In this article, we've gathered the most striking stories of how our readers have joined the initiatives we've covered.
Estonian government extends its prosthetics program after Rubryka's special project with BGV Charity Fund
In the fall of 2023, Rubryka began publishing stories of Ukrainian soldiers who lost limbs in the war but received prosthetic care thanks to a joint program by the Estonian government and BGV Charity Fund.
As part of our Faces of Strength special project, we told the stories of nine wounded soldiers. Among them was Artur Mylin, who turned down a chance to move to Canada to stay and defend Ukraine. There was also Taras Vynarchuk, who joined the army for his two daughters, and Andrii Malashkevych, who sought a prosthetic that would allow him to return to the front to fight alongside his brothers-in-arms. There were many more stories.
Our features were later published as a magazine that BGV Charity Fund used to report on the prosthetics program. Estonian partners saw the true value behind these stories and decided to continue the program. Estonian MPs and government officials allocated €1.8 million in the 2024 budget to fund prosthetic care and rehabilitation for another ten Ukrainian soldiers. We documented their stories too.
SkyUp Airlines launches disability awareness training for staff thanks to Rubryka
Last year, after Rubryka published an article about using plain language to communicate with people with disabilities, the Ukrainian airline company SkyUp connected with Yuliia Klepets, the executive director of the national nonprofit Coalition for Persons With Intellectual Disabilities. That connection sparked a large-scale collaboration to make flights more accessible for families with children, including those with disabilities.
SkyUp began by organizing training sessions for crew and staff on how to communicate with children with autism and other disabilities. Later, as part of the Barrier-Free Travel project with Join UP! and LEVCHYK SPECTRUM HUB, the airline published a children's book to help kids prepare for their first flight.
Police launch criminal investigation into destruction of river ecosystem after Rubryka's report
In the summer of 2023, Rubryka published an in-depth report on why Ukrainian rivers are disappearing. One of the reasons we uncovered was reckless — and often illegal — actions by agricultural companies, such as sowing crops in areas that damage natural ecosystems. One case we reported was the Zubra River in the Lviv region.
The Zubra River in the Lviv region starts in Lviv, the regional capital. At first glance, it's an ordinary river, however, fish "cannot stand it" here
Following the article's release, one of the experts who helped us create the report was summoned by police as a witness. Now, Lviv police are investigating two criminal cases related to the destruction of river ecosystems.
The police department in Stryi opened a criminal investigation into violations of land legislation, including the illegal construction of hydraulic structures and unauthorized land use. According to environmental expert Anatolii Pavelko, the photos and information from Rubryka's article serve as the "primary evidence" in the case.
Rubryka's reader collected over 200 books for libraries after book volunteer feature
In June 2024, we published the story of Oleksandr Sapronov, a volunteer who collects and donates books to libraries in villages and front-line areas. Over one year, he gathered around 7,000 books for 200 libraries whose collections had been outdated or damaged by the war.
Inspired by his story, Kateryna Branytska decided to follow in his footsteps. She began collecting books from her friends and social media followers to send to libraries. At first, Kateryna planned to gather 50 books, but at some point, she realized she could do more.
In the end, Kateryna shipped an 80-kilogram package with over 200 books to Oleksandr. Under his watch, the books replenished the collections of seven libraries. Learn more about our reader's story.
Oleksandr Sapronov with books collected and donated by Kateryna Branytska
Foreign readers send knitted clothes and trench candles to Ukraine after Rubryka's stories
We can tell countless stories like these. One of the most memorable ones is about Lynn Dubai, our reader from North Carolina, who emailed us after reading our article about Ukrainian women knitting socks, balaclavas, and gloves for soldiers. Her knitting group wanted to follow the Ukrainian volunteers' lead and send warm clothes to those in need.
Inspired by our feature, Lynn and her fellow knitters collected several large boxes of knitted clothes and sent them to Rubryka. Once the package reached our newsroom, we sorted through the items, delivered those suitable for the military to soldiers, and donated the rest to two children's homes that care for children with physical and developmental disabilities in Kyiv.
The wards of one of the orphanages are sorting through things from American knitters
Later, Mary Shelton from Canada reached out to us. She and her friends made decorative candles but wanted to melt them down to create trench candles for Ukrainian soldiers. We sent Mary instructions on how to make them, and soon after, a box of handmade trench candles arrived at our office. We passed them on to fighters of the Azov Regiment.
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