Society & Culture

In the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 31 fires were detected on a total area of 10,111 hectares, and radioactive contamination is increasing. "As a result of hostilities and the burning of forests and bogs of the exclusion zone by the Russian invaiders , the level of radioactive air pollution is increasing." "At present, satellite data indicate the occurrence of 31 outbreaks of large fires in natural ecosystems and abandoned villages of the exclusion zone, amounting to a total area of more than 10,111 hectares." The Ministry noted that fires in the exclusion zone have large radiological…

The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy, says dozens of parishes and a number of monasteries have already joined the OCU, having quit the Moscow Patriarchate. The OCU Primate announced this on Twitter, according to Ukrinform. "Dozens of communities, a number of monasteries in different regions of Ukraine have already voluntarily and consciously fulfilled their canonical duty and followed the Tomos of autocephaly, choosing the church and Ukraine," Epifaniy said. The top cleric has added that the OCU doors are open to everyone. Read also: Russian troops damage at least 59 spiritual sites – Zelensky At the…

The bullet passed through the jaw and injured the root of the tongue. The girl is currently in hospital, she can barely walk, but her condition is improving. https://youtu.be/2tz7stTA_Bo A reporter who visited the hospital said that the girl came under fire on March 16. Together with her family, they tried to leave the besieged Mariupol. The family left by car together with 2 other Mariupol residents fleeing the war. But near Vasylivka, the Russians opened fire on civilians without warning, then stopped the car, forced everyone to get out, and started threatening. However, noticing the wounded girl, they allowed…

On March 24-25, 2022, when the leaders of EU countries gathered for a summit in Brussels, mainly to discuss Putin’s violent aggression against Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora organized mass solidarity events, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “It is difficult to imagine, how your home, your whole life, turns into ashes in a moment. For a long time, I could not believe that all of this – explosions, shelling, continuous air raid alerts – are happening not in a nightmare but in real life,” one of participants, Liudmyla, told. She managed to leave Kyiv during the first days after the war started,…

Russian invaders destroyed the archives of the Security Service in Chernihiv region, where documents had been stored on Soviet repression of Ukrainians. That’s according to the Ministry of Justice, referring to the head of the State Archival Service, Anatoliy Khromov. "Currently, it is confirmed that at least one archive was destroyed in Chernihiv region. The SBU archival department was burned to the ground. There were documents there concerning the Soviet repression targeting Ukrainians," Khromov said. In addition, according to the official, at least several other archives were damaged, in particular in Kharkiv, but so far the documents have survived the…

KYIV, Ukraine — A fleet of white vans pulled up to central Kyiv in darkness just after 9 p.m. The passengers stepped out bleary-eyed, clutching their luggage, pets and young children. They had survived the last two weeks in catastrophic conditions in the besieged city of Chernihiv — then endured an hours-long journey on dangerous roads to the capital. Now, at the historic Brodsky Synagogue, they had finally reached safety. The curfew and sabbath were well underway, but at the door to greet the hundreds of civilians pouring out of the convoy was the bearded jovial man who helped arrange…

A total of 211,000 people have been already evacuated through humanitarian corridors. In particular, 32,000 people have been evacuated from Mariupol. "A total of 211,000 people have been evacuated through corridors agreed on with the other side. Of this number, 32,000 [have been evacuated] from Mariupol," Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said during the nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In order to organize humanitarian corridors, the most dangerous areas are analyzed primarily together with the heads of the regional military-civilian administrations, then the data are submitted to the Armed Forces for approval, after which the proposal…

More than 15,000 babies were born in Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion of our country. "They are born in bomb shelters and under fire. But they are born! During the war, more than 15,000 babies were born in Ukraine. But many of them need round-the-clock equipment support," Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska posted on Telegram. According to her, it is very difficult to provide such assistance to babies in conditions when the enemy methodically destroys hospitals and damages power grids. "With the assistance of the Embassy of Ukraine in France, we provide Ukrainian cities with incubators with uninterrupted power supply.…

Together with the EU Culture Ministers, Ukrainian Culture and Information Policy Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to change the place of the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee from Russia’s Kazan to Lviv. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Culture and Information Policy Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “UNESCO supports Ukraine in preserving its cultural heritage and urges Russia to refrain from destroying and seizing cultural property. The relevant declaration on the protection of Ukraine’s cultural heritage was adopted at the second extraordinary meeting…

  At 11:00 on March 17, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Kateryna Chuyeva will give online briefing entitled: "Ukraine’s cultural heritage in wartime". Organizer: Ukrinform. Speaker:  Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Kateryna Chuyeva Guests: Ukrainian and foreign media outlets. Discussion points: - Scale of damage and destruction as of today: what is known? - Documentation of crimes against cultural heritage: who, what for, how? - Cultural heritage in media space: security of people and sites - Protection of cultural heritage sites amid the war: experience of Ukrainian cities, institutions, professional communities - Support…