A Language of Resilience and Freedom: Why Students Across America Choose Ukrainian

Published: September 30, 2025

Language is never just words. It carries memory, identity, and resilience. For Ukrainians, every phrase holds centuries of struggle against erasure and the power of survival. That is why Russian imperial projects, past and present, have always attacked the Ukrainian language first.

Today, students across the United States are embracing Ukrainian – not only to study grammar and vocabulary, but to step into a community, to stand with a nation fighting for its future, and to learn the language of freedom.

Yet, many people with a personal or professional interest in Ukraine may still hesitate to commit to taking Ukrainian language classes or may not realize they can advocate for their institutions to offer them. Razom’s Ukraine on Campus initiative spoke with some Ukrainian language instructors and students across the United States and left these conversations with more reasons than ever to study the language and to push for its place in academic curricula.

One of the interviewees, Dr. Nataliya Shpylova Saeed, a preceptor in Slavic Languages and Literature at Harvard, shared that students in her class come from various backgrounds and academic or career interests. They know that Ukrainian will help them excel in fields ranging from policy and war crimes investigation to history and regional studies, to name a few. “Learning language”, as Nataliya remarked, “gives a student access to the Ukrainian context.”

Nonetheless, one student’s motivations stood out to her the most. “I have students who started with Russian and, after 2022, chose not to invest in it because that’s their political statement [of solidarity with Ukraine]… And these students have no personal or family connection with Ukraine”. Taking Ukrainian is an act of resistance to the centuries-long attempts of russification, oppression of literature figures, artists, and discrimination against native speakers of the Ukrainian language.

It is a way to announce that Ukraine, its culture, and its people have the right to exist and to remain sovereign. Similarly, William Debnam, a former Ukraine on Campus stipend recipient and a fourth-year PhD candidate at Columbia University now, began learning Ukrainian by chance during his bachelor’s degree at Cambridge.

His curiosity, however, quickly grew into a strong and enduring interest leading to him being an elementary Ukrainian instructor. William believes that taking Ukrainian class puts you “in a select but growing group”. He even calls it a community, where “everyone is trying to support your growth and help each other”. William shared that, while Ukraine is often little-known abroad, this region has long been at the center of world history; this struggle of a stateless nation has made its literature and cinema very distinct and interesting. Studying Ukrainian, he says, opens many niches and opportunities and “gives a very interesting perspective on the world that you don’t get by studying more hegemonic cultures”. For those starting out, William recommends in-person classes and well-structured resources, such as Beginner’s Ukrainian, a textbook by Yuri Shevchuk, a Columbia professor.

Professor Oleksandra Wallo started her work at the University of Kansas 10 years ago. She emphasized the importance of high-quality instruction and finding a personal approach towards each student. At the University of Kansas, there’s a focus on Ukrainian programming and engagement with student groups and cultural activities. Many students become inspired by Ukraine’s versatile and authentic traditions. She explains that the students, who do decide to take Ukrainian, always find ways to put their knowledge to use in the future, whether they become translators, write dissertations about Ukraine and the region, or work at the organizations that support and help Ukraine. It makes her proud to see this knowledge being put to use immediately.

“This is the most rewarding thing that a professor can see. I’m glad that I can help them grow in their knowledge and I can provide the tools, the skills that will help them meet their goals, professional goals, and kind of these broader human goals, right? In understanding what it is to be standing up for justice in this world right now and how every one of us can have a part in that.”

While the above-mentioned Ukrainian language courses have been established at some universities for years or decades now, new offerings continue to grow. This year, the University of North Carolina launched an online course led by Dr. Serhii Tereshchenko. Another remarkable program created after the full-scale invasion is Dr. Olha Tytarenko’s course at Yale University. Dr. Tytarenko approaches her work with dedication and a strong mission in mind, reminding colleagues and university departments that introducing or expanding Ukrainian today “is both a matter of intellectual integrity and moral clarity.” She emphasized, “Slavic studies cannot remain dominated by the narratives of the colonizer. Supporting Ukrainian programming highlights the diversity and richness of Slavic cultures while countering a history of enforced marginalization. Enrollment numbers alone cannot measure the value of this work. At this moment, investing in Ukrainian is investing in the language of democracy, in cultural survival, and in the future of Slavic studies as a field.”

