Art as Medicine: Inside the First Year of the I’mmortal Fellowship

Published: October 7, 2026

Five cross-border partnerships with one shared mission, and why creative practice belongs at the center of Ukraine’s recovery

This summer, in the village of Nahachiv in Ukraine’s Lviv region, 80 children spent a week dancing, drawing, taking photographs, and writing their own plays. On the final day, they performed for their parents, neighbors, and local leaders. The show explored freedom, identity, and support, and the children imagined worlds of their own making.

Among the volunteers who joined The Campfire Project and Folkowisko Ukraine – the participants of our inaugural I’mmortal Fellowship – was two-time Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg, who had spent a year learning the Cyrillic alphabet so he could read his lines in Ukrainian during the children’s performances. Two air-raid sirens sounded that week in the area, both after the day’s programming had ended.

For us, this week captures what the I’mmortal Fellowship (Безсмертні) is about: using art as healing practice for those most in need.

“Art has always been how people make meaning and take care of communities in the hardest moments,” says Razom CEO Dora Chomiak. This year, we watched that happen in real time.

Why Arts in Health, Why Now

I’mmortal is Razom’s first Arts in Health program, created in partnership with Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts. It started from a simple idea: creative practice can be part of how people recover.

The need in Ukraine is enormous. After more than four years of full-scale invasion, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a mental health crisis affects about 10 million people in Ukraine. Rehabilitation needs far exceed existing service capacity, and only 4% of hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation.

At the same time, the evidence around arts and health is growing. A major WHO review of more than 3,000 studies found that the arts can play an important role in preventing ill health, promoting health, and managing and treating illness across the lifespan.

When we opened the I’mmortal Open Call this spring, we received 35 applications from across Ukraine and the United States. They came from NGOs, cultural collectives, artists, clinicians, and universities. Our Selection Committee matched 12 of them into five cross-border partnerships.

Each received a grant of up to $10,000 for their pilot projects, and was asked to co-create, not simply export an American model to Ukraine, or vice versa.

Five Partnerships, Five Different Stories

Gathering Around the Fire. Eleven artists, creative arts therapists, translators, and a psychiatrist, led by New York-based The Campfire Project and its director Jessica Hecht, traveled from the US to work alongside the local Folkowisko Ukraine team. After the children’s summer camp, they trained 30 educators, social workers, psychologists, and doctors in Yavoriv, some of whom came from frontline regions. The training was run with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe. As part of the program, participants were also equipped with tools they can continue using long after the visiting team leaves.

Artscapes of Care. This project started with a question that is easy to overlook: Who takes care of the people who take care of everyone else? Through soundscapes, movement, and visual storytelling, US partners Kerry Kincy and Dr. Midori Samson joined Kyiv-based First Aid of the Soul in Lviv for interactive, arts-based workshops with children and families at St. Nicholas Hospital, veterans at UNBROKEN, and teachers at Oberih School, which serves children with intellectual disabilities. The exchange culminated in a professional development and networking program at Ukrainian Catholic University for mental health and social service practitioners from across the region. It highlighted something important: supporting the people providing care is part of supporting the people they serve.

Rhythm as Regulation. This summer, New Orleans-based dancer and acupuncturist Yekaterina Chizayeva and Ukrainian somatic educator and psychologist Kateryna Taranova brought together a group of Ukrainian artists in the Carpathian town of Slavsko. The group included dancers, ceramicists, vocalists, and visual artists. They worked in different mediums, but found a common thread: the rhythms of the nervous system, and the power of creative practice to support regulation, wellbeing, and resilience. The residency has grown into a community of practitioners who continue to meet and share knowledge. A second lab follows in New Orleans in October, with the goal of creating a shared toolkit for rhythm-based practices and exploring how movement and sound can help ease anxiety, calm groups together, and support recovery from the sensory toll of war, including the hypervigilance caused by drones overhead.

Me – The Other. This inclusive theatre initiative pairs The Theatre Lab’s Life Stories Institute in Washington, D.C., with Yuliia Vintoniv, a theologian and educator from Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. Yuliia is working to build a university course based on The Theatre Lab’s Life Stories method, which draws on more than 20 years of autobiographical theatre. Starting in January 2027, the pilot course will bring together about 20 to 25 students with people who have congenital disabilities or injuries from the war. Through movement, storytelling, improvisation, and writing, they will create original theatre from their own lives and challenge the stigma around disability in wartime Ukraine. The learning goes both ways. Yuliia is training with The Theatre Lab online and in person in the US, while The Theatre Lab will bring what it learns from Ukraine to its own work with US military veterans. In the long run, the team hopes to bring the course to other universities across Ukraine.

Moving, Imagining, and Unbroken. This dance and movement program for Ukrainian combat veterans is led by New York based Exit12 Dance Company, the Imagination Lab at SUNY Albany, and Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University in Lutsk. The program combines movement with surrealism-inspired drawing and collage and is being adapted for amputees and veterans with limited mobility. The work is grounded in research: the Imagination Lab’s studies link engaging with surrealist art to resilience and emotional richness, and participants will take part in voluntary surveys before and after each workshop to measure changes in resilience, hope and wellbeing. Pilot workshops in the New York area will bring Ukrainian and American veterans into the same room.

Coming Together at Wesleyan

From November 2–7, all five partnerships will gather at Wesleyan for a week of shared programming and peer exchange. The week ends with a public Capstone Showcase on November 7 at 2 pm at Fayerweather Beckham Hall in Middletown, CT. Each team will share what it built this year and how they envision bringing the work into Ukrainian hospitals, veterans’ centers, schools, and communities in 2027.

Why “I’mmortal”

The Fellowship’s name brings together two ideas: mortality, which is part of being human and the subject of medicine, and the lasting power of the arts.

In the creative arts, the healing arts, and the act of making something together, we are immortal, even when what we face is the fragility of our bodies or the difficulty of staying connected to the world.

This year, we saw it in a village hall in Nahachiv, a mountain studio in Slavsko, a hospital ward in Lviv, and a rehearsal room in New York.

On November 7, come witness it at Wesleyan!

Rachel Shuey and Viktorija Mickute, Razom Connect

Razom Recommends: What to See, Watch, and Experience This October

Published: October 6, 2026

Recent weeks have brought another wave of devastating Russian attacks across Ukraine, reminding us that supporting Ukraine also means showing up for its culture and the people creating it.
This October, Ukrainian stories, artists, filmmakers, and musicians are taking the stage across New York. Go see them, bring a friend, share their work, and help make sure Ukrainian voices continue to be seen and heard.
Here’s what Razom recommends this month.

Solitude at New York City Ballet

October 7, 10, 11, 15 & 16 | Lincoln Center

Alexei Ratmansky’s Solitude returns to New York City Ballet as part of Eclectic NYCB I.

Set to music by Gustav Mahler, the ballet is a meditation on grief inspired by Russia’s war against Ukraine. At its center is a father mourning the loss of his child, transforming the reality of war into a deeply personal work about loss, memory, and solitude.

It is also a powerful example of how Ukraine’s story continues to reach audiences on some of the world’s most prominent cultural stages.

Where: David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
When: October 7, 10, 11, 15 & 16

A Well for the Thirsty at the New York Film Festival

October 8 & 9 | Film at Lincoln Center

A landmark of Ukrainian poetic cinema returns to the big screen.

Yuri Ilyenko’s A Well for the Thirsty (Криниця для спраглих) will screen at the 64th New York Film Festival in the North American premiere of its new 4K restoration.

Completed in 1965, Ilyenko’s debut feature was suppressed by Soviet authorities and remained unreleased until 1987. Nearly without dialogue, the film follows an elderly man living alone while memories and visions of his family surround him.

