Society & Culture

The European Broadcasting Union has confirmed that the next Eurovision Song Contest will not be held in Ukraine due to the war, and another country is currently being sought for the competition. That's according to a statement posted on the organization's website, Ukrinform reports. "The EBU fully understands the disappointment that greeted the announcement that the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) cannot be staged in Ukraine, this year’s winning country. The decision was guided by the EBU’s responsibility to ensure the conditions are met to guarantee the safety and security of everyone working and participating in the event, the planning…

Russia is attempting to boost the integration of the temporarily occupied territories by issuing Russian passports and exerting pressure on the local population, including teachers. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said this during a briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center. "In violation of international law, Russia continues to open issue points to hand out Russian passports in the temporarily occupied territories, putting pressure on people who found themselves in the temporarily occupied territories. People working at captured enterprises experience the greatest amount of pressure. Russia coerces Ukrainians who were forced to stay in the temporarily occupied territories into cooperating…

The Swedish society continues to demonstrate very strong support for Ukraine. That's according to NGO Nordic Ukraine Forum, Ukrinform reports. "We thought "people are tired." We thought "people have summer holidays." We were wrong. Swedish society continue demonstrating the very strong support. So many people came today to the demonstration, so many people support Ukraine... We are grateful to Ms. Ann Linde, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Andrii Plakhotniuk, Ambassador of Ukraine in Sweden, Ms. Arja Saijonmaa, singer and actress, and all representatives of different political parties, heads of organizations, ambassadors and volunteers who have participated in the demonstration. Together…

Next week, a delegation of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representing the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, will visit Ukraine. "On Tuesday, a delegation of 14 people is coming to us, members of the Council of Europe’s Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee representing different countries," Maria Mezentseva, Head of Ukraine’s delegation to PACE, told Ukrinform. As noted, the visit will take place within Ukraine's strategy for collecting evidence of Russia’s war crimes. "So we do not slow down the pace of our cooperation," the Head of Ukraine’s delegation to PACE added. She…

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on June 21 signed into law a bill ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). The president reported the news on Facebook, as seen by Ukrinform. "It’s signed! The law on Ratification of the Istanbul Convention. Its main content is simple, but extremely important. It is a commitment to protect women from violence and various forms of discrimination. We share European values. For us, human life and health are the highest values," the head of state said. Read also: Istanbul Convention: ratification, significance for…

From February 24 to June 16, 7.704 million people left Ukraine and 2.559 million returned. As the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine posted on Telegram, World Refugee Day is marked on June 20, designated by the UN GA resolution. As a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine this year, millions of Ukrainian refugees have joined this vast group around the world. "People have fled and continue to flee from danger, from explosions and shelling, from armed and brutal criminals for whom human life is worthless," the statement reads. In Europe, as of June 16, 3.207 million refugees from…

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has endorsed a draft bill on the termination of the agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on scientific and technical cooperation, which was submitted by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on May 11, 2022. In addition, book imports from Russia and Belarus were banned. The relevant statement was made by Member of Parliament from the Servant of the People Faction, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Subcommittee on the Rules of Procedure Pavlo Frolov on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Law 0149 terminated the agreement between the Government of…

Famous Hollywood actor Ben Stiller was spotted in the center of Lviv on Saturday, June 18. A video of the star walking through the city's central square near the monument to Taras Shevchenko and talking on the phone was posted to TikTok, Ukrinform reports. @shan_oleg Приємно, що люди надають цьому розголосу і приїжджають власноруч допомогти, якось незруч ♬ David Golubenko Знову 21 травня - давид ♫ UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said on Twitter that Stiller had arrived at the border as a UN Goodwill Ambassador to meet with Ukrainian refugees. "UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller is at the Ukraine…

In an interview with The Guardian, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska spoke about the situation of Ukrainian families during the war. The relevant statement was made by the Office of the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Half of Ukrainians today live apart from their families. This is one of the most difficult ordeals of wartime,” Zelenska said. The First Lady of Ukraine also mentioned the program of psychological support launched for Ukrainian citizens at her initiative. “Ukrainians are not used to seeking help from psychologists. We tend to ignore depression or anxiety. But, now all of us…

The Republic of Indonesia is ready to join the restoration of Ukraine's healthcare infrastructure destroyed by Russian invaders. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine made a corresponding announcement following a meeting between Deputy Health Minister Oleksiy Yaremenko and the delegation of the Republic of Indonesia. "The Republic of Indonesia is ready to join the restoration of Ukraine's healthcare infrastructure, which was destroyed by missiles and shells of Russian occupiers. In particular, we are talking about investments in the amount of $5 million which can be used to rebuild Ukrainian healthcare institutions," the statement reads. It is noted that projects to…