian Hungary and Romania Join Forces in the Council of Europe For Review of the New Ukrainian Law on National Minorities the monitoring committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) unanimously decided to ask the CoE’s constitutional advisory body to examine whether the Ukrainian minority protection law is in line with international standards chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament stated that despite Ukraine’s obligations and pronouncement it did not in fact hold consultations with the Venice Commission or the representatives of the national minorities before adopting the law “The fundamental condition for Ukraine’s integration into the EU is compliance with international minority protection legislation which is also required by the Copenhagen criteria for accession,” emphasized Zsolt Németh Photo: Kárpátalja.ma https://karpatalja.ma/karpatalja/kozelet/turulmadar-munkacs-kisterseg-magyarellenesseg/ Follow us Donate now The Byzantines’ Greek-Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo arose from the Union of Uzhhorod which set roots in the north eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire half way through the 17th century the Eparchy of Mukachevo was established officially by Pope Clement XIV in 1771 which lies in the Transcarpathia region in south-western Ukraine has seen numerous changes in which new eparchies have been created and the territory divided in 1937 the Eparchy of Mukachevo became “immediately subject to the Holy See” and this year it is celebrating the 30th anniversary since the end of Soviet domination which forced the Church underground In his address to the pilgrims whom he received in the Vatican before the weekly General Audience upholding the witness of the many Mukachevo martyrs to the Church and to the Bishop of Rome” in the darkest moments of the community’s history In particular he recalled the Blessed Martyr whom he described as “a tireless man who followed the example of Christ the Good Shepherd to the point of giving his life for his sheep.” He guided your people “with evangelical wisdom and courage,” he told them Pope Francis also highlighted the legacy of the ancestors of the community: “your grandfathers and grandmothers and often under the watchful eye of the hostile regime offering future generations “an eloquent witness of firm The Pope concluded his address inviting the members of the community to renew their personal encounter with Christ to make the decision to let yourselves be met by Him to seek Him every day without interruption.” And quoting from the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium he said “No one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord.” Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here You don't have permissions to access this page, 147.45.197.102. Reading"Patrick Wassmann photographs..." More fromWork Contact Advertising Opportunities Newsletters Insights + Opinion Creatives + Projects Advice + Resources Culture + Lifestyle Nicer Tuesdays The View From... POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Extra Search Patrick recalls the atmospheric setting: “The sun was setting painting everything in this surreal garden colour.” Though he didn’t speak a word of Ukrainian he didn’t let this hold him back from getting to know the locals “I started talking with this young guy who straightaway picked up that I was not from around there," who proceeded to show him around “Ukrainians are extremely curious in general and so am I so he asked if I wanted to meet his friends and I politely agreed,” the photographer tells It’s Nice That a photography series naturally evolved for Patrick the impetus for picking up the camera had nothing to do with a problem that Patrick wanted to express through photography He barely thought about the photographic output for this series at all “I did not know I was even doing a project” the photographer remarks on the intuitive development of the work freedom and nature” imbue the imagery with a sense of nostalgia and innocence “I spent a lot of time with them and the project reflects that,” says Patrick on the intimacy of his shots the narrative of Mukachevo and its inhabitants is constructed with familiarity The trust between the subjects and the photographer is evident in their relaxed facial expressions and carefree movement the series creates a “story that is very personal and at the same time universal and banal.” Taken during a tumultuous time for Ukrainian’s at war with Russia and in a “very bad economic position” the images offer a softer insight into the Ukrainian story It depicts a universal coming-of-age story regardless of the problems that plague the adults around them “An old mentor of mine always told me: ‘We need projects like these projects that show us how to be human’,” says Patrick Though the photos appear somewhat ordinary doused in everyday activity and youthful virtue the series “gives us a chance to really reflect on ourselves in a way we wouldn’t normally” by showing the plain banality of youthful existence Further Infowww.instagram.com/patrick_wassmann Jynann Ong Jynann joined It’s Nice That as an editorial assistant in August 2018 after graduating from The Glasgow School of Art’s Communication Design degree In March 2019 she became a staff writer and in June 2021 Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest About Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs © It’s Nice That 2024 · Nice Face Logo © It’s Nice That www.instagram.com/patrick_wassmann Photographer Patrick Wassmann arrived in Mukachevo Global creative network MullenLowe Global has been steadfast in its dedication to emerging creatives for the past ten years in partnership with renowned London art school Central Saint Martins it proudly presents the MullenLowe NOVA Awards for Fresh Creative Talent April was a chance for rest and rehabilitation but now we’re back and raring to go with a line-up crafted to set your creative heart a flutter from one of London’s most prolific photographers to a design studio set on bringing about change 30 image-makers will feature in Aida Amoako’s new book “exploring the concept of Black gaze” across photography In a new exhibition taking place in London’s Brixton Village seven artists respond to the phrase: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” About Contact Advertising Opportunities Newsletters Insights + Opinion Creatives + Projects Advice + Resources Culture + Lifestyle Nicer Tuesdays The View From... POV Forward Thinking Review of the Year Jenny Brewer Olivia Hingley Ellis Tree Elizabeth Goodspeed Liz Gorny Instagram TikTok LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Pinterest Careers at It’s Nice That Privacy Policy Insights Residence Creative Lives in Progress If You Could Jobs This article by Dániel Gyuriss was published in Hungarian on Corvinák the knowledge base of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium The provocative removal of the Turul monument in Mukachevo (officially Mukachiv Hungary) has provoked strong feelings in Transcarpathia and Hungary Various explanations have been offered as to the reasons for the taking down of the statue and the causes have posed new challenges to Hungarian-Ukrainian relations the Ukrainian-majority Mukachevo City Council decided to remove the Turul sculpture Two hours after the decision to remove the statue was taken was being hurriedly thrown into the moat by workers the Ukrainian symbol on the obelisk of the former Turul monument was unveiled and handed over by the Mayor of Mukachevo The mayor justified the installation of the symbol as a tribute to the country’s defenders and said: ‘Ukraine is more united than ever Ukrainians are only getting stronger and will fight to the end echoed his son’s arguments for the sculpture’s removal including that ‘the statue of the Market Square in Mukachiv was a symbol of Hungarian dreams of great power and irredentism.’ the Hungarian political elite is trying to block sanctions against Russia by all means deliberately and systematically obstructing Ukraine’s European integration while at the same time constantly supporting the Kremlin’s masters He also said that ‘all the symbols and spirit of Greater Hungary must be abolished once and for all’ the communications secretary of the Hungarian Cultural Association of Transcarpathia (KMKSZ) said in response to a press enquiry that the Baloga family is known throughout the country for its good relations with Russia ‘This Russian line is becoming more and more embarrassing; they have been repeatedly attacked in the Ukrainian press for this so the removal of the statue is presumably just a means to get rid of this stigma.’ Darcsi also noted that the act could be interpreted as a message to the public the monument commemorating the conquest of the Carpathian Basin at Verecke was targeted by Ukrainian extremists as well which is a tribute to the Hungarian tribes that conquered the Carpathian Basin around a thousand years ago members of the Svoboda party placed a trident on the upper side of the monument and inscribed their own text on a marble plaque It read: ‘Monument to the repentance of the Hungarian people for the murders committed by the fascist occupiers in 1939–44 Eternal glory to the heroes of Ukraine — the Carpathian Sich Guards’ on the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence the Ukrainian trident symbol was placed on top of the monument by activists of the same This symbol was dismantled by the authorities when the statue was restored A recurring element in both cases is the main symbol of the Ukrainian coat of arms This symbol was in use between the 10th and 12th centuries in the territory of the Kievan Rus under the Rurik dynasty The symbol also appears on the coin of Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev While the exact meaning of the symbol is unknown the best known theories are that it could represent the Holy Trinity made it the official symbol of the republic and put it on banknotes the trident again became the central motif of the coat of arms of Ukraine The cases of Mukachevo and Verecke are in themselves a striking example of the intent Ukrainian politicians and their supporters had: to display their own political agenda and serving nationalist political goals The difference between the two cases can be best illustrated by the fact that the destruction of images in Verecke was a grassroots whereas in Mukachevo the statue was removed as a result of a decision by the local authorities This latter fact clearly makes it difficult to call for an investigation into the matter or pursue the restoration of the monument especially if Kyiv does not support such Hungarian demands the Ukrainian symbol of negligible artistic on top of the obelisk of the mutilated Turul monument in Mukachevo is set to remain in place for quite some The size of the Ukrainian trident compares to the magnitude of the massive castle the same way decades of Ukrainian rule compare to the one-thousand-year-old Hungarian history in Transcarpathia a shock therapy that tries to deal with the frustration caused by the sense of difference between the Hungarian historical past of the region and the Ukrainian present it is also worth noting that alongside the symbolic occupation of space associated with Ukrainian nation-building a practice has also emerged that adapts central instructions to local levels the Ukrainian legislature passed a law of decommunization ordering the banishment of relics of the communist past from public spaces across the country many streets and squares have been since renamed after great Hungarian historical figures such as Ilona Zrínyi or Ferenc Rákóczi while in several cases old Hungarian names have been restored (such as Rövid and Széna Squares) many streets were named after the victims of the 2014 fighting in Eastern Ukraine This also brought to the fore the local memory of the war that raged in another part of the country While the 2015 solution was one of compromise that took into account the needs of the local Hungarian community the destruction of symbols and the subsequent symbolic reinterpretations of history in Verecke and later in Mukachevo All this was done while Hungary and Ukraine signed a bilateral treaty on the mutual protection of each other‘s national cultural heritages which are also protected by international treaties signed under the auspices of UNESCO it seems that this reciprocity and the desire for good relations have also become a victim of the Russo-Ukrainian war which is a painful development for Hungary Click here to read the original article Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective a daily train will link Bratislava to Kyiv A new daily train service between Bratislava and Kyiv will begin next month, following an agreement reached on November 7 between Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Peter Kmec (Hlas) and Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy, reports the respected Eastern Slovak media outlet Korzár “Direct train connections from Kyiv to Bratislava will begin on December 15 the plan had been to end the route in Košice the second largest Slovak city situated in eastern Slovakia a train from Kyiv will run on a broad-gauge track with passengers transferring to a narrow-gauge train in Čierna nad Tisou where border and customs checks will also take place in an expedited process and Kmec noted that Slovakia has observed significant interest not only from Ukrainian passengers seeking to reach the European Union but also from Europeans wishing to travel from Košice to Kyiv Kachka emphasised that the decision to launch the train service was made for governmental Whether the train will prove efficient remains to be seen Earlier this week, Korzár also reported on a four-hour-long train journey from Košice to Mukachevo it is in fact a modest motor train with two carriages the Hungarian train operating between Ukraine and Budapest Slovakia’s “fast train” also lacks a closed waste system passengers must step on a lever to let waste flow straight onto the tracks This system makes the toilets unusable at stations “We’re just sending the oldest bucket,” noting that this is the first experience many Ukrainians will have with the European Union stops in Čierna nad Tisou and the Ukrainian town of Chop passengers often face problems at the border a passenger is found carrying meat products typically sitting at the back of the train These products cannot be taken out of Ukraine a country that has been fighting Russia since February 2024 many Slovak tourists regularly visited western Ukraine taking trips to places like Mukachevo Castle or local swimming pools a new incident marked yet another chapter in the story of the deprivation of rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine Rákóczi Ferenc Secondary School in Munkács (Mukachevo) Transcarpathia reported that during the Friday school opening ceremony the use of the Hungarian flag and national colours was forbidden and the school director only delivered her speech in Ukrainian but resolutely stood up’ against the situation with prayers and poetry readings in Hungarian The institution also stated in a post on social media they will hold out A mai tanévnyitón megtiltották a magyar himnuszt tilos volt a magyar zászló és nemzeti színeink használata az igazgatói köszöntő is csak ukránul… The Hungarian community in Munkács has been harassed in a number of ways by the Ukrainian local authorities over the past year The leadership of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (THCA/KMKSZ) protested loudly against the appointment as the new director has no connection to the Hungarian community or the school Rákóczi Ferenc Secondary School posted another update on their social media page on Thursday the new director clearly stated what had only been suspected before the appointed head teacher and her deputy indicated that their short-term goal is the Ukrainianization of the school the teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language starting a Ukrainian first grade already in September and teaching some subjects in Ukrainian,’ the post reads with the firm protest and unified stance of their teaching staff the school managed to prevent the immediate launch of a Ukrainian language class and will keep teaching in Hungarian for now but it is now clear that ‘the city’s leadership’s plan is the swift elimination of Hungarian education in our school.’ Earlier, on 13 October 2022, the Ukrainian-majority Munkács municipality decided to remove the Turul sculpture Hungarian Conservative has recently covered the events surrounding the appointment of a new school head teacher in Transcarpathia has been selected to lead the Hungarian institution by the Ukrainian municipality officials of Munkács (Mukachevo) even though she has no affiliation either with the school or with the local Hungarian community Earlier this year, also in connection with the fate of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, our magazine also devoted an article to the situation surrounding the Ukrainian decree mandating the removal of Hungarian flags from all public buildings the employment of some teachers affiliated with the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) was terminated and the ethnically Hungarian school director fired shortly afterwards The removal of flags and teachers happened despite that fact that there had never ever been any objections to the displaying of the Hungarian flag on the school building or complaints against the teachers reporters will be describing things as they see them even if that is not in line with their government’s official position none of the Ukrainian-language articles about the removal of the school director express support for the governmental interference in the lives of Transcarpathian Hungarians some of the recently published articles openly condemn these actions While the article published on the news site called Carpathian Lens (in Ukrainian, Карпатьский об’єктив) is written in a rather neutral tone, it does present the Hungarian point of view without dedicating any effort to defending the decision of the local government. An article on the website karpat.in.ua which used the article of the previous site as their source writes: (Below is a full translation of the article Marija Pauk became the director of Mukachevo Secondary School No 3 — the educational institution opposes it At the Mukachevo secondary school No. 3 named after Ferenc Rákóczi II, a new head teacher has been appointed. The educational institution announced the news on its official Facebook page who has no relation to the Hungarian community The post ends with the words: “We will not give in!” was dismissed from his position on 17 January.’ A much more pro-Hungarian stance is adopted by the Voice of Carpathians (ukr The educational institution resists: Mukachevo school No The staff of the institution is against her appoinment arguing that she has no relation to the Hungarian community In Mukachevo secondary school No. 3 named after Ferenc Rákóczi II, a new director has been been appointed. The educational institution announced the news on its official Facebook page was dismissed from his position on 17 January We would like to remind you that earlier the Voice of Carpathians already reported that in Mukachevo overturning [Munkács Mayor] Balog’s decision the court reinstated Stepan Shinko (Editorial note: The name of the director is István Schink,Stepan Shinko is the Ukrainianised version the dismissed director of the Hungarian school No Shinko had managed the educational institution for 17 years and is very respected among the educators the teachers even appealed to the mayor of Mukachevo with a demand to reinstate Shinko as director four weeks before the end of the school year notwithstanding the fact that a month earlier the Mukachevo District Court deemed his January dismissal illegal and ordered his immediate reinstatement.’ It’s important to emphasize that all the quoted media outlets are regional This implies that they are authored by individuals who are either Ukrainian speakers residing in Transcarpathia or are otherwise closely connected to the region national outlets published any articles about the story so there is no way to tell what reactions it would have garnered had it been shared more widely across the country The fact that local and regional and Ukrainian language media has written in a neutral or sympathetic manner about the issue is important The Ukrainians in the region are hardly the ones who pushed for the arbitrary and unlawful measures of the local government which may be acting to pander to an anti-Hungarian sentiment that has been fuelled by the government and Ukrainian political actors that are not from Transcarpathia Ukraine is undoubtedly in an extremely difficult position This is the time when for obvious practical reasons Ukraine would need internal consolidation and harmony instead of artificial rifts and strife between its peoples Encroaching on the minority rights of Hungarians in the sphere of education certainly does not serve the purpose of national unity The choice of those who discriminate against the ethnic Hungarian community s is both morally questionable and impractical and only serves to alienate some of its citizens Sister Marina (vocals) and Sister Natalka (violin) View Author Profile Follow on Twitter at @danstockman View Author Profile Editor's note: Global Sisters Report's Monday Starter is a weekly feature from GSR staff writers that rounds up news from or about women religious that you may otherwise have missed A convent in western Ukraine that until recently sheltered refugees has been turned into a retreat center where nuns use music therapy to console and comfort "Hundreds of people now visit our convent and spend time in silence and prayer, just listening to the live music played by our sisters," says Sr. Ligi Payyappilly, superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Saint-Marc in Mukachevo As part of the convent's therapeutic program prays and consoles people affected by depression and anxiety for at least five hours each day while others share their emotions with our sisters," Payyappilly told Global Sisters Report Ligi Payyappilly consoles a participant during the therapy sessions at St The band sings devotional songs while other sisters provide counseling and spiritual guidance "I feel more united with Jesus and his people when I play my violin or sing," Sister Natalka Others on the team are Sister Laura (keyboard and vocals) Sister Erika (drums) and Sister Marina (vocals) said she forgets her worries when she listens to the nuns' music or prays silently in the convent "My 20-year-old son and husband are serving the Ukraine army and my only solace is in the Lord," the woman Kalinich is among the estimated 300 people who visit the convent regularly The convent has a "cry room" for visitors to sit and cry or otherwise let out their suppressed emotions Also popular is the unfinished retreat center with an adoration room and a hall "I tried to raise funds to complete the building where she had gone to meet some benefactors A mother and child walk into the prayer hall where people are seated for prayer and worship at St Payyappilly said the convent sheltered about 100 people daily during early weeks of the war Only 20 refugees now stay there; others have gone back to their homes but they have developed resilience to live with the crisis in their war-torn country," said Payyappilly a native Indian who has devised several programs to help the refugees Kalinich stayed as a refugee in the convent in the beginning of the war but has since returned home "How can we stay comfortably here when our men are either dying or suffering at the war front?" she said As Sr. Kathy Chuston put it "A beer garden is probably the most Milwaukee thing ever Lucy Kalapurackal greets visitors to the July 11 Sister Water Beer Garden in a Box fundraiser The School Sisters of St. Francis started their Sister Water Beer Garden in 2019 with a series of three events in the convent gardens to raise money for their efforts to bring safe clean water to the people they serve around the world The event is named the Sister Water Beer Garden after St Francis' "Canticle of the Creatures," which refers to "Sister Water" and "Brother Wind."The events were a big success in 2019 but had to be dramatically modified to make them safe after the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 the sisters held a drive-thru where they sold a "beer garden in a box," which contained a big jug of beer This year, the beer garden is back in the gardens and features live music, food, wine, games and — of course — beer. Local brewery Lakefront Brewing is crafting special beers for the event "Ale Mary" and "Our Lager." Food includes bratwurst (this is Milwaukee shredded barbecue chicken sliders and hot pretzels The website says the fundraiser will help provide:  Only one Sister Water Beer Garden is planned for this summer but an Oktoberfest celebration is planned for Sept Sr. Judy Zielinski has been busy The Sister of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio, is the director of faith and values programming at NewGroup Media in South Bend, Indiana, and wrote and produced the 2020 documentary "Walking the Good Red Road: Nicholas Black Elk's Journey to Sainthood." she turned to another inspiring project: the life of Servant of God Sr a trailblazing African American sister who was the first Black sister in her white congregation and an inspiration to thousands of people with her words and songs Zielinski reported in an email that her team is "deep into editing" and is "on target to release the film for fall broadcasts on ABC stations nationally." In the meantime, her team has released a nearly seven-minute preview of "Going Home Like a Shooting Star: Thea Bowman's Journey to Sainthood" on YouTube.  "In light of the deep darkness and division we face daily in our country and world Thea's story seems as timely and relevant today as it did 30 years ago," Zielinski wrote in the email The remains of 24 Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary have been moved to their own special section in a Catholic cemetery, Lancaster Online reports. The nuns had been buried in a small cemetery at their Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. But that monastery, which opened in 1955, closed in September because of dwindling numbers, and the four remaining nuns who lived there have moved to the Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx borough of New York City Joseph's New Roman Catholic Cemetery southwest of Lancaster; they joined a nun who died in April and was buried there first A special blessing ceremony was held June 3 Network wins College Theology Society award Joan Neal, deputy executive director and chief equity officer at Network, noted that college theologians have a special responsibility in the fight for social justice, according to Network's press release: you have an important opportunity now to shape a new generation to form their minds and their understanding in such a way that the sin of racism might someday cease to exist.  IMAAR and Ukrainian Monoliltnisty have commissioned Nexus for Research and Consulting to Conduct a multi-sectoral needs assessment vs three Ukrainian °blasts: Chernihlv The assessment Specifically focuses on the sectors of Shelter the primary Objective Of this Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) was to identify the key humanitarian weds in these three oblasts that have mowed limited support from humanitarian assistance efforts The needs assessment was Carried out between 15 April and 15 Jun 2023 The assessment was Conducted In three cities located in Northern the methodological design employed a mixed-methods approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods It involved a comprehensive desk review of secondary data along with primary data Collection through household (MH) surveys The design of the needs assessment tools placed emphasis three key criteria Availability By considering those three criteria the assessment aimed to capture the challenges and individuals and communities face when accessing essential Serviced and resources Nexus adopted a gender and age-sensitive approach throughout the assignment which Waded the inclusion and consideration of averse perspectives and experiences The assignment followed a participatory process In al phases from inception to data collection and reporting the methodology accounted for contextual factors and analysis acknowledging their influence on the findings Nexus verified and triangulated both Quantitative and qualitative data Probng techniques were also used Owing data collection to raved mderlying issues and explore causal relationships effectively For more details on the methodology please see section 4-Methodology • Healthcare services and heating fuel were the top priorities across the locations • Heating supplies were the most urgently needed items as it gait them more flexibility to meet their basic needs Some respondents also identified in-kind materials and long-term services as significant needs • access to markets was severely affected by the war causing instability and humanitarian suffering and physical banters due to boating were the main obstacles to accessing markets There was a newt for affordable and accessible markets and cash assistance programs to help the affected Depilation The main reasons for dissatisfaction were insufficient quantity Other reasons included unclear information and perceived unfairness Cr partiality in aid delivery There was a need tp improving the aid delver/ process to meet the needs and expectations of the affected population The move sparked local controversy and diplomatic protests from Budapest An ongoing battle to preserve culture is further endangered by the devastating impact of the war installed one of