The restoration was created from the original 35mm camera negative preserved by the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre in Kyiv, making these screenings an opportunity to experience an essential work of Ukrainian cinema as it was meant to be seen.

Where: Film at Lincoln Center
When: October 8 at 6:30 PM and October 9 at 12:45 PM

Oleksandr Dovzhenko: Earth and Empire at Metrograph

October 10–18 | Metrograph

October offers another chance to dive deeper into Ukrainian film history with Oleksandr Dovzhenko: Earth and Empire, a retrospective celebrating one of Ukraine’s most influential filmmakers.

The program brings films including Earth, Arsenal, Zvenygora, Aerograd, Ivan, and Shchors back to the big screen alongside works by filmmaker Yulia Solntseva. Several titles will be presented on 35mm, with select screenings accompanied by live music.

Beyond rediscovering Dovzhenko’s extraordinary visual language, the retrospective offers audiences an opportunity to see these films through a Ukrainian lens, beyond the Soviet framework through which Ukrainian cinema has so often been presented internationally.

Where: Metrograph, 7 Ludlow Street, New York
When: October 10–18

Kommuna Lux: Benefit Concerts for Ukrainian Children

October 11 | Philadelphia & October 13 | New York City

Odesa-based ensemble Kommuna Lux brings its energetic mix of klezmer and Ukrainian folk music to Philadelphia and New York City for two special benefit concerts.

The concerts support Common Man for Ukraine’s humanitarian assistance and trauma-recovery retreats for Ukrainian children who have lost a parent in the war — an opportunity to experience music from Odesa while supporting children and families affected by Russia’s war.

Philadelphia: October 11 at 3:00 PM | KleinLife, Northeast Philadelphia
Get tickets for Philadelphia

New York City: October 13 at 7:30 PM | Hudson Yards Synagogue
Get tickets for New York City

People Power: Ukraine’s “Unreasonable” Women

October 15 | New York City

Join Razom for a special live taping of Gaslit Nation celebrating Ukrainian women and their power to lead, create, organize, and bring communities together.

Journalist, author, filmmaker, and Gaslit Nation host Andrea Chalupa joins Razom CEO Dora Chomiak for a conversation about Ukrainian women, resilience, leadership, and the power of collective action.

The evening will also include an advance preview of Chalupa’s forthcoming book, A Reasonable Guide for Unreasonable Women: 20 Steps to Find Your Purpose and Power in a World on Fire, live jazz by French singer Marine Futin, refreshments, a silent auction, and a book signing.

When: October 15, 6:30–9:00 PM
Where: New York City

Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival

October 18–November 6 | Across New York City

One of our biggest recommendations this month is also one of our biggest celebrations of Ukrainian culture.

Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival returns for its fourth year, bringing Ukrainian cinema, music, theater, literature, and visual arts to venues across New York City.

The festival opens at Carnegie Hall on October 18 with the U.S. premiere of Ukrainian composer Oleh Bezborodko’s Steel, Violet, Rage. Inspired by a poem by Ukrainian soldier and poet Maksym Kryvtsov, who was killed while defending Ukraine, the work will be performed by the Shelest Piano Duo with the Brandywine Valley Symphony Chamber Orchestra.

From there, the festival moves across the city with Ukrainian films including Sanatorium, Nice Ladies, Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, Silent Flood, Honeymoon, To the Victory! and Cuba & Alaska, alongside documentary and animated shorts.

The program also includes The Reckoning, developed from verified witness testimony gathered by The Reckoning Project; Poet as Witness at Poets House; programming dedicated to Lesia Ukrainka at the New York Public Library; and much more.

The festival continues into November and concludes at Carnegie Hall on November 6 with Unbreakable Harmony, featuring the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum Chamber Girls Choir and the Westchester Children’s Chorus.

There is a lot to choose from, so pick an event, invite someone who may not know much about Ukrainian culture, and experience it together.

When: October 18–November 6
Where: Venues across New York City

Coming next: Oksana Lyniv conducts Tosca at the Met

Beginning November 1 | Metropolitan Opera

And one final recommendation to put on your calendar now.

Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv returns to the Metropolitan Opera this November to conduct Puccini’s Tosca.

Lyniv, who made her Met debut conducting Turandot in 2024, will lead six performances beginning November 1. Her return to one of the world’s most important opera stages is another moment to celebrate Ukrainian talent at the highest level of international culture.

Where: Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center
When: November 1, 6, 9, 14, 17 & 20

Show up for Ukraine

Ukraine needs continued international support as Russia continues its war and attacks on Ukrainian communities. But supporting Ukraine also means knowing what Ukrainians are fighting to protect.

Culture is part of that story.

This month, watch a Ukrainian film. Hear Ukrainian music. Support Ukrainian artists. Bring a friend. Share what you discover.

Every audience matters. Every conversation helps keep Ukraine seen, heard, and understood.

Razom and the Third Army Corps Hold “Combat Medic Doctrine” Workshop in Kyiv

Published: September 15, 2026

KYIV, August 2026 — The Third Army Corps, together with the Razom Foundation, held a working session in Kyiv titled “Combat Medic Doctrine.” The workshop marked the first practical step in a long-term effort to develop unified standards for frontline medical personnel. It was the second joint initiative between the Corps and Razom, following the previously held Tourniquet Forum.

The workshop brought together combat medics from the Third Army Corps, representatives of other army corps, and experts from the Department of Health of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and the Medical Forces Command.

The workshop was organized in response to a critical gap in existing military regulations. The positions of “platoon combat medic” and “senior combat medic” were introduced in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2017. However, neither position has clearly defined official responsibilities or a unified standard of practice. Without established guidelines, units take different approaches to how medics are deployed, where they are positioned, and how their responsibilities are assigned.

The workshop focused on real-world data rather than theoretical assumptions. Participants were presented with an analytical overview of how medics are currently deployed across various units within the Corps. They then worked in four groups, using a Function Matrix to examine 25 key areas of responsibility for combat medics at different levels — from direct medical care and casualty evacuation to administrative and non-medical duties.

The organizers emphasized that developing a comprehensive doctrine is a complex, long-term process that requires careful analysis of a substantial body of practical experience.

“Today, a combat medic’s responsibilities extend far beyond providing care under fire. Combat medics are also responsible for documentation, telemedicine, training service members, and administrative work. That is why we see a need to introduce the position of junior squad medic — a frontline specialist with more advanced skills than a Combat Lifesaver, but without an unnecessarily overloaded training program. Their role is to remain close to their unit and provide immediate care on the ground, where and when it is needed,” said Lemonade and Hedgehog, representatives of the Third Army Corps Tactical Medicine Group.

“We have already identified the required set of skills, and in September we will launch a pilot training course together with the Yevhen Konovalets Military School. This vision is already beginning to reshape training approaches both within our Corps and among our partner organizations.”

For Razom, initiatives like this are part of a broader strategy focused on saving lives and strengthening systemic approaches to military medicine.

“Our previous joint initiative, the Tourniquet Forum, demonstrated that Ukraine’s experience can do more than address local challenges — it can also influence practices worldwide,” said Taras Hataliak, Program Director at Razom. “The Forum proved to be an exceptionally successful platform. It helped drive changes in tactical medicine training in Ukraine while also setting new directions for international organizations and instructors around the world.

“The Combat Medic Doctrine is the next major step. We see how the unique operational experience of the Third Army Corps can serve as a foundation for standardizing the entire system. Razom is proud to support this process because its ultimate goal is to save lives.”

Following the workshop, organizers began systematizing the proposals and recommendations collected from participants. The immediate objective is to develop a unified standard for units within the Third Army Corps and introduce corresponding changes to combat medic training programs. The broader goal is to submit the validated practices to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to help eliminate regulatory ambiguity at the national level.