A Ukrainian language course today is more than an academic elective. It is an act of resistance against erasure, a statement of solidarity with Ukraine, and a way of joining a growing movement that places justice, democracy, and cultural survival at its heart.

We could not agree more that, “Investing in Ukrainian is investing in the language of democracy, in cultural survival, and in the future.”

When students choose Ukrainian, they choose to stand with freedom. The question is – will your campus give them that choice? Let us know about it – or reach out for help finding resources and advocating for the interdisciplinary study of Ukraine at your university or college. At Razom’s Ukraine on Campus initiative, we are dedicated to working together to bring more Ukrainian language and studies to campuses across the US.

Expanding the Movement Beyond the Classroom

The growing presence of Ukrainian language courses in U.S. universities is just the beginning. Strengthening this field also means building networks of students, scholars, and educators who carry the study of Ukraine into broader academic and cultural spaces. Conferences and convenings are one way this momentum takes root and flourishes. This year, students and instructors will have multiple opportunities to share their work, connect with peers, and deepen their engagement with Ukrainian studies:

ASEEES Convention 2025 – November 20-23, Washington, DC
ALTA Convention 2025 – November 5-8, Tucson, AZ
AATSEEL Conference 2026 – February 19–22 (2026), New Orleans, LA

To make participation more accessible, Ukraine on Campus will offer a number of travel stipends for students and presenters attending the these conferences. Click on the respective conference to access the application.

Choose Your Journey Through Razom’s “Against the Grain” Ukrainian Cultural Festival

Published: September 29, 2025

This October, Razom for Ukraine’s “Against the Grain” festival pulses with visual art, performance, literature and film that chart Ukraine’s current moment: its beauty, its losses, its rebel voice. Across genres there are recurring themes – memory and witness; nature and environment; identity, hybridity, and resisting imposed narratives. The events of the festival aren’t just entertainment: they are acts of solidarity, windows into what Ukraine is enduring and creating. Whatever your inclination, you’ll find something to make your heart and mind move.

Below are three curated “journeys” through the festival – by interest or mood. Each journey gathers together a few events that echo one another so experiencing them in sequence (or pairing them) gives more resonance. But always remember: connection to Ukraine is what roots all of this.

Journey 1: Nature, Landscape & Environment

For those who feel alive in landscapes, who see water, soil, flora, and wild creatures as central to our sense of home – and feel outrage as to what is at stake when war, corruption, or neglect intrude—this trail invites reflection and wonder.

The Editorial Office (Cinema, October 7) – Directed by Roman Bondarchuk, the film begins with Yura, a young biologist at a Natural History Museum, out in the southern steppe looking for an endangered groundhog. Instead, he witnesses forest arson. From there, the film branches into truth, media distortion, corruption, fake news, and the struggle to expose injustice – all while nature is being burned, ignored, or co-opted.
I Dream of Seeing the Steppe Again by Darya Tsymbalyuk (Visual Art, Oct 25) – Drawing on archival flora of the steppe, this participatory workshop asks us not only to remember what was, but to imagine what might be restored.
Darya Tsymbalyuk: Ecocide in Ukraine (Literature, Oct 26) — In Ecocide in Ukraine: The Environmental Cost of Russia’s War, Tsymbalyuk traces the destruction of rivers, steppes, forests, and biodiversity under the shadow of war, weaving scientific insight, personal memory, and poetic observation. Her book discussion asks: when land is a battlefield, how do we speak for what is vanishing?
What the Water Told Me by Oleksandra Zborovska (Visual Art, Oct 26–30) – A work arising from the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, using cyanotypes and river water itself to map grief, memory, loss, and the elemental force of water.
Maria Reva: Endling, Ukraine, and the End of Fiction (Literature, Oct 29) – In her novel Endling, Reva deploys the metaphor of “the last of a species” to consider war, extinction, memory, and survival in the Ukrainian landscape, reminding us that human fate is intertwined with threatened ecologies. Her reading and conversation will draw those threads into sharper relief, asking: what is left when both people and land face erasure?

