Society & Culture

Pope Francis has met for the first time with a delegation of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO). That's according to Vatican News, Ukrinform reports. The pontiff said that today he had a meeting with the leaders of various confessions in Ukraine. "Let the mention of long-suffering Ukraine be kept in our thoughts and prayers," Pope Francis said. "This morning I had a meeting with the leaders of various faiths in Ukraine, all united, and they told me about the pain of this people. Let us never forget, every day, to pray for final peace in Ukraine,"…

More than 700 residents of temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, are held captive. Dozens of them have been in captivity for almost a year. "For the 11 months of occupation, the ruscists have captured thousands of civilians. More than 700 people ended up ‘in a basement’ in Melitopol. Dozens of them have been held captive for 10-11 months already, and nothing is known about their fate," Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov posted on Telegram. Fedorov noted that Russia plans to set up 28 prisons in the occupied territories of Ukraine: 13 – in Donetsk region, eight – in Luhansk region, four…

The Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia does not rule out the possibility of a mass evacuation of Ukrainians in the event of the resumption of direct flights between Georgia and Russia and an increase in security risks. This was stated by Andrii Kasyanov, Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine in Georgia, who spoke in an interview with European Pravda, Ukrinform reports. "In the event of the resumption of direct air traffic, an increase in real security risks, I’d like to say that the embassy currently does not rule out the possibility of turning to international organizations, to our international partners to consider…

Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, is on his first official visit to Rome. As reported by Ukrinform, this is stated by the OCU press service. As part of the delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, the head of the OCU will take part in a meeting with Pope Francis and a number of heads of institutions of the Roman Catholic Church responsible for inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogue, interaction with Ukraine, and media. The Metropolitan is accompanied on his trip by Archbishop Yevstratiy of Chernihiv, Deputy Head of…

The Russian security operatives on the morning of Tuesday, January 24, carried out mass raids targeting the homes of Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea’s Dzhankoy district. Six men were detained, according to the Crimean Solidarity NGO, Ukrinform reports. "Since 4:00 a.m. a new wave of raids has been ongoing, targeting homes of Crimean Tatars in Crimea. Residents of the Dzhankoy district reported such raids by the special services at several addresses," the report says. One of those targeted in the raid is the brother of political prisoner Enver Krosh – Ekrem Krosh, who lives in the village of Krastyhorodske. Read…

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky honored the memory of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. “On the anniversary of the tragic death of Euromaidan activists Serhii Nigoyan and Mikhail Zhiznevsky, flowers from the President were laid at the places of death of the Heroes of Ukraine on Hrushevsky Street in Kyiv,” the press service of the President’s Office informs. In addition, a basket of flowers was placed on behalf of the Head of State on the Alley of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. The President’s Office notes that flowers are laid at the monuments and commemorative signs to the…

A 3.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in western Ukraine’s Chernivtsi region on January 21. That’s according to the Main Center of Special Control, Ukrinform reports. "On January 21, 2023, at 05:59:59 (Kyiv time), the Main Center of Special Control registered an earthquake in the area of the village of Kobolchyn, Dnistrovsky district, Chernivtsi region, with a 3.1 magnitude (Richter scale) at a depth of 3 km," the statement reads. It is noted that, according to calculations, the earthquake poses no threat to the population, being graded as “minor” and felt only by a small part of the population. Read also:…

Among the Ukrainian children deported by Russia are children who were brought up in boarding schools, foster families, family-type homes, as well as those who lost their parents due to hostilities. That’s according to Yuliya Usenko, Head of the Children Protection and Violence Response Department at the Prosecutor General's Office, who spoke at the national telethon, Ukrinform reports. "These are very different categories of children. These are orphans, deprived of parental care who were raised in institutional care facilities. These are children who were in foster families, family-type orphanages. There are even those children who lost their parents amid hostilities…

A tattoo studio in Russia’s Biysk has been passed off as Ukrainian by Russian propaganda The Russian mass media, Telegram channels and Z-accounts on Twitter are spreading a photograph of a tattoo studio, allegedly Ukrainian, named ‘Tattoo-Master’, with an outdoor sign that offers to “remove swastika at half price” for those leaving for EU countries. This photo has even reached a Polish forum. It is a fabricated image. The true name of the tattoo studio is TATTOOIROGRAF, and it is located not in Ukraine but in Russia’s Biysk in Altai Krai. The original image has only the tattoo studio’s name…

Vakhtang Kikabidze, a famous film actor, pop singer, screenwriter, film director, songwriter and member of the Georgian Parliament, has died aged 84 in Georgia. That's according to the Georgian TV channel Mtavari, Ukrinform reports. Kikabidze was a great friend of Ukraine who strongly condemned the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. In August 2022, he transferred the funds received from his concert in Batumi to help the 26th Artillery Brigade named after Corporal General Roman Dashkevych of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.