Investing in the Future: How Razom Supports Ukrainian Educators

Published: September 1, 2026

Supporting Ukrainian teachers means investing in the young people who will shape Ukraine’s future.Even amid the full-scale war, Ukrainian educators continue to teach, grow professionally, and adapt the learning process to rapidly changing realities. They are helping raise a generation capable of thinking critically, taking responsibility, and finding solutions to the most complex challenges. Today, teachers are laying the foundation for a progressive, democratic, and resilient Ukraine.Razom supports Ukrainian educators through local and international initiatives that provide access to modern teaching methods, innovative technologies, professional networks, and hands-on experience. Here are three projects helping teachers strengthen their schools and communities.

Teachers of the Future Festival: A Space for New Ideas

For the second consecutive year, Razom has proudly supported Teachers of the Future, one of Europe’s largest educational events, organized by the Ukrainian NGO Educational Initiative of the Free and Caring.

The sixth annual Teachers of the Future Festival took place in Lviv in the summer of 2026. It brought together more than 2,000 educators from across Ukraine, along with international experts and civil society leaders.

Over two intensive days, participants exchanged knowledge, expanded their professional networks, and attended more than 200 workshops and practical sessions.

This year, Razom supported the Educational Innovation Hangar, a dedicated space where more than 20 leading Ukrainian STEM companies and EdTech platforms showcased their latest educational solutions.

Participants included the Ranok and Litera LTD publishing houses; EdPro and ELIZ LABS, which develop interactive displays, laboratory equipment, and educational software; the innovative AR Book platform; Ukraine’s state educational app Mriia; and many others.

For teachers, this was an opportunity not only to explore emerging technologies but also to speak directly with developers about how these tools can be incorporated into everyday teaching and make learning more accessible, practical, and engaging for students.

STEM Without Borders: From Scotland to Frontline Communities

High-quality STEM education prepares the engineers, scientists, and innovators who will help rebuild Ukraine’s energy sector, healthcare system, defense capabilities, and economy.

In the spring, Razom supported five Ukrainian teachers from frontline regions in taking part in the STEM Without Borders professional development program. The program was hosted by The King’s Foundation in Scotland in partnership with Osvitoria.

Over three days, participants explored project-based learning and advanced scientific teaching methods. They also examined how lessons drawn from nature can be connected to sustainable energy solutions and future careers in STEM.

Importantly, the program’s impact extends far beyond its five participants. After returning home, the teachers began sharing their knowledge with colleagues and introducing new approaches in their classrooms.

In this way, modern educational practices become accessible to thousands of Ukrainian children, including those living in communities that experience the consequences of war every day.

Civic Boost: Empowering Young People and Communities

Another area of support focuses on strengthening school autonomy and encouraging young people to participate in community decision-making.

Through Civic Boost, a delegation of educators from frontline communities in the Kharkiv region visited Lviv for a three-day professional exchange dedicated to these areas.

Lviv was chosen for a reason. The city’s schools enjoy a significant degree of autonomy: local lyceums manage their own budgets and establish distinctive educational hubs. During the exchange, participants explored this experience and gained practical tools for strengthening student self-government and launching educational and cultural initiatives in their home communities.

Programs like this help transform schools into spaces where young people not only acquire knowledge but also learn to influence decisions, work together, and take responsibility for the future of their communities.

Support with a Lasting Impact

Every educational program represents far more than a single training session, trip, or event. Teachers return to their schools with new knowledge, share it with their colleagues, and create new opportunities for hundreds—and ultimately thousands—of children.

Despite the war, Ukrainian educators continue to teach, innovate, and inspire their students. Razom remains committed to standing with them, because supporting teachers today means investing in the generation that will build a free, democratic, and resilient Ukraine tomorrow.

А Way Home: How Adaptive Sports Help Ukraine’s Veterans Rebuild Their Lives

Published: August 22, 2026

For many Ukrainian service members, returning home from the front marks the beginning of a new chapter —one of recovery, readjusting to civilian life, and finding new sources of purpose and support.

A training gym tucked inside a garage in Kyiv’s Podil district feels like its own little world. Blues and rock music fill the air, while the exposed brick walls are covered with military flags and unit patches. Veterans gather here to train, learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and spend time among people who understand their experiences without requiring lengthy explanations.

On the mats, there is friendly competition, laughter, and a strong sense of camaraderie. It is a place to focus on movement, challenge yourself, support others, and simply be yourself. Every person returns from war with a different story, different needs, and a different pace of recovery. For some, the priority is regaining confidence in their body. For others, it is finding a community, discovering a new role, or creating a space where they can begin planning for the future.

Adaptive sports are athletic activities tailored to an individual’s abilities and needs. For veterans — especially those recovering from injuries or living with disabilities — they can play an important role in physical rehabilitation, psychological well-being, and social connection.

Since 2025, Razom has supported initiatives that help veterans recover through sports, train adaptive sports coaches and instructors, strengthen veteran leadership programs, and build local communities. This summer, we visited two of these projects and witnessed participants not only discovering new opportunities through sports, but also passing their knowledge on to others, creating safe spaces, and bringing their communities together.

A New Chapter

“We have immense respect for those still serving on the front lines, and just as much respect for those who return home,” says Nataliia, project manager of “New Calling: A Profession for Life”. “The transition back to civilian life can be challenging, which is why it is so important for veterans to feel supported by society.”

That support is especially critical in smaller communities, where access to infrastructure, specialized services, and spaces for connection is often limited. Every veteran follows their own path of readjustment after returning home. When support is unavailable, emotional struggles may go unnoticed, leaving people to face them alone.

Project participant Artem remembers his own experience after demobilization:

“There were certain mental processes I didn’t like.”

One day, a friend invited him to a jiu-jitsu practice. Over time, the sport became an important source of stability.

“It gave me direction—somewhere to channel my emotions and a healthy way to clear my mind.”

Nearly ten years later, Artem remains part of the jiu-jitsu community. His experience showed him just how important movement, teamwork, and a sense of belonging can be in rebuilding life after military service.

Another participant, veteran Artem P., underwent a long recovery after being wounded and losing both legs.

“I was unconscious for a long time. For nearly two months, I was constantly under medication following multiple surgeries. When you finally return to everyday life after that, it’s difficult to find your place again,” he says.

Throughout his recovery, his greatest source of support was his family — his wife and daughter. Later, he joined an adaptive archery program. Training helped him better understand the capabilities of his body, regain confidence, and discover new goals.

“The most important thing is changing the way you see yourself — not as someone who is helpless, but as someone who is still capable of so much.”

For Artem, adaptive sports became much more than part of his physical rehabilitation. They became a space where he could test his limits, keep moving forward, and once again feel like an active participant in life.

How Do Adaptive Sports Help?

Oleh, the head coach of the “New Calling: A Profession for Life” project, explains that adaptive sports help participants develop body awareness, regain control over their movements, and improve their sense of balance.

“During the first few months of training, we focus on learning how to fall safely without getting injured. For people with disabilities, this is a skill that can make a real difference in everyday life.”

The ability to fall safely, maintain balance, or simply feel confident in your own body may seem like a small thing — until one day you have to learn those skills all over again.

Supporting Mental Health and Healing from PTSD

War leaves behind more than physical wounds. After returning home, many veterans face the psychological consequences of combat, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, irritability, and feelings of isolation. Adaptive sports offer a safe and structured way to work through these challenges.