Ukraine’s most recognised symbols the tryzub (trident) in the town’s landmark tenth-century Palanok castle has extra weight in today’s Ukraine as the country fights for its sovereignty in the wake of Russia’s invasion a bronze eagle statue and symbol of Hungary’s history on the 14-metre pedestal Ukraine’s westernmost region of Zakarpattia is home to about 151,000 Hungarians This accounts for about 12 per cent of its population and 97 per cent of all Hungarians living in Ukraine The replacement sparked controversy and disquiet in neighbouring Hungary whose government has a long-standing interest in the region and has supported it since it became part of the Soviet Union in 1945 Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó summoned the temporary chargé d'affaires of Ukraine as he described the move an “unnecessary provocation,” but added that the decision would have to be discussed “when there is peace in Ukraine again  "Ukraine must have Ukrainian symbols.” The presence of the turul has a long history the then-Austro-Hungarian rulers placed it on a 33-metre-high column in the castle; in 1924 the local authorities demolished it after the Trianon treaty made the region part of Czechoslovakia The statue was subsequently melted down by the Soviets but in 2008 Mukachevo’s council decided to reinstall it with a copy Zakarpattia’s Society of Hungarian Culture said it was “shocked” as the turul had previously been “returned to its former place on the initiative of the Mukachevo city government in 2008 as a sign of a common historical past and peaceful coexistence of nationalities” told IWPR that the community opposed the move “We [also] sent a letter to the Zakarpattia regional prosecutor's office challenging enquiring about the legality of the decision and applied to the court to recognise it as illegal and cancel it,” he told IWPR in a written statement stated that the decision had widespread support and that the authorities had not received any formal protests from the Hungarian community there is nothing to react to,” he told IWPR But Ukraine must have Ukrainian symbols.” During a recent public speech Baloga announced that “all other symbols will be installed in the upper courtyard of the museum as an exhibition” Sitting at the confluence of four international borders - Hungary Romania and Poland - Zakarpattia’s geography has shaped its history and demography In the 20th century alone it was part of Hungary the Soviet Union and independent Ukraine; residents joke that a person could have been a citizen of five different states without ever leaving their native village and entrepreneurs through various funds and projects It is also highly sensitive to any initiative that can be seen as a threat to the community in particular with regards to the Hungarian language Ukraine approved a controversial education law which increased the number of hours of teaching in Ukrainian and reduced those dedicated to languages of national minorities Budapest stated it would block Ukraine’s access to NATO until Kyiv restored what it said was curbed access to education for the Hungarian community following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula and the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine language became a sensitive issue as Ukrainians argued that the prominence of Russia was a legacy of the Soviet era that undermined national identity there has been a push to promote the Ukrainian language in state institutions Tensions have remained at the political level despite some attempts to stir animosity among the co-existing population three Polish citizens were found guilty for an arson attack on a Hungarian cultural centre in Uzhhorod While no quotas are allocated to representatives of the Hungarian community in local entities the first deputy chairman of the regional council was a representative of the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine “Hungarians have always looked for points of contact at the regional level,” said Mykhailo Shelemba professor at Uzhgorod National University’s department of international studies and public communications “If there was a certain degree of misunderstanding at the state level there was always a search for consensus at the regional level.” the region’s majority Ukrainian community have supported the replacement of the turul with the trident said he had nothing against the turul itself “But if we tie it to [Hungary’s prime minister’s Viktor] Orban's political steps but this bird was chosen as a symbol by the revanchists after the collapse of Austria-Hungary.” geopolitics are created from such egocentric actions." “a Hungarian coat of arms in Ukraine is strange Is there a Ukrainian trident somewhere in a castle or state institution in Hungary?” a Uzhhorod-based political analyst and non-resident fellow of Bratislava-based Globsec think tank argued that the removal had nothing to do with state policy and it is rather a showdown among local politicians “It is a kind of vendetta to a certain circle of Hungarian leaders and personally to Vasyl Brenzovych [leader of the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine] it is not revenge towards the Hungarian community a provocation in as much that now Budapest is not fully convinced that Baloga is the one who started it and is looking into whether Kyiv is not involved,” Tuzhanskyi told IWPR He added that the provocation was leading people to draw parallels between the dismantling of Soviet monuments and the turul “This is dangerous… We strive for membership in the EU and NATO and the interests of national minorities are important to us There is no state position in the removal of the turul… Often geopolitics are created from such utilitarian the head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration which was established in the wake of the war as in all regions across Ukraine While stating that “there should be a trident,” he acknowledged that “there should be a debate I must not allow this to be any aggressive action We must show the international community that we are reasonable people” Journalists need training and support to properly cover war crimes trials Activists warn that vulnerable domestic workers risk abuse often returning with serious health conditions sacrifice and luck secured a vital early win in the south-eastern campaign Some women face Adana's male-dominated traffic chaos for a living Recent murder highlights widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTI people Open source intelligence (OSINT) can provide facts – but impatient Tel +44 (0)20 7831 1030 Tel +1 202 393 5641 IWPR is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom (charity reg no: 2744185); in the United States as a not-for-profit organisation with tax-exempt status under IRS section 501(c)(3); and as a charitable foundation in The Netherlands The opinions expressed on iwpr.net are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting Site design by IWPR. Developed by AG Prime Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article The city is also a significant tourist centre We plan to launch the regular passenger service It will take four hours to get from the Ukrainian railway station to Slovakia The route is: Kosice - Cierna nad Tisou - Chop — Mukachevo," Yevhen Kravtsov the Chairman of the Board of JSC "Ukrzaliznytsya" (Ukrainian Railways) posted on Facebook According to the Ukrzaliznytsia press service the passenger rail bus of the Slovak railway company ZSSK which carried out a test ride on the standard European gauge of 1,435 mm arrived in Mukachevo from the Slovak Republic at 14:00 a working meeting of Ukrainian and Slovak railway employees took place The parties discussed the technical parameters of infrastructure and rolling stock and also agreed on the organizational aspects related to the launch of regular international passenger traffic between Ukrainian Mukachevo and Slovak Kosice in summer 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 This article presents a short summary of the history of the Jews of Munkács It is presented here for the sake of comparison with the history of the Jews of Budapest the largest of the Jewish communities in prewar Hungary profiled in a separate article in this newsletter Munkács was a major center of Hasidic life and learning While Budapest remained relatively safe until October the Jews of Munkács were among the first of the Hungarian Jews to be deported to Auschwitz Many additional comparisons can be made between these two communities is a city in the Transcarpathian region of the Ukraine It then became part of Czechoslovakia until 1938 and from 1938 to 1945 it was again part of Hungary From the end of World War II it was part of the Soviet Union and after 1991 it became part of the Ukraine These changes are reflected in the history of the Jewish community of Munkács as well The early days of the Jewish community in Munkács are reflected in documents that date back to the early 18th century Jews settled there in the second half of the 17th century; there is some evidence that a few isolated Jews lived in the surrounding area prior to this period In 1711 the town became the property of a noble family that was favorable to the Jewish population of the area and allowed Jews to settle there as long as they paid special taxes worked as craftsmen and some were even farmers in the surrounding areas The Jewish community in Munkács grew when Jews arrived from neighboring Galicia which was also part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire the Jewish community numbered 5,049 (47.9% of the total population) by 1891 and this percentage stayed more or less constant through 1930 Munkács became an important Jewish community in Hungary within a relatively short period 88% of the Jewish community registered their nationality as “Jewish.” The Jewish community of Munkács was known for its conservatism and inclination towards Hasidism and for its many enterprises in modern contexts such as Hebrew education and Zionist activities Historians attribute devotion to Hasidism by many Jews in Munkács to the location of the town The devout Hasidism of Munkács is also explained by the scenery of the Carpathian Mountains As modernization and enlightenment made their way into the community the struggle between those who advocated changes and adaptation to the new world and those who adhered to the traditional way of life was particularly intense in Munkács and its surroundings Following the split between Orthodox and Neologs only a few joined the Neolog movement and a small community was established in Munkács.  