This journey invites you to slow down, to place yourself in wild places (or in memory of them), and to see how nature and art are entwined – and how what happens to the land happens to people.

Journey 2: Memory, Trauma & Witnessing

If you’re drawn to work that holds up mirrors to loss, that archives what others try to erase, that makes private grief public – this is your route through the festival.

Viktor (Cinema, October 8) — A 2024 documentary by Olivier Sarbil, Viktor follows a deaf war photographer in Kharkiv as he uses his camera as a weapon of witness, capturing the invasion through his silent gaze. The film’s stark black-and-white imagery and subjective sound design make silence into a presence — reminding us that even in the absence of voice, memory persists.
Cassandra by Lesia Ukrainka (Performing arts, Oct 10–19) – Through the lens of myth and prophecy, voices that are silenced or disbelieved become powerful; Cassandra’s curse becomes all the more resonant given modern disinformation, war atrocities, unheeded warnings.
Memory Patterns by Anna Seniuk (Visual Arts, October 14-18) – Fragile fragments of memory inscribed in paper, in photographs, in tears and light; what remains when the archive is partial, when some witnesses are gone.
Short Film Programs from KISFF & Linoleum (Cinema, October 14, October 21) – Many films in these selections confront displacement, identity, rupture. The short-form gives urgency.
2000 Meters to Andriivka (Cinema, October 23) – Directed by Mstyslav Chernov, this harrowing documentary follows a Ukrainian platoon as they push through a heavily fortified forest toward liberated Andriivka, tracing each meter with bodycam footage, reflection, and grief. In sequences that register exhaustion, camaraderie, and loss, the film becomes a trench-level chronicle of war’s relentlessness and a portrait of memory in motion.
Voices of Occupation: Stories of Cultural Survival (Literature, Oct 24) – This event brings together writers from Ukraine’s occupied eastern and southern regions, including Olia Hercules, Volodymyr Rafeyenko, and Natalia Shpylova-Saeed, to explore the lived experience of occupation, memory under duress, and cultural survival. Their conversation presses on what it means to live amidst erasure and how stories insist on existence even in places marked by exclusion and control.
Our Life Behind Barbed Wire (Performing Arts, November 1) – Evoking Holocaust-era forced laborers, and tying past horrors to displacement and current war, this piece uses song, storytelling, image, and ritual to bear witness.

In every piece you’ll find the fracture of experience made visible: a memory that aches to be reclaimed, a silence that demands breaking. These works remind us that trauma is not simply something to be narrated, but something for which new forms must be invented—so that witnesses, past and present, are not lost to time.

Journey 3: Identity, Hybridity, & Boundary-Breaking

If you’re energized by hybrid art, by work that refuses neat genre boxes, by cross-cultural experiments and daring forms, then this is your route.