Oleh, who primarily teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu, explains the science behind the process:

“In training, we redirect the aggression associated with PTSD into a controlled environment. We know the violence isn’t real — it can stop at any moment — but hormonally, the body responds as if the danger is real. When the sparring session ends, the brain receives a clear message: I survived. Dopamine is released, and the person’s emotional state begins to improve.”

In this way, adaptive sports support recovery on multiple levels, helping veterans rebuild both physical strength and psychological resilience.

Nataliia, the project’s program manager, emphasizes that recovery is never one-size-fits-all. Different people need different entry points.

For some veterans, working with a psychologist comes first, giving them the confidence to eventually step onto the training mat.

For others, the process unfolds in the opposite direction. They need to release tension through physical activity before they are ready to open up in therapy.

Adaptive sports make both paths possible, meeting veterans where they are and allowing recovery to begin in the way that works best for each individual.

Rebuilding Confidence and Finding New Purpose

Adaptive sports do more than support rehabilitation — they also open the door to new careers and ambitions. For many veterans, they become an opportunity to pursue competitive athletics or become coaches after military service.

With just two or three years of training, many Ukrainian veteran-athletes are already competing at national and international tournaments, earning podium finishes and proving that recovery can lead to new achievements.

Nataliia recalls one particularly inspiring story:

“We had a participant with bilateral above-the-knee amputations. He had been training for only one year, and he came home with a gold medal.”

Ukrainian athletes continue to achieve remarkable success on the world stage. At the 2025 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine’s national team finished second in the overall team standings and third among participating nations.

Coach Oleh hopes to see the team reach the very top — and is determined to help make that happen.

“Brazilians used to dominate jiu-jitsu. They were used to being the ones everyone looked up to. In 2024, Ukraine burst onto the scene, and people were genuinely surprised. In 2025, we performed even better. We want to keep building on that success and show the world how strong we are.”

Adaptive jiu-jitsu is unique because it allows athletes to transform what others might see as limitations into competitive advantages. Some of Oleh’s athletes with disabilities even aspire to compete in open divisions alongside able-bodied competitors.

“In this sport, your disability can actually become your strength. When your opponent encounters it for the first time, they’re disoriented — they simply don’t know how to respond.”

Jiu-Jitsu as “Human Chess”

Andrii, a participant in the “Sports Ambassadors” project, an experienced jiu-jitsu coach, and a veteran who defended Donetsk Airport in 2014, describes the sport as “human chess.”

Every match, he says, is a contest of two minds, with opponents solving complex problems under constant pressure. Success depends not on physical dominance but on strategy, timing, and the ability to use an opponent’s strength against them. In jiu-jitsu, the smaller or seemingly weaker competitor can defeat a stronger one through skill and tactical thinking.

For Ukrainians, this idea feels deeply familiar. Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, Ukrainian defenders have repeatedly faced a much more powerful enemy, relying on ingenuity, adaptability, and determination to overcome overwhelming odds.

For many veterans, adaptive jiu-jitsu recreates that mindset in a safe environment. It allows them to experience familiar emotions — stress, focus, determination, and resilience — without the life-threatening danger of combat. On the mat, they learn not only how to respond under pressure, but also that they are capable of regaining control, trusting themselves again, and moving forward.

From Athletes to Community Leaders

Training offers veterans more than physical recovery — it creates opportunities to reconnect with others who share similar experiences, both on and off the mat. For veteran Artem, the gym has become much more than a place to exercise. It is a place to meet friends, unwind, and talk openly with people who understand.

“These are the same people I stood in line with at the military enlistment office.”

Inspired by the support he found through jiu-jitsu, Artem dreams of returning to his hometown of Uman and building a local jiu-jitsu community where fellow veterans can train, connect, and support one another.

This is precisely the kind of impact Razom’s adaptive sports initiatives are designed to create. By equipping veterans with new skills, professional training, and leadership opportunities, these programs empower them to build lasting support networks in their own communities.

“New Calling: A Profession for Life”, implemented by the nonprofit “TMS – Fighting for Ukraine”, helps veterans build new careers as adaptive sports coaches. Participants completed comprehensive training in coaching, rehabilitation methods, psychological resilience, and entrepreneurship. Upon graduation, they received professional certificates and support with admission to the National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport.

“Sports Ambassadors 3.0”, implemented by “StratCom UA”, focuses on developing veteran leadership through adaptive sports. Over five months, participants completed training in leadership, communications, grant management, and community project development. Thirty finalists representing 20 communities took part in an in-person intensive program, where they presented their own adaptive sports initiatives. At least seven of these community projects will receive grant funding from Razom to bring their ideas to life.

The impact of these programs extends far beyond the participants themselves. Every graduate becomes someone who can pass on their knowledge, mentor others, and strengthen their local community. One trained coach can support veterans for years. One adaptive sports program can transform an entire community. And one veteran who regains confidence often goes on to help dozens of others begin their own journey of recovery.

Step by step, these initiatives are restoring more than individual lives—they are helping build a stronger, more resilient, and more connected Ukraine.

Author Mariia Krychevska

The Fight to Save a Leg: How Ukrainian and American Surgeons Helped One Soldier Walk Again

Published: July 28, 2026

An FPV drone attack left 23-year-old Ukrainian servicemember Oleksii with a devastating leg injury. One of his fellow soldiers was killed, and others were seriously wounded. For Oleksii, the question was not only whether he would survive, but whether he would ever walk again.

What followed was months of treatment across three hospitals and an extraordinary collaboration between Ukrainian and American surgeons working side by side through Razom’s Co-Pilot Project. Together, they fought to save his leg, giving him the chance to return to the life he had been planning before the attack.

DNIPRO, Ukraine — “My future mother-in-law was supposed to visit on Sunday,” Oleksii says with a smile, his tone as relaxed as if we were sitting in a sunlit kitchen sipping tea, rather than in the intensive care unit of Mechnikov Hospital.

In a few moments, he will describe open fractures, serious infections, dozens of operations, and months of rehabilitation. But first, he wants to talk about his wedding.

Oleksii was born in Cherkasy and lost his father when he was young. His mother raised three children in a small apartment in Kryvyi Rih. After trade school, he planned to work as an electrician at the local water utility. But a bureaucracy issue with his official residence registration brought him to a military enlistment office instead.

“Well, what else was I going to do?” he says with a shrug.

He entered compulsory military service at 19 and became a signalman—the person his fellow soldiers relied on when communications failed or battlefield maps needed updating.

By early 2024, Oleksii had been deployed to a combat brigade on the Lyman front. He later served in the Donbas and Sumy regions.

It was between rotations that he met his fiancée. The parents of one of his squad mates often brought homemade meals to the unit, and during one of those visits, Oleksii met their daughter. Ask when the friendship became something more, and he grins: “Now, everything is heading straight toward a wedding.”

He talks about it as though the celebration is just around the corner—even as artillery rumbles outside the hospital and metal fixation pins extend from his injured leg.

The Day Everything Changed

Oleksii and his unit were returning from an assignment. The road was familiar, and they thought the most dangerous part of the journey was behind them.

“Two FPV drones were waiting for us on the road,” Oleksii recalls. “An ambush.”

One drone hovered ahead while another chased their vehicle from behind. His teammate opened fire as they moved. Then came the explosion.

The vehicle slammed to a halt, and the men scrambled out onto the road. Oleksii tried to jump clear, but his right leg collapsed beneath him. “I thought I’d just taken a piece of shrapnel.” He tried to stand up again, but nothing worked. The blast had shattered a large section of bone.

Despite the shock, Oleksii managed to apply a tourniquet himself. Doctors later told him that the fragments had narrowly missed his main artery. That small margin made it possible to consider saving the leg.

Oleksii quickly turns the conversation away from himself. Instead, he lists the rest of his crew: one teammate died at the scene, another lost three fingers, and a third suffered a severe concussion.