During the interwar period Jews participated actively in the administration and the political life of Munkács the country to which Munkács belonged in that period The Orthodox non-Hasidic community in Munkács belonged to the circles of the Chatam Sofer from Pressburg (Bratislava) at that time in Hungary (at present the capital of Slovakia) Judaism in Carpatho-Rus remained a bastion of Jewish conservatism and even spearheaded anti-Zionist and anti-Modernist ways of thought among Jews of Eastern Europe The average Jewish family in the rural districts lived in houses built from locally available natural materials and because many of the houses lacked a chimney The privies were located outside the houses and there were no showers or running water Water was drawn from wells in the courtyards or from springs and streams near the village and their houses were located in the middle of the town The patriarchal Jewish family preserved its structure even in times when modernism shifted this traditional familial structure and supporting a family was an enormous endeavor fathers saw themselves as responsible for the education of their children With the growth of the Jewish population Munkács became the educational and cultural center for the Jews in the region Four Yiddish periodicals were published in Munkács a Hebrew press was founded and many Hebrew books were published in Munkács until 1944 a Hebrew elementary school was established by the Organization of Hebrew Schools in Subcarpathian Ruthenia and it became popular both in Munkács and the surrounding towns A Hebrew secondary school was established in 1925 At the outbreak of World War II there were approximately 30 synagogues in Munkács In the text below Peretz Litmann refers to the unique nature of his hometown as expressed in the ability of Jewish residents to live together despite the differences that existed between their political He summarizes this topic from his personal experience: some 10,000 Jews lived in Munkács – half the town's total population The Jewish community of Munkács began to become exposed to the modern and there were two opposing camps: the Hasidim led by Rabbi Elazar Shapira and the Jews that had abandoned all their religious obligations all of Munkács's Jews were involved in the Jewish life of the town: right-wing Zionist groups worker and socialist anti-Zionist organizations communists and anti-Zionist religious groups When Munkács returned to Hungarian rule in 1938 but their optimism was soon brought to an end The Hungarian authorities persecuted the Jews from the beginning of their annexation of the town and recruited many men for forced labor in the Hungarian army the German army invaded Hungary and four weeks later Jews from Munkács were forced into two ghettos and those from the surrounding areas were assembled at two brick factories on the outskirts of town and on 23 May the last deportation train left Munkács The Yad Vashem website had recently undergone a major upgrade The page you are looking for has apparently been moved We are therefore redirecting you to what we hope will be a useful landing page For any questions/clarifications/problems, please contact: webmaster@yadvashem.org.il Belépés They knew they were memorializing themselves, that they were the last Hungarian Jewish community in MukachevoEnglish photographer Éva Horvát documented the life of the last Hasidic diaspora in Mukachevo which identified itself as Hungarian had suffered many traumas in spite of the town's troubled history after surviving the Holocaust and the Gulag returned to Mukachevo to continue to follow their religion and go on despite their constant struggle with poverty The Jewish community in Mukachevo had flourished from the 19th century onward and its numbers declined steadily in the 20th century especially after the 2nd World War and the break-up of the Soviet Union The community eventually disappeared altogether Éva Horvát pays tribute to the meeting of tradition and everyday life and how religion can help rise above so much trauma and hardship "This project started somewhat by chance, like almost everything else in life," Éva Horvát, who came into contact with the community through Miklós Rékai, an ethnographer of the Jews of Mukachevo, says. Rékai had been researching the lives of the remaining Hungarian-identity Jews in Mukachevo for a year when Éva Horvát was offered the opportunity to join the project whose identity was defined by their origins and traditions while they were living in socially different living conditions Their system of traditions was rooted in an identity from a very long time ago their lives were defined by the pre-war period and the regime change as well," the photographer explains She spent three years documenting the life of the Jewish community in Mukachevo including visiting their religious festivals "We would spend three or four days with them each time Horvát regularly visited the last Jewish diaspora in Mukachevo between 1992 and 1995 and the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography held an exhibition of her pictures in 1995 the pictures appeared in various collections in several countries although not in Mukachevo: the people of Mukachevo came to Hungary to see them The photos are now being published as a book for the first time under the title "Fallen Oaks Scattered Seeds" – we chose a selection of the text and pictures from the publication and spoke with Horvát about how she and Rékai experienced the three-year project Éva Horvát's photographic material is a memorial to the last Hasidic community in Mukachevo and provides us with a glimpse into the poverty of socialism and the collapse of Transcarpathia after the fall of communism the photos also give insight into the life of a community traumatized by war are holding on to what keeps them together – their traditions and their religion Mukachevo was one of the centers of Hungarian-speaking Jewry It was in the 17th century that some Jews from Galicia and Ukraine came to the area of Mukachevo and founded a new community They were trying to escape the rule of the Zaporizhzhya Cossack Bohdan Khmelnitsky and the ethnic cleansing that took place under him The Jewish congregation was officially established in 1741 in his work describing the presence of Jews in the area in the 18th century and the persecution and harassment of Jews began at least 50 percent of Mukachevo's population was Jewish Photo: Éva Horvát"When the Hungarians marched into Mukachevo in 1941 and they worshiped the Hungarians…Even in the 1990s they considered themselves Hungarian as they had lived under so many different regimes And it was the Hungarians who took them away in '41," the photographer says a native of Mukachevo of Jewish origin and the author of the foreword to the book says that "after the war there was still Jewish life in Mukachevo While from the 19th century onwards the Jews of Mukachevo were practically inescapable in Jewish correspondence in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Jewish religious world after the fall of communism this diaspora disappeared completely Photo: Éva HorvátPhoto: Éva HorvátAfter the war there were synagogues and places of worship but after the Second World War there was no synagogue left so the community of Mukachevo established a so-called "stiebel" (synagogue in a home) the three windows to the right of the entrance opened into the men's room while the women's room looked out onto the courtyard some prayed alone: the main character in the picture above or perhaps so that they would not disturb each other prefers to retire to pray in the dim light of the room used as a pantry and a workshop' Photo: Éva Horvát"When I first entered the stiebel And that was that," Éva Horvát recalls her first encounter with the community in Mukachevo: "It was important that I myself am Jewish although I come from an intellectual family in Pest but it was in Mukachevo that I really discovered where the traditions in our lives came from." Following the collapse of the Soviet market in the years after Ukraine's independence in 1991 – when the pictures were taken – Ukraine faced staggering poverty not a single petrol station in Mukachevo during those three years If you didn’t see too many goods for sale when you went to the market it wasn't because they had run out of supplies In Hungary you couldn't really see the collapse of socialism but people protected themselves by trying to keep their spirits up even in the midst of this great poverty." Photo: Éva HorvátPhoto: Éva HorvátShe recalls that during this period and this kind of poverty was also felt inside the apartments instead of retiring chose to go to work in a factory so she could get a pint of milk to give to her grandchild they would go out to find something: groceries Someone from each family had to sit by the tap to be there when the city turned on the water twice a day There's a picture of Bumi cleaning the rooster in the bathroom – he did it there because there was no water in the kitchen.” The rooster is one of the main motifs of the Kapparot "the Eternal's mercy is most felt on the morning of the Day of Atonement and the preceding day so the men take a rooster and the women a hen and then spin the animal three times over their heads while repeating the Hebrew phrase "this is my exchange this is my substitute..." three times" It is believed that the animal can redeem people