Solutions journalism works: Rubryka’s 10 best articles in June

This month, Russia blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, causing Ukraine's most significant environmental disaster since Chornobyl. Russia continued to shell Ukrainian cities and commit war crimes. If it weren't for the war it unleashed against Ukraine, Ukrainians wouldn't need any of the solutions you'll find below, but the war has been going on for the second year, and Ukrainians are doing everything in their power to overcome its consequences.

"Beehive of love and kindness"

On the night of June 6, the Russians blew up the Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant in Ukraine's Kherson region, and its destruction led to a large-scale flood. Thousands of people and animals were trapped in the water.

Volunteers and employees of special services en masse began rescuing injured people and animals. Rescued cats and dogs are taken to Mykolaiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kyiv, and other cities, but even there, in relevant safety, they need help and care.

Patron Pet Center was one of the first in Kyiv to accept animals rescued from the flood in the Kherson region. The Adoption Center, located in Pavilion 11 of the National Complex Expocenter of Ukraine (VDNG), was opened a month before the scheduled date to accommodate the animals. Currently, there are approximately 80 wards here, but more will come. Rubryka visited the center to learn how animals are doing and how they can be helped.

Help women who have lost loved ones

Once a week, the participants of the "Darling, I Live" project gather in a circle where everyone understands each other. Under the guidance of a psychologist, six women who lost their husbands in the war are working through the pain of loss.

How was it possible to unite women who have lost loved ones? What struggles do they face every day? How can you support project participants? Rubryka explains further.

Women's help platform

According to the UN, as of April 2022, almost 13 million people have become displaced persons in Ukraine, of which more than 5.2 million have left Ukraine. The humanitarian disaster in the occupied and front-line cities and villages had a powerful impact on the lives of women and girls, especially women with children. Emergency help from psychologists and social workers becomes increasingly important in wartime.

In April 2022, the International Charitable Foundation Ukrainian Public Health Foundation created SafeWomenHUB — a platform for providing urgent psychological, socio-legal, and humanitarian assistance to women and girls who suffered due to the war. The initiative aims to raise awareness among girls about preventing various forms of violence, including sexual violence. Rubryka explained who and how this project can help.

Preparing for war

The war continues, and this means that more and more civilians will have to join the military over time. Therefore, today Ukrainians with no military experience are already looking for various schools and preparatory courses. 

As the military themselves note, widespread coaching did not appear yesterday: someone teaches тeuro-linguistic programming, someone teaches yoga, someone grows seedlings, and someone teaches fighting. Not everyone can be admitted to combat training in the military unit. Training is carried out according to the established procedure with the involvement of exclusively professional instructors. However, the risk of encountering an impostor is quite significant for civilians who want to undergo military training. After all, in Ukraine, there is a consistently high demand for courses and trainings where the basics of military affairs, tactical medicine, self-defense, and shooting are studied.

Rubryka has collected a selection of proven military courses.

Psychological rehabilitation for children

The number of children who have suffered from the military aggression of the Russian Federation is increasing every day. Some of them lost their parents in the shelling, and some even witnessed how Russians murdered their loved ones before their very eyes. Today, thousands of Ukrainian children are living with traumatic war experiences and need psychological rehabilitation.

Gen.Ukrainian was born as a project  of like-minded people and philanthropists, united to help the children of Ukraine. The initiative's mission is to help  children who have faced the horrors of war in overcoming psychological trauma. In the summer of 2022, Gen.Ukrainian launched the Gen.Camp project — a camp for the psychological rehabilitation of children. For the second year in a row, the camp organizers, employees, and therapists are doing everything they can so that war-traumatized children can smile, talk and feel happy again. Rubryka looked into the work of the initiative.

Revival of ecopark

Feldman EcoPark is a green zone and animal sanctuary open to the public free of charge. At least it had been like that until the spring of 2022. On the outskirts Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, Feldman EcoPark became one of the first areas to be hit by shelling when Russian forces invaded the city.

Animals began to be evacuated immediately, and on March 8, two park employees who were feeding the animals were killed by Russian bombs. By the end of the month, most of the animals were evacuated, and some remained. There was a dire lack of vehicles and volunteers available to evacuate them. The EcoPark's team issued a statement in desperation: the remaining animals which could not be evacuated, were expected to be euthanized.

This statement saved the animals. As the EcoPark team told Rubryka, a flurry of messages soon poured in from those willing to help save the animals. This is how the story of animal rescue began to take shape, which became known far beyond the borders of Ukraine. Rubryka shares the story of how the animals were rescued and how they are gradually returning home.

Media academy for displaced children

Thousands of Ukrainian internally displaced families are starting their lives from scratch because of the war. Rediscovering yourself in a new place is not easy for adults and children — without familiar things, friends, or formed habits. At home, children leave not only their past but also often their favorite activities because finding the right groups and sections to continue practicing in a new place is quite a challenge.

The Dobro TUT charitable foundation launched the Media Academy for children in Dnipro to fill the lives of internally displaced  children with new meanings. Rubryka spoke with the head of the media hub, Anastasia Staroskoltseva, about the initiative's benefits.

Hub that united village residents

The war started by Russia became a great test for Ukrainian communities. But in spite of everything, Ukrainian villagers responded with dignity to the challenges of wartime. In crisis conditions, they continue to work, diligently help the military, collect funds and humanitarian aid, and accommodate and in every way support displaced people. Even in times of war, the inhabitants of the villages find in themselves the drive to ensure that life in their communities continues and improves. Enlisting the help of foundations and patrons, they successfully implement essential and useful ideas into the lives of communities.

One of these projects was implemented in the village of Potaptsi in the  Cherkasy region in the central part of Ukraine. Residents managed to create a multifunctional space, Potaptsi HUB "Territory of unity," and fill it with warmth, coziness, modern technology, and opportunities for training, development, and support.

Rubryka spoke with project manager Lyudmila Gordenko about how the abandoned village library turned into a space that united the villagers.

Systemic solutions for safe shelters

On the night of June 1, 2023, three people, including a 9-year-old child, died in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, during Russia's rocket attack. The husband of one of the victims said that when people wanted to hide from the shelling, the shelter in the hospital was closed. People died from fragments of a Russian rocket that fell on the territory of the hospital. This tragedy illustrated the problem of shelter accessibility, which is relevant not only for Kyiv. 

All over Ukraine, the authorities began to check the condition and accessibility of shelters. Rubryka wrote about what to do if the shelter closest to you is not in proper condition, who should be responsible for it, and what is the algorithm of actions here.

Naval drones

Thanks to the help of the allies, Ukrainian Defense Industry and volunteers, Ukraine's defense forces are gradually equalizing the balance of forces on land, even though the Russians still have more equipment and ammunition. The F-16 fighter jets will give the Ukrainian Air Force an advantage over the occupiers in the sky.

Only on the Black Sea is everything sadder because the Russians still dominate. The Russian Federation has a squadron of missile-carrying frigates and boats with similar weapons, submarines, and many support ships: from surveillance to minesweepers.

Ukrainians have found a solution — naval drones help to oppose Russia at sea. Rubryka analyzed how this solution works and what advantages it provides.