“One guy is already back on active duty,” Oleksii says briefly. “The others are still recovering.”

What followed was a blur of evacuation points soaked in pain and high-dose painkillers: a frontline stabilization point in the Zaporizhzhia region, then a military hospital, external fixators, and finally, the intensive care unit at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s leading trauma centers for critically wounded soldiers.

Choosing to Fight for the Leg

“I remember Oleksii very clearly,” says orthopedic trauma surgeon Dr. Maksym Makarenko. Thousands of patients with blast injuries have passed through his operating room, but Oleksii’s case stood out.

“Patients with this level of damage often also have serious polytrauma—head injuries, collapsed lungs, or abdominal damage,” Dr. Makarenko explains. “In Oleksii’s case, the destruction was concentrated in his leg. The rest of his body was stable enough that we could fight to save the limb, rather than amputating it to save his life.”

Around this time, an American medical delegation arrived at Mechnikov through Razom’s Co-Pilot Project. Dr. Makarenko was joined in the operating room by Dr. Craig Silverton, an American orthopedic surgeon experienced in treating combat injuries.

The Ukrainian and American surgeons worked together through several procedures. They removed dead and infected tissue and placed an antibiotic cement spacer into the gap left by the missing bone. The spacer helped control infection while preparing the leg for future reconstruction.

Once Oleksii’s was stable, he was transferred to a hospital in Vinnytsia,freeing an intensive care bed at Mechnikov for newly wounded patients arriving hourly from the front.

Before he left, Oleksii and Dr. Makarenko exchanged phone numbers. Each week, Oleksii sent the surgeon X-rays, lab results, and photographs of his wound dressings through VIber. When doctors in Vinnytsia began discussing the possibility of sending him abroad for treatment, Oleksii contacted Dr. Makarenko.

“If you trust us, come back, the surgeon told him “We’ll be working with the American team again soon.”

“I’m coming to you,” Oleksii replied.

A Transatlantic Surgical Team

A few weeks later, Oleksii was back in Dnipro. This time, Dr. Makarenko was joined by Dr. Roman Hayda, an American orthopedic surgeon and U.S. Army veteran of Ukrainian descent. Dr. Hayda’s parents migrated to the U.S. after World War II and raised him with a strong connection to his Ukrainian heritage. He went on to treat combat injuries during decades of military service, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Given my heritage, military background, and experience with battle injuries, I simply couldn’t stay away,” says Dr. Hayda. Yet, he shies away from the word “mission,” careful not to describe his work in Ukraine as one-directional assistance

“I come to work alongside them, not to lecture,” he says. “Ukrainian doctors today possess a unique level of trauma experience found nowhere else in the world. We learn from each other.”

The night before Oleksii’s surgery, Dr. Makarenko and Dr. Hayda spent hours studying his x-rays and discussing possible approaches. There were no visiting experts on one side and local doctors on the other—only one surgical team trying to solve an extraordinarily difficult problem.

“Surgeries like this always carry immense uncertainty,” Dr. Hayda says. “Our job is to exhaust every option so the patient gets a real shot at returning to a normal life.”

Oleksii’s bone loss was severe. He had already endured infection, and further complications remained possible. No one could promise that the reconstruction would succeed.

“We worked toward this day for months,” Dr. Makarenko says. “More than anything, we wanted to give Oleksii the chance to stand on his own feet again.”

Photos of Everyone Else

Several months after the surgery, Oleksii’s leg has been saved. His recovery is not over, but he is making steady progress and now walks with one crutch.

“A surgeon’s greatest joy isn’t when the operation ends,” Dr. Makarenko smiles. “It’s when the patient takes their very first steps. That’s the moment you realize what all the work was for.”

For Dr. Hayda, Oleksii’s story reflects what the Co-Pilot Project is meant to be: not charity flowing in one direction, but a genuine partnership. American surgeons contribute techniques developed through decades of military medicine, while Ukrainian doctors bring unmatched experience treating large numbers of complex wartime injuries . Together, they are finding better ways to care for patients in Ukraine and beyond.

As we prepared to leave, we asked Oleksii whether he could share a few photos for this story. Without hesitation, he replied: “I have photos with my unit mates. I’ll send those.”

Not photos of himself. Photos of people who served beside him.

Throughout hours of conversation, Oleksii never complained about his pain or his circumstances. He spoke about his unit, his mother, his fiancée, the doctors who treated him in three different cities, and Nastya—a nurse who once surprised him in the ward with a homemade apple strudel.

Then his thoughts returned to his future mother-in-law and the wedding ahead. The months of intense effort by surgeons from two continents were never only about repairing bone and muscle. They were about helping a 23-year-old man reclaim the life the war nearly took from him – and giving him the chance to stand on his own two feet on his wedding day.

“Between Minutes and Eternity”: How a Stabilization Point Functions in War

Published: July 9, 2026

Our team visited a stabilization point near the front line — less than 20 kilometers from active combat zones. This is where wounded soldiers are brought after evacuation, and where medics work in a reality where only minutes often stand between life and death. We spoke with a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, and the medical team working there every day about what a stabilization point really looks like from the inside, why time remains the greatest challenge of this war, how telemedicine is saving lives under fire, and what the phrase “the golden hour” truly means on the modern battlefield.

Time That Does Not Exist: Evacuation and the Limits of Medicine

A stabilization point in war is not a hospital in the usual sense, nor simply an intermediate link between the battlefield and a hospital. It is a place where medicine functions under conditions in which time has already been lost — or nearly lost — and decisions must be made faster than normal human psychology allows. It is here that a wounded soldier who has been evacuated from the battlefield first reaches a team capable not only of stopping critical bleeding or relieving pain, but of stabilizing the patient enough to survive the next stage — transport, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation.

Anesthesiologist Dmytro, who works at a stabilization point, speaks about his work without romanticizing it. There is no pathos in his words, although the reality he describes is stronger than any pathos. What troubles him most is not the complexity of injuries or the exhaustion of the team, but the fact that sometimes wounded soldiers cannot be evacuated from the battlefield in time. “The thing that upsets me the most is the inability to evacuate a wounded person from the battlefield in time,” he explains. “We know the person is wounded, we are ready, we have the conditions necessary to provide care, but sometimes evacuation from the battlefield either takes a very long time or does not happen at all.”

Military medicine often speaks about the “golden hour” — the critical period after injury during which the chance of survival is highest. But in this war, especially on certain sections of the front line, that formula does not always work. The doctor describes it almost bitterly: “As they say — the golden hour. For us, it’s a golden week.” There were cases when wounded soldiers remained in positions for too long, while medics could support them only remotely: dropping antibiotics by drone, consulting on what medications to administer, how to dilute them, what to do until evacuation became possible.

This is where one of the key realities of modern frontline medicine becomes visible: the problem is not always the absence of specialists, medications, or skills. Very often, the problem is that between the wounded soldier and the doctor lies the battlefield itself — drones, artillery, destroyed roads, weather, the absence of safe evacuation routes, and constant danger for evacuation teams. That is why a stabilization point works not only with the wounded body, but also with the consequences of delays that medicine itself cannot control.

Under these conditions, telemedicine stops being a modern buzzword from presentations and becomes a practical survival tool. Doctors consult combat medics and soldiers remotely, sometimes effectively directing care in real time. “We called and explained what to do: how to bandage, where to apply pressure, where to pack the wound,” recalls surgeon Yevhen. In one case, according to him, remote guidance made it possible to remove tourniquets, control bleeding, and save a limb. This does not replace evacuation and does not eliminate the need for surgery, but sometimes such remote support gives a person a chance to survive until help arrives.