from their sins the animal was slaughtered according to tradition and its meat was either donated to the poor or eaten as soup one could replace it with fish: in Mukachevo it was common to make a Kapparot with fish Horváth says that there is no previous record of the fish being placed on the doorstep as part of the ceremony this was a unique tradition of the Jews of Mukachevo Photo: Éva Horvát“Some survived Auschwitz and lived through the Gulag these same people had to flee from the unlivable poverty of post-communism The ones we see in the photos are the ones who chose to stay even under such circumstances The community that survived in spite of all that history was mostly made up of Jews with a Hungarian identity and could only follow their religion in secret during the years of communism” – Éva Horvát explains the woman of the house lights the Shabbat candles some of the women among the returned members of the Jewish community no longer lit a candle on Shabbat The spirit of anti-religious communism further reduced the number of candle-lighters in Mukachevo The book tells the story of Hindu “whose loved ones who were murdered in Auschwitz appeared in a dream and asked her how she could have given up on this ancient tradition Hindu counted a total of thirteen living and dead relatives in her dream and decided to start lighting the candles again but – for fear of it being illegal to practice her religion – instead of the living room She only dared move the candle holders to the living room after the regime change.” members of the Jewish community of Mukachevo continued closing the living room curtains when lighting the candles Horvát explains that “when it came to practicing their religion and the Jews gave cookies to the Christians we asked the Mukachevo Jews whether they celebrated Christmas Photo: Éva Horvát“I was less interested in the religious part – that was a crutch It often happened that religion and everyday life blurred together.” – Horvát says She explains that after the majority of the Mukachevo Jews who survived The Holocaust had left (mostly to the United States and Israel) those who remained became a completely unique diaspora: for example they completely gave up on the external traditions of Hasidism Maybe because they expect someone who had disappeared to come looking for them there Or because leaving doesn’t even occur to them Those who were better-off could leave sooner the poor ones were those who stayed – Horvát says They had already experienced their own reform Giving up on external things or adjusting to trying to stay alive was not something they saw as reform.” Photo: Éva HorvátPhoto: Éva HorvátOne of the above photos portraying men are of the Tashlikh an old Jewish custom when the community walks to the waterfront following afternoon prayers on the first day of the new year they went to the Latorica river: here they said a special prayer and shook the edges of their clothes – symbolically casting off their sins Hindu is preparing "mishloach manot” or handmade food gifts Photo: Éva Horvát"They kept their religion mainly according to their memories A rabbi only came when it was evident that this diaspora was going to disappear," Éva Horvát says which is why Rabbi Hoffmann Chayim Shlomo came to Mukachevo in the early 1990s which represented the whole of Central Europe at one point or another But it is interesting that they knew that their story was important and I was able to photograph them precisely due to this moment of grace which existed because the people of this community were aware – as much as I was – that they were going to memorialize the Jewish community of Mukachevo." Photo: Éva HorvátPhoto: Éva Horvát"At the time Mukachevo was completely different from Budapest The majority of the Jews in Pest had already assimilated before the war while in Mukachevo there was no need to assimilate you could find everyone from the wealthiest to the poorest living in completely different economic situations but by '92 it was mainly the poor who were still there being Jewish didn't just mean being middle-class there and practised their religion in the same way.” Photo: Éva HorvátWhen we asked Éva Horvát what it was that stuck with her the most from those three years "the creativity with which they lived The way they were able to reconcile their religious identity with everyday life." In the picture above the man is standing at the door of the stiebel He did this because on holidays it is not allowed to use electricity including the telephone: he didn't want to break this rule But Horvát also told us about the time when they asked the community what they should bring for them from Budapest because they always brought them something: "They told us to bring salami the fact that I'm the one eating it," was the response they were not dogmatic about religion." this book means that we have really erected a memorial to this community It also means that when you take a picture you may not know everything about the picture yourself The significance of this book is also that these signs will be researchable." adding that her dream is to continue the project should the book be successful It's interesting that a synagogue has been established since the community ceased to exist That's where the descendants go back from time to time.” Photo: Éva HorvátPhoto: Éva HorvátDuring the holiday season Horvát was also able to witness special events such as weddings shows the tradition of covering the bride's face (bedeken) just as the Jewish foremother Rebecca covered her face with a shawl when she saw her fiancé Isaac But it also symbolizes that the groom loves the bride not for her appearance but for her inner qualities the couple's happiness at being married is immense Pesach is an annual reminder of their liberation from slavery in Egypt and on Seder night the older generations pass on the story of the Exodus to the next generations To make it even more exciting for the children the host hides part of a matzo-bread for the children to find Just as baking the Pesach bread from two simple ingredients is a serious matter so too are the preparations: even in the poorest religious Jewish household during this holiday they use a separate set of utensils ones that have not come in contact with leaven Photo: Éva HorvátThere were only a few people left in the community who had lived through both The Holocaust and the Gulag Éva Horváth says that while they told stories about their traumas they preferred to remember their childhood they preferred to live in the good stories," the photographer says Horvát then adds: “They told me about life before the war about the scarcity of food and how they always looked forward to Saturday but also because there would be cholent – so they could finally eat well they found it especially painful that it was the Hungarians who took them away – since they felt Hungarian themselves But one thing they didn't talk about was The Holocaust – not because not talking about it was like not remembering it They didn't talk about it because not talking about it was as if they didn't have to suffer all that humiliation It's as if they didn't have to live through all that inhumanity.” Fallen oaks, scattered seeds – The book by Éva Horvát and Viktor Cseh will be published on 9 June 2023. A significant proportion of the skis sold worldwide each year are manufactured in western Ukraine. They are mostly made in factories around Mukachevo. Most are still open but retailers have been told to expect some delays. The area remains under Ukrainian control. snowboard and boot factories in Ukraine closed as the war began on February 24th They then re-opened once the Russian attack stalled The main ski factory in Mukachevo is a 50-acre facility owned and run by the Austrian company It was closed for nearly a month and a half after the Russian invasion It makes more than half of the company’s products plus skis & snowboards for several other brands The facility was built in 1944 and purchased by Fischer in 1985 The factory began making skis in that part of Ukraine as skis were originally made from wood and the area was covered by dense forests More recently it has been used as production costs are cheaper than western Europe with transportation and export relatively simple The Fischer factory is reported to produce more than 50% of all skis and snowboards sold in Europe each year It is a mass producer of cross-country skis A significant portion of the Fisher factory was destroyed by a fire in 2020 but the facility was back in production again before the war We reported on the fire at the time on PlanetSKI: After the blaze Fischer moved some of its production to Austria and that is a move that could be repeated if problems persist Most high-end skis are produced in the company’s home country and many beginner skis are made in China Rossignol has a factory outside Lviv and it has remained closed during the conflict The factory is near a military base that trains foreign fighters and it was the target of a Russian missile strike in early March Although the factory was unscathed the missile attack destroyed other infrastructure around it Ski & snowboard retailers have been warned to expect some disruption to supplies this coming winter It comes as Russia implies it has expanded its military objectives in an interview with Russian state media said its military aim is no longer “only” the east He indicated Moscow’s strategy had changed after the West confirmed it was supplying 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Comments by President of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association Andrey Guryev on bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC green chemistry research grants awarded for the 8th time to world's best young scientists Download the pdf version Download the pdf version Download the pdf version Download the pdf version The Fischer ski factory in Ukraine must be one of the country’s best kept secrets Set up in the 40s and employing over 1,000 