Working at the Edge: Stabilization, Decisions, and Responsibility

When the wounded finally arrive at the stabilization point, the team must act quickly, but not mechanically. Stabilization is not a chaotic set of actions, nor an automatic process of “stitching someone up and sending them onward.” It is a complex process in which every step depends on the patient’s condition: whether the person is in shock, hypothermic, suffering from massive blood loss, whether blood pressure is stable, whether the body can tolerate intervention. “A soldier arrives soaked, cold, without pain management. He has to be undressed, laid down, dried off, warmed up, provided with anesthesiology support, stabilized in terms of blood pressure and other indicators. Only then can the surgical team work safely,” explains surgeon Yevhen.

That is why the amount of time spent at a stabilization point cannot fit into a single chart. If the patient is relatively stable, treatment may take 15–20 minutes. If the condition is severe, doctors may work for two or three hours. To civilians, that may sound like a long time, but for frontline medicine it is sometimes the only opportunity not to lose the patient before reaching the hospital. “Medicine is not always two plus two,” says the surgeon. “Everything depends on the patient’s condition, the extent of the injury, the amount of care required, and the stabilization measures needed.”

A particularly difficult topic is amputations and severe limb injuries. According to the doctor, stabilization points are not places for “planned” amputations in the hospital sense. If a limb is nonviable, the team does not attempt to make a final decision in conditions where not all capabilities are available. Their task is to stabilize the patient, avoid worsening the condition, preserve whatever may matter for future surgical work and prosthetics, and transfer the patient to the next level of care. “The hospital shapes the residual limb in a way that is more adapted for prosthetics,” explains Yevhen. “If we see that the limb is nonviable, we do not remove the tourniquet, we perform surgical debridement, stabilize the patient, and prepare them for transport.”

This is important to understand: a stabilization point is not a place of “final treatment.” It is a place where a wounded person must be moved from a state of catastrophe into a condition in which transport becomes possible. The patient’s story is not completed there — they are given a chance for it to continue. In this sense, the anesthesiologist’s role is one of the central ones: not simply “administering anesthesia,” but guiding the patient through the most dangerous interval — between uncontrolled post-traumatic condition and the possibility of surgical intervention.

War constantly destroys any sterile image of medicine. Patients may arrive on ATVs, improvised stretchers, covered in mud, soaked, freezing, after prolonged periods in frontline positions. The doctor recalls cases when a wounded soldier essentially “flew into” the stabilization point in a condition where only the eyes were visible, while everything else — mud, clothing, blood, exhaustion — blended together. The team cuts away clothing, pulls the person out, evaluates the condition, and starts working. This is the daily reality in which stabilization points exist: not under ideal protocols, but under the conditions of war, where every case brings a different scenario.

Impact and Systemic Change: From Experience to Standards

Despite this, medics speak not only about survival, but also about development. One of the recurring requests in these conversations is for more opportunities for training, professional exchange, conferences, workshops, and courses. This is not a “bonus” or abstract self-education. For people who work every day with the harshest consequences of war, development means better decisions, fewer mistakes, faster responses, and a greater chance of survival for patients. The conversation directly mentions the need for funding conferences, courses, visiting workshops, and exchanges with specialists.

Already in Ukraine, several educational initiatives are being launched or discussed: the ASET course, the future implementation of ATLS, work related to infection control, and educational initiatives connected to Razom Health. It is separately emphasized that infections in hospitals have become such a serious problem that they require an entire direction of work on their own. This is another indication that frontline medicine does not end at stabilization. A wounded person moves through a long chain, and the quality of every stage affects the outcome: from first aid at the position to evacuation, stabilization points, hospitals, infection control, rehabilitation, and return to life.

In this context, the Razom Heroes program plays a key role, working not with isolated cases but with the system as a whole. This includes the training of combat medics and instructors, equipping units, developing educational programs, and creating conditions in which frontline experience does not remain at the level of isolated stories, but is transformed into standards. It is through programs like these that a connection is formed between the reality of stabilization points and long-term systemic change: implementation of training courses, development of telemedicine, support for instructor programs, systematization of knowledge, and transfer of that knowledge to other units.

A stabilization point is a place where medicine looks least like a beautiful story and most like a struggle against time. Not everyone can always be saved there. It is not always possible to do what the doctor knows and is capable of doing, because sometimes the patient simply cannot arrive in time. Here, the “golden hour” can turn into days of waiting, while telemedicine becomes a temporary bridge between the battlefield and the physician. But it is here that the most important thing becomes visible: Ukrainian military medicine is not simply reacting to war — it is learning, adapting, creating new practices, and trying to turn the experience of every injury into knowledge that will help save the next patient.

And perhaps the most accurate way to describe the work of a stabilization point is not through heroic language, but in very practical terms: it is a place where people are given a chance to reach the next opportunity. To the hospital. To surgery. To a prosthetic. To rehabilitation. To life after injury.

That is why the main question for this system is not only how many medics work at stabilization points or what equipment they have. The main question is how to ensure that wounded soldiers reach them sooner, how to give doctors more time, how to make telemedicine systematic, how to make training continuous, and how to ensure that frontline experience is not lost in isolated stories, but transformed into standards.

Because in war, medicine often begins not when the patient reaches the operating table. It begins much earlier — at the moment when someone manages to bring them out alive.

When Culture, Medicine, and Daily Life Come Under Fire

Published: July 2, 2026

In Ukraine, war does not only come through the front line. It shows in the stairwells blackened by fire, children carried to shelters at night, medics saving neighbors even when their own emergency stations are damaged, artists returning to homes that no longer exist.

On the night of July 2, Kyiv once again woke up to explosions. People rushed into metro stations, basements, and hallways. They hid their children, called loved ones, and waited for news from neighborhoods where buildings were burning and rescuers were already at work.

It was one of the largest combined attacks on the capital: missiles and drones struck the city in waves. Nearly 20 people were killed and dozens were injured. Among those hurt were children, residents of apartment buildings, and emergency medical workers. Homes, cars, medical infrastructure, historic buildings, and places connected to Ukrainian culture were damaged.

In Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, the apartment of cultural manager Iryna Plekhova, director of the Lira cinema, and filmmaker and screenwriter Oleh Chornyi burned down. Their building is historic, long connected to workers of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio and their families. Two sections of the building burned completely. During the evacuation, Iryna and Oleh helped two elderly neighbors get out.

The home of filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk was damaged for the sixth time. The courtyard of Vadym Miskyi, program director at Detector Media, was also hit. These were not only damaged walls. They were places where people lived, created, preserved memories, and built Ukraine’s cultural life.

On this same day, the attack destroyed the central storage facility of the BookChef publishing house that held nearly 800 thousand books.

Civilian emergency medicine also came under attack. In Kyiv, an emergency medical station was damaged. Ambulance workers — medics and drivers — were injured, and ambulances were damaged. The people who are first to rush toward danger to save others became victims of the attack themselves.

Kyiv was not alone. Communities in the Zaporizhzhia region endured hundreds of strikes in a single day, including FPV drone attacks. In Kharkiv and the surrounding region, civilians were killed, including a 15-year-old boy, and dozens of people were injured. In the Dnipro region, drones damaged homes, cars, gas stations, and other civilian infrastructure.

On nights like this, the work of those who arrive first becomes especially visible: the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, police, medics, volunteer teams, and rapid response groups.

That night, Matviy Suslov, Razom’s Tactical Medicine Project Manager, worked in Kyiv alongside these response teams. They helped move people rescued from the rubble to safer areas and provided first aid to civilians.

“The shelling was so dense and massive that we had to move in small leaps, hide in underpasses, or quickly leave dangerous areas by car,” Matviy said. Near Lukianivka, after one of the explosions, the car doors jammed. “We were lucky the door issue was resolved quickly”.

What stayed with him most was a couple who approached and asked what had happened to their home. Their building was burning. In their eyes, he saw confusion, grief, and the disbelief of people trying to understand how life could change in a single moment.

Matvii also emphasized the work of the State Emergency Service and the police at the strike sites. For the Razom team, it was another reminder of why it is so important to strengthen the institutions that are first to stand beside people after an attack: through prehospital care training, essential medical supplies, and the ability to respond in the first critical minutes.

In moments like these, this work is not abstract. It is about real skills, real people, and real lives — Ukrainians and visitors to the country — that can be saved when help arrives in time.

Russia continues to strike civilians, children, medics, cultural workers, and families in their own homes. Ukraine continues to endure because people keep showing up for one another, even after the darkest nights.

Youth Transforming Communities: How Youth Initiative Banks Are Helping Build the Future During Wartime

Published: June 26, 2026

As part of the Children & the Future Under Fire month, Razom is highlighting initiatives that support children, teenagers, and young people in Ukraine — not only as those in need of protection, but as active participants in the recovery and development of their communities.

One such initiative focuses on empowering active youth in 25 communities across 14 regions of Ukraine, including communities that have been deeply affected by the war. The project is implemented by the National Network for Local Philanthropy Development “Philanthropists” with the support of Razom and Fondation de France.

At the heart of the project is the International Youth Banks model. For more than two decades, this approach has been used in countries around the world, giving young people the opportunity not only to learn, but also to make decisions, mobilize resources, and support change in their own communities.

Similar youth philanthropy models also exist in the United States. For example, Northfield YouthBank and youth-led grantmaking programs at community foundations give young people the opportunity not only to propose ideas, but also to make decisions about funding projects in their communities.

What Is Youth Initiative Bank?

Youth Initiative Bank is an international model that has been implemented for more than 20 years in 37 countries with the support of Youth Bank International. In Ukraine, the model is implemented by the National Network for Local Philanthropy Development with financial support from Razom for Ukraine and Fondation de France.

A Youth Initiative Bank is a team of young people who study the needs of their community, mobilize local resources, organize grant competitions, and support the implementation of youth-led projects.

In other words, young people are not only applying for support for their own ideas. They are learning how to become grantmakers themselves: analyzing needs, defining priorities, developing selection criteria, making funding decisions, and supporting initiatives through implementation.

The model is built on the principle of “learning by doing.” Young people go through the full cycle of managing local change — from assessing community needs to fundraising, supporting projects, monitoring results, and reporting back to the community.

How It Works

Each year, every Youth Initiative Bank team goes through a full cycle of work.

First, a team of active young people is formed. They receive basic training and divide responsibilities among themselves. Then, the participants study the needs of their community by conducting surveys, focus groups, and consultations with residents to understand which challenges are most urgent.

Based on this research, the young people define priorities — the themes and areas that need support in their community. These may include social, educational, cultural, volunteer, or other initiatives that respond to real local needs.

The next stage is local fundraising. Teams organize charity events, fairs, campaigns, and community activities, raising funds from local residents, businesses, and partners. This is an essential part of the model, because it helps young people not only speak about change, but also bring their community together around it.

After that, the Youth Initiative Bank announces an open grant competition for youth initiatives, develops selection criteria, and makes decisions about which projects to support. The selected teams implement their ideas with mentoring support from the Youth Initiative Bank. At the end of the cycle, they analyze the results, assess the impact, and report back to the community.

Why Co-Funding Matters

One of the key features of this model is co-funding.

Teams do not simply receive support from outside. They raise resources within their own communities: they speak with residents, look for partners, work with local businesses, and organize charitable events. Based on the results of the grant competition, the Youth Initiative Bank then provides additional funding for youth-led projects.

This means that the more actively a team mobilizes local resources and community support, the more opportunities it has to bring its ideas to life.

This approach builds more than individual projects. It builds trust within the community. Young people see that their voices matter. Local residents see that young people are capable of taking responsibility. And the community receives initiatives that are not imposed from above, but born from its real needs.

What Young People Gain

Participation in a Youth Initiative Bank gives young people practical experience that is difficult to gain through formal education alone. They learn how to work in a team, manage projects, analyze information, write grant applications, communicate ideas, lead fundraising efforts, and distribute resources responsibly.

But just as importantly, young people gain the experience of being trusted. They are not simply told that they matter to the future of their community. They are given real tools of influence: the ability to research, decide, support, and take responsibility for results.

For communities — especially those affected by war — this is particularly important. Amid loss, displacement, and constant uncertainty, it is essential not to lose active young people, but to create reasons for them to stay engaged, grow, and see their place in Ukraine’s future.

Where Young People Are Given a Chance

Behind every Youth Initiative Bank, there is more than a grant competition or a training program. There are people who, at some point, heard a simple but powerful phrase: “You can do this.”

In the Kobleve community in Mykolaiv region, this journey did not begin with major victories. Youth Initiative Bank coordinator Oksana Dukhan recalls returning from training two years ago with “a whole carriage of doubts.” She was not local, she knew few people, and the community itself consisted of 11 villages scattered across an area with limited transport connections. Because of the war, some young people had left, and opportunities had become fewer. Even gathering the first team of three people was a challenge.

The first fundraising attempt did not work either. The team opened a charitable donation jar, made plans, and waited. But no one donated, because no one knew who they were. So they changed their approach: they went to people in person. They asked the community to believe not just in projects, but in youth-led ideas. Gradually, the community began to respond with trust.

One of the first projects was the restoration of a volleyball court in the village of Luhove. Teenagers planned the budget themselves, purchased materials, painted, and organized the space. For them, it was more than just a sports ground. It was their first experience of realizing that they can change the place where they live.

Criticism followed. Some said it could have been done better, that the net was not right, that teenagers should not be trusted with money. But at that moment, the real meaning of the project became clear. The point was not that everything had been done perfectly. The point was that young people had, for the first time, gone through the full path from idea to result on their own.

A year later, young people in the same village of Luhove implemented another project — creating a modern cinema space for local residents.

Today, the Kobleve Youth Initiative Bank team includes 12 active teenagers. Over two years, they have implemented 15 youth projects in eight villages, raised around UAH 250,000 for youth initiatives, and helped more than 45 teenagers gain their first real experience in project management, fundraising, and civic engagement.

Another story comes from Cherkasy. Tetiana Honcharova joined the Youth Initiative Bank as a young professional looking for a space where she could be useful. Her first project, “ArtInsight,” combined psychological support with creative practices. In just one month, it reached more than 150 people.

For Tetiana, this was more than a grant competition victory. It was the moment she felt that her ideas had value — and that the desire to help could become real change. Later, she went on to lead the Youth Initiative Bank herself. Today, she supports other young people, helping them overcome fear, speak up, act, and try.

This is the power of Youth Initiative Banks. They do not simply fund youth ideas. They create the moment when a teenager in their community feels for the first time: I am trusted. My voice matters. My idea can become something real.

During wartime, that carries special weight. Because Ukraine’s future is not an abstract date after victory. It is already being shaped through small decisions: to gather a team, to go out and speak to people, to ask for support, to restore a playground, to hold a meeting, to support someone else’s idea, to believe in yourself.

Big changes can truly begin with a small local initiative — especially when young people are given a chance at the right time.

A Future Built Locally

The war has forced many young people to grow up faster. But even under these circumstances, they are not only adapting — they are acting.

Through Youth Initiative Banks, young people in Ukrainian communities launch local projects, support their peers, engage residents, work with partners, and learn to make decisions that affect the lives of those around them.