people it produces about 60% of all the skis and snowboards that ride the mountains of Europe each season and many other pieces of equipment to boot not that most punters are aware as they don't carry a “made in Ukraine” sticker on them which is located in Mukachevo in the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine Firefighters battled the blaze on the 20-hectare site for most of Sunday night and only brought the blaze under control in the small hours of Monday morning Thankfully they saved the main warehouse where most of the finished product is stored but much of the production lines were destroyed pre-dawn fire started that burned 9,000 square metres of the production facilities and warehouse of the Mukachevo ski factory The factory is owned by the legendary Austria's Fischer Sports GmbH company have pioneered the mass production of skis and had a big part in turning the sport into a mass market phenomena over 100 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire The agency didn't reveal the cause of the blaze The Fischer family partriarch Joseph Fischer built up the prodcution of skis in Ukraine fro export to the west during the Cold War died at the age of 90 last year The Mukachevo factory in the Zakarpattia region was founded in 1944 but the Fischer family became involved in 1980s lead by the family’s patriarch Joseph Fischer who gave his name to the skis and died last August at the age of 90 The plant was located in Mukachevo as originally skis were made of wood and the region was densely forested but the business grew and in the 1970s the factory switched to producing its first plastic skis after which it soon went international under Fischer’s guidance The fact that the Austrian-owned factor grew up in the Soviet Union never seemed to have much of an impact on its business Fischer came for the trees and stayed for the low labour costs and skilled workers The collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of an independent Ukraine in 1991 also had little impact on the plant which has continued to churn out skis from its facility for almost 80 years The factory makes 60% of its Fischer brand skis from the Mukachevo factory as well as manufacturing a number of other famous brands under liscence from the same workshop Few are aware that Ukraine is probably Europe’s biggest producers of skis in all of Europe and dominates the market producing hundreds of thousands of skis and snowboards a year Mukachevo was the Soviet Union's first factory to start manufacturing plastic skis the size of the damage caused by the factory is not yet clear marketing director of Fischer's Russian office was quoted as saying by skisport.ru that it's too early to make any judgement "All we can say at this point is that no one was injured and the audit of the facility is currently in progress to determine the size of damage." Although the Mukachevo factory has kept a low profile Fischer produces 85% of its skis at the plant accounts for one quarter of the international ski market and one half of that of the European Union The factory employs 1,200 Ukrainian workers Fisher formed a joint venture company with Mukachevo in 1995 The Austrian manufacturer owns a 50% share of the joint venture the Mukachevo factory produces ice hockey sticks equipping 27 teams of the National Hockey League Check the box to receive the e-magazine to your inbox every month for free Get notified when there's a new bne IntelliNews Podcasts added During the active phase of the special operation “West-2023” 116 offenders were detained at the site of the Mukachevo border detachment The border guards of the Mukachevo detachment found four violators last day two men of conscription age — a resident of Kyiv and Transcarpathian — were stopped at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian-Romanian border in common with cadets of the National Academy of Internal Affairs and National Guardsmen in the outfit of the Border Service Inspectors Branch “Velyatino” who arrived from Ivano-Frankivsk region in order to illegally enter Romania were found and detained in Rakhiv district of Transcarpathia For an attempt to illegally cross the border the violators were issued administrative documents a circle of persons involved in the illegal movement of men across the border is established We use cookies to provide you with better navigation on our website you automatically agree to the use of these technologies Red Dragon (Chervenyi Sharkan) is the name of the tea from the plantation near Mukachevo the visitors of the tea festival in Kyiv had the opportunity to taste it the unique plantation on Mount Zhornyna was left abandoned and forgotten – ever since the middle of the 20th century when large-scale experimental tea-growing work there was over Several later attempts by individual enthusiasts to revive the plantation were unsuccessful one area of the plantation with the surviving individual tea plants was recultivated The work was carried out by the participants of the Ukraine-Norway adaptation project for veterans and their families a volunteer from Kyiv who manages the plantation ever since Maksym Malyhin had for several years been researching the possibilities of reviving the unique Transcarpathian tea plantation Having first arrived there in 2013 and further on he is meticulously studying everything about growing tea in the so-called “new tea territories” Tasting of Red Dragon at the festival in Kyiv Today Maksym Malyhin is a member of the Tea Grown in Europe Association Varosh interviewed this tea expert on the current state of the Chervona (Red) Mountain plantation on the peculiarities of “tea business” in Transcarpathia and on the prospects of “Transcarpathian Dragon” in general A tea plantation on Zhornyna Mountain was experimentally established in 1949 by a group of Georgian scientists under the supervision of academician  I.I. Chkhaidze The 20-hectare plot of land allocated for the plantation was divided into 18 sectors and several varieties of tea were sown there The philosophy of the large-scale project was “…to fully satisfy the needs of the Soviet people for domestically-grown tea.” Previously the tea cultivation project was successfully carried out in Georgia so they hoped to continue this experience in Ukraine The scientists’ expectations regarding the cultivation of the Camellia sinensis tea plants in Transcarpathia came true: even without special insulation almost half of the tea plant seedlings had survived the first winter the experimental plantation yielded a harvest of over a ton of tea leaves “A curious fact: public resources offer barely any pictures to show the state of the tea plantation at that time which is now commonly used to illustrate most stories about the plantation its original is stored in the Russian archive access to which is closed,” says Maksym Malyhin “Just a few more photos can be found in the book of Tea culture in Transcarpathia (1953) by Dr. I.I. Chkhaidze who headed the experimental group for the plantation the height of the tea plants is approximately 40 centimeters the yield of fresh leaves reached 1,300 kg per hectare this is the only scientific information on the yield of tea in European conditions.” The plantation in 1953 (photo retouching and coloring by Varosh) The project to establish the plantation came to a halt in 1953-1954: after Stalin’s death The project was finally shut down in 1956: the tea plants on the main plantation were rooted out and the area was planted with traditional agricultural crops After the experiment in growing tea in Transcarpathia was over among the 18 plots assigned for growing tea under the forest canopy only one plot was preserved: for many years it was looked after the main area of the former plantation gradually became grown over with wild fruit trees and wild grapes the Shiroky protected tract was created on the preserved area and it was handed over to the Mukachevo Forestry It is on this site that the 300 tea plants “taken under the care” of Maksym Malyhin and his associates are currently growing the foresters’ non-interference into the ecosystem of the protected tract was “as correct as possible” regarding the tea plants preservation: “According to law no activities can be carried out in the protected area so as not to disturb the natural environment tea plants in those areas are a part of the environment that’s no longer natural: they have been planted by humans and are unable to survive without human care were able to survive – maybe owing to the fact that no one had conducted any specific activities there at that time we simply did not have specialists who knew the agricultural technology of tea plants Another negative factor that threatened the tea bushes on the former plantation was… human greed Access to the protected tract is open to everyone people visiting the forest would pluck leaves and shoots from the tea plants and even dig up whole plants apparently aiming to replant them in their own gardens “But it doesn’t work like that: without special knowledge and equipment the survival rate of these plants elsewhere is about 0.5% one will take root in a new place,”  says Maksym Malyhin “Tea plants require specific agricultural techniques There are people who have been growing tea for years until they get any success What’s more: even some botanical gardens that I know repeatedly try to grow camellias – to no effect not suitable for our climate: it needs to be cool,  humid After the initial visit to the plantation in 2013 Maksym Malyhin first started information campaign and promotion of the site he would establish connections with local enthusiasts ready to get involved in the work according to their possibilities a collective group of volunteers from Kyiv and Transcarpathia carried out the reclamation of the tea plantation: they cleared an area with the remaining tea plants which was completely overgrown with acacia and wild blackberry The camellias’ roots were fertilized with humus the plants got covered with agrofiber