For Razom, supporting such initiatives is part of a broader effort to strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian communities. During wartime, the future is not an abstract idea. It is formed every day — in schools, youth spaces, volunteer teams, local initiatives, and communities where young people are given the chance to act.

When young people have the tools, trust, and support they need, they do not simply imagine the future. They begin to build it.

Beyond the Soviet Frame: How Razom and Metrograph Brought Ukrainian Poetic Cinema to New Audiences

Published: June 19, 2026

In late 2025, New York audiences gathered at Metrograph for Soul & Soil: Ukrainian Poetic Cinema — an ambitious retrospective co-presented by Metrograph, Razom Cinema, and Dovzhenko Center that introduced audiences to one of the most visually innovative film movements of the twentieth century. Across eighteen screenings, the series drew nearly 1,400 in-person attendees, reached thousands more through streaming, and generated significant engagement across social and film media platforms.

But the retrospective was never intended to function merely as a successful repertory film series. At its core, Soul & Soil, sought to challenge a longstanding misconception in global film culture: the tendency to treat Ukrainian cinema as a subsidiary chapter within “Soviet cinema,” rather than as a distinct artistic tradition with its own language, identity, and historical trajectory.

“There’s a version of Ukrainian cinematic history that gets told as a footnote to Soviet cinema,” explained Head of Razom Cinema Polina Buchak. “One of the things that drives Razom Cinema is the refusal to accept that framing.”

Through a carefully curated program of landmark films, rare archival materials, guest discussions, and contextual programming, Soul & Soil demonstrated not only the enduring artistic power of Ukrainian Poetic Cinema, but also the growing appetite among international audiences to engage with Ukrainian culture on its own terms.

Building the Collaboration

The retrospective emerged from a collaboration between Razom Cinema and Metrograph’s Program Operations Manager, Anri Vartan. Both recognized an opportunity to create a program that would move beyond topical wartime cultural interest and instead introduce audiences to the historical depth of Ukrainian cinematic tradition. Vartan was also the curator of the retrospective series.

While Razom Cinema had already become known for presenting contemporary Ukrainian films and cultural programming in New York, Soul & Soil marked its first major retrospective dedicated specifically to Ukrainian film heritage. It was also the first significant Ukrainian Poetic Cinema retrospective in New York City since the Film at Lincoln Center series curated by Richard Peña in 2012.

“The series was conceived to illuminate the depth and distinctiveness of Ukrainian Poetic Cinema,” said Vartan. “For audiences in New York, the goal was to offer more than just a screening series — it was an invitation to experience a distinct cinematic language profoundly rooted in its sense of time and place.”

The title Soul & Soil reflected the retrospective’s central themes: the enduring relationship between the Ukrainian people, their land, and cultural memory. The films traced a path through key moments in Ukraine’s modern history, from the National Revival period through the Soviet era and into works that anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.

Reclaiming a Cinematic Heritage

For both Metrograph and Razom, the retrospective carried significance beyond film history. Ukrainian Poetic Cinema emerged during the 1960s as a visually daring movement associated with filmmakers such as Sergei Parajanov, Yurii Illienko, Leonid Osyka, and Ivan Mykolaichuk. Drawing deeply from Ukrainian folklore, history, ethnography, and language, the movement represented a profound break from the rigid constraints of Soviet Socialist Realism.

As filmmaker and producer Pylyp Illienko explained in a companion Metrograph interview, the movement was heavily censored precisely because it articulated a distinctly Ukrainian cultural identity. The films’ emphasis on folklore, spirituality, local traditions, and historical memory challenged Soviet cultural homogenization and, in many cases, resulted in bans, shelving, or severe censorship.

“Revisiting these films today allows audiences to see how questions of identity, resilience, and self-determination have been explored by Ukrainian filmmakers for decades,” said Vartan. “Ukrainian Poetic Cinema was a site of resistance against Soviet cultural hegemony.”

That framing became especially resonant in the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. For Razom Cinema, presenting these films internationally was not only an artistic project, but also a cultural and historical intervention.

“Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not only a military assault, but a deliberate attack on Ukrainian cultural identity,” Buchak noted. “Presenting Ukrainian cinema to international audiences is an affirmation of Ukraine’s existence as a distinct, sovereign culture with its own artistic voice.” Cinema, she argued, offers audiences something beyond news coverage or geopolitics — a way to experience a culture from within: “It allows audiences to feel a culture from the inside — its motions, its rhythms, its memory and identity.”

Creating a Singular Audience Experience

What distinguished Soul & Soil from a standard repertory series was the depth of contextualization and the extraordinary level of collaboration behind the scenes.

Razom Cinema provided grant support that enabled the sourcing of rare 35mm prints from Yurii Illienko’s personal archive — materials that had not screened outside Ukraine in decades — alongside digital restorations from the Dovzhenko Center, Ukraine’s leading film archive.

The retrospective also featured in-person appearances by Pylyp Illienko, son of Yurii Illienko, who introduced films and participated in post-screening discussions, offering audiences rare insight into the production histories and political contexts surrounding the works. Composer Leonid Grabovsky, whose experimental scores shaped the audiovisual language of several Illienko films, also joined select screenings.

“These screenings became something much more unique,” Buchak said. Metrograph and Razom further elevated the experience through live subtitling provided by Razom Cinema Program Coordinator Yuliia Haleta, custom translation work, and carefully designed print and editorial materials that framed the series for audiences unfamiliar with Ukrainian film history.

Opening night set the tone for the retrospective’s immersive approach. Before a screening of Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Earth accompanied by DakhaBrakha’s score, the Ukrainian Village Voices ensemble performed live folk music inspired by the same traditions reflected in the film itself.

For Vartan, contextualization proved essential: “The way a film program is framed has a huge impact on the audience’s experience and ultimately on their appreciation of the cinema itself,” he reflected. “Print materials, guest appearances, and the technical presentation itself are all integral details that are vital in presenting a film in its best light.”

This emphasis on contextualization extends beyond the screenings themselves. Razom Cinema’s team continues to invest in ongoing study and engagement with Ukrainian film history, including participation in programs such as the 2026 Ukrainian Institute London course Ukrainian Cinema: A Century of Innovation, Struggle, and Resilience, reflecting the organization’s commitment to presenting Ukrainian cinema with both historical depth and contemporary relevance.

Audience Response and Institutional Impact

The response to Soul & Soil demonstrated that Ukrainian cinema can attract substantial international interest when presented with strong curatorial framing and institutional support. The retrospective achieved a 68% average occupancy rate across eighteen screenings, drawing nearly 1,400 attendees in theaters. An additional 1,640 viewers engaged with the series through Metrograph’s streaming platform, bringing total viewership to more than 3,000 people.

The program’s digital footprint extended even further. Promotional content reached approximately 370,000 social media accounts and generated more than 887,000 views, including a highly successful collaboration with Letterboxd that alone approached 700,000 views. Coverage from outlets including Letterboxd, FilmStage, Screenslate, United24, Bazilik, and The Gaze further amplified the retrospective’s visibility.

For Razom Cinema, the statistics confirmed something larger than the success of a single event: “There is a desire and appetite for Ukrainian cinema among international audiences,” Buchak said. “Soul & Soil proved that when the programming is presented with care, context, and the right institutional partnerships, audiences show up.”

The collaboration has already opened conversations about future institutional partnerships and expanded programming opportunities. Both Razom Cinema and Metrograph see the retrospective not as a singular event, but as a model that can travel to other venues and audiences.

“The films are extraordinary,” Buchak reflected, “but audiences need a frame to receive them. Razom Cinema is here to help build that frame in collaboration with any institution ready to open their doors to the power that Ukrainian cinema offers.”