for the winter we would systematically cover the tea plants for winter: we planned the work in advance The tea root growth which remained on the plantation at that time was by itself not viable enough to provide the “revival” of the tea plants but we needed additional measures,” says Maksym Malyhin which was every time joined by other interested people Even guests from Poland and the Czech Republic came to help with the work This was the structure of our membership until 2022 But since the volunteer core included military-reserve men they got mobilized in the beginning of a full-scale war and are currently serving in the army.” the work there can be done by a few people but about the fact that these people know what and how to do a team of five volunteers worked on the plantation The first successful sample of tea from the plantation was obtained in 2020 the quality of raw material has remained consistently high because it shows: not only can camellia sinensis be successfully grown in our conditions some really good tea can be produced from its leaves samples of fermented oolong from the plantation on Chervona Mountain were sent to independent experts in Great Britain and France for evaluation in order to obtain an expert opinion Red Dragon was also presented at the Kiev Tea Festival in Kyiv since the tea leaves from the plantation are collected very carefully and in very small quantities the current aim is to grow and form the plants “What we are doing now is the formation of skeletal branches of the tea plants for this purpose we perform pruning every spring and weeding every summer the opposite of pruning and shaping a plant: we can be either pruning and shaping there was under one kilogram of raw leaves now I only harvest a little to help forming the plants so that in a few years more tea could be harvested,” explains Maksym Malyhin the tea plantation near Mukachevo was considered the northernmost one in Europe when tea plantations appeared in Germany and Great Britain the tea plants grown on Chervona Mountain are among the most frost-resistant varieties that can survive frosts down to -26 degrees centigrade and regenerate itself afterwards Despite the existing idea that the tea plantation could become a commercial object Maksym Malyhin does not see this to happen in the near future he doubts that the place should be commercialized at all it is scientists who should take interest in the plantation because first and foremost it is an object for scientific research from the 300 plants formed on the plantation up to 3 kg of finished tea can be produced Speculating on the potential of the entire facility 1,300 kg of raw leaves had been harvested here and it would be enough for an independent project,” says Maksym Malyhin “But the point is that this means a very long-term investment.” it takes from 6 to 8 years to grow an adequate And the earliest income from growing and producing tea will only be received as late as in 4 years Now that Ukraine is going through a great war with great losses be a higher priority than commercial tea production in the near future at the moment it is absolutely impossible to predict for how long the tea plants from among those planted here in 1949 will keep growing Mr. Malyhin states that currently the world has no reliable data on the lifespan of tea plants because commercial plantations commonly root them out after 80-100 years the probable lifespan of a tea plant is roughly estimated to be 100-120 years the tea plants on the plantation near Mukachevo are currently 74 years old And there is a chance that in the next few decades they will start to die naturally,” says Maksym Malyhin it is important to continue taking care of the plantation correctly: if neglected it will most likely be impossible to restore the plantation in the future Although the prospects of the restored part of the tea plantation are uncertain Maksym Malyhin believes the idea of creating a new commercial plantation given the great progress and experience in this area on the examples of Europe and the USA – the so-called “new tea regions of the world” Photos taken from the page “Zhornyna” Tea Plantation – Tea is growing in Ukraine How does everyday life look like in war-torn Ukraine What do people in the west of the country face How are they affected by the constant power outages Read the diary of our colleague Kateřina Krejčová who regularly writes from Mukachevo her observations of life in Ukraine Today we sit in an otherwise crowded office with just the three of us the assistant Yana and the architect Taras Project manager Nataliia has fallen ill because the power cuts mean that her home in Uzhhorod does not have heating for most of the day Our country director Muhammed also fell ill We guess this is probably due to the Ukrainian climate which he is not used to from the Middle East Donate to Caritas for Ukraine so its residents and some of my friends regularly fill Instagram with portraits of their apartments and the historic city center without electricity in a poetic twilight There is electricity here in the Mukachevo office perfectly bilingual in both Ukrainian and Hungarian has already come to warn us to save money and heat less He thankfully doesn't comment the cat on my shoulder named Meloun (Watermelon) in honor of the liberation of Kherson There is an unwritten agreement between us and he simply pretends not to see the little kitten who always spends one day a week with us in the office there will be Hungarian classes for the public in the building and the kitten will turn its curious ears towards the busy corridor full of voices I cannot understand When I teach my Ukrainian colleagues Czech from the Learn Czech Step by Step textbook has already found a safe home in the Czech Republic where he was successfully given up for adoption) We are thinking where to go for a quick lunch today Most of the time we decide based on where the electricity is businesses are usually flexible in responding by installing decorative candle holders on tablecloths decorated with Transcarpathian embroidery and lighting a fire in the fireplace making seating an unusually stylish experience Sympathetic waiters in embroidered shirts act as if nothing is wrong floating between tables without blinking an eye as if the atmosphere by the fireplace and by candlelight when the mobile signal and internet disappear and the terminal is not working they warn customers that there will be a planned power outage in about half an hour but they are certainly not to be disturbed because they show that the morale and creativity of the Ukrainians cannot be undermined by Russian terror from where Kateřina Krejčová writes her diary Caritas Czech Republic is helping also thanks to the generous help of donors who have contributed to the Caritas for Ukraine fundraising appeal We are also providing psychological assistance to Ukrainians in the west of the country In cooperation with the Fire and Rescue Corps of the Czech Republic we have trained local psychologists in providing psychological care in crisis situations The war in Ukraine has been going on for a year their ability to provide for their families Caritas Czech Republic has been helping Ukrainians who are suffering because of Russian aggression Massive attacks on basic infrastructure mean a harsh winter for Ukrainians including the still relatively safe west of Ukraine Caritas Czech Republic is helping Ukrainians through this difficult winter period supplying generators and providing psychological and financial assistance Ukrainians have been living in the horrors of the war for 8 months All these terrible things are not something people can easily deal with Sometimes it is very hard for them even to find a reason to live That is why victims of war need professional help to be able to continue their normal life Caritas Czech Republic provides professional training for psychologists and social workers for the local Caritas Ukraine team © 2025 Caritas Czech Republic VIZUS.CZ s.r.o. border guards of the Mukachevo detachment stopped three attempts to violate the border as a result of which six men were detained Two offenders were detained by the troops of the “Forks” department during the implementation of information provided by the operatives of the unit One of them carried a night vision device for tracking border outfits and intended to assist the second of the detainees in the illegal crossing of the Ukrainian-Hungarian border the grief carrier expected to receive $1,000 the border guards sent a message to the National Police about the detection in his actions of signs of a crime stipulated by Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine” were detained by the border outfit of the Luzhanka department Information about their illegal intentions was provided by employees of the operational and search department of the Mukachevo border detachment The men were detained 600 meters from the state border Two servicemen from Zaporizhzhya region were stopped at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian-Romanian border by the outfit of the border service “Dilove” The goals of their stay in the controlled border area could not be explained eventually they confessed to the border guards who arrived in Transcarpathia with the aim of illegally crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border To find out all the circumstances of the offense For an attempt to illegally cross the border in relation to violators administrative enforcement documents were issued a circle of persons involved in the attempt to illegally transport men across the border is established magnolias can be found throughout the city The most beautiful Kobus magnolia and the Soulangia magnolia have bloomed on Cyril and Methodius square the magnolias were brought to Zakarpattia by the famous naturalist and educator István Laudon He collected over 100 different plant species Several types of conifers were also planted Magnolias are blooming in Mukachevo (facebook.com/mukachevo.rada)