DIA/spora by Igor Martiniouk (Visual Arts, October 2-12) – Diasporic identity, reimagined tradition, art that dialogues across distance and loss.
Apocollapse! by Dean Temple (Performing Arts, October 13) – A stage reading of a new play that weaves performance, music, text, politics: collapse not just physical, but moral, informational.
U are the Universe (Cinema, October 13) – A work that experiments with structure, and uses documentary stylings with fiction, that fold in surreal or symbolic detail.
A Romantic from Kharkiv: Music of Sergei Bortkiewicz (Performing Arts, October 17-18) – Also joining this arc of hybridity is a live piano recital by Anna and Dmitri Shelest celebrating the works of Sergei Bortkiewicz. Listeners will be invited into a nuanced story of musical identity: a Ukrainian-born Romantic composer whose lush, melancholic style drew from both Eastern and Western traditions.
Lines We Cross: Translating Ukraine (Literature, October 22) — In this conversation, Ukrainian novelist/poet Oksana Lutsyshyna and American author Sam Wachman explore how migration, queerness, language, and translation shape new identities across borders. Their dialogue provokes questions: when words cross languages, what shifts—and what remains irreducible?
Light on the Waves (Visual Arts, October 30 – November 2) – For its video and media art forms; place, displacement, borderlands shown through moving images.

These pieces insist that identity is never static, especially in times of rupture – it is always entangled, overlapping, translated. In pushing beyond borders of genre, tradition, and narrative, they show that hybridity itself becomes a site of creative possibility and a form of resistance.

Overarching Threads

What ties all three of these journeys – whether you follow water and soil, memory and loss, or boundary-crossing art – is not mere proximity or shared origin, but a deeper, restless insistence. Time and again these works answer war’s erasures with resistance; they tell truths that refuse to be silenced – about land, about the scars of history, about justice. They assert identity and belonging, even under siege: sometimes layered, sometimes hybrid, sometimes contradictory, but always claimed with urgency. And above all, they remind us that art is not passive. Here, the artist becomes witness, archivist, memory-keeper, protestor: not merely reflecting reality, but recording, preserving, and refusing disappearance. To attend Against the Grain is to join in that collective act of resistance – not as a distant observer, but as someone willing to be moved, unsettled, and inspired to bear witness in one’s own way.

Why You Should Attend

Because this festival is more than culture: it is solidarity. Because seeing art like this matters – not only for Ukrainians but for everyone who cares about truth, beauty and justice. Because connection isn’t symbolic: we bear witness, we learn, we are changed. Whatever your interest, pick a journey (or mix across) – and dive into the world of Ukrainian artists who go Against the Grain.

Two Doctors, One Mission: Bringing Hope Through Healing

Published: September 25, 2025

When Dr. Ilya Petrenko first crossed paths with Dr. Raymond Cho in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, neither could have imagined how that meeting would blossom into a transformative journey across continents. What began as a chance encounter during a medical mission has now grown into an observership in Columbus, Ohio – an exchange that underscores the power of professional solidarity and the resilience of Ukraine’s medical community.

A Meeting in Ukraine

Dr. Cho, an oculoplastic surgeon at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, first traveled to Ukraine in the spring of 2023 as part of the Face to Future missions. “I’ve been to Ukraine three times already, and I’ll be going back again in October [of 2025],” he shared. On one of those trips, he met Dr. Petrenko, an ophthalmic surgeon from Kyiv City Ophthalmology Hospital “Eye Microsurgery”. Their conversations planted the seeds of a mentorship that would soon span oceans.

“I had a great desire to learn more and attend this type of observership,” Dr. Petrenko recalled. Through one of the organizers, Natalia Komashko, he became involved in the medical missions, where he worked alongside Dr. Cho. After several collaborations in Ukraine, Dr. Cho extended an invitation to come to Ohio to see how his work unfolds in an American hospital setting.

Crossing Borders for Knowledge

The journey was not without hurdles. Securing university approval and navigating the visa process took more than six months. But perseverance prevailed, and in the summer of 2025, Dr. Petrenko arrived in Columbus for a three-week observership.

“It is an observership, so he’s not able to participate in surgeries,” Dr. Cho explained. “But he goes everywhere I go – to the clinic, to the operating room, to lectures. We even eat most of our meals together. He’s with me all day.”

For Dr. Petrenko, the experience has been tremendously useful. He observed orbital fracture and decompression surgeries, as well as complex procedures involving the tear ducts.

“What really impressed me was how many materials are available to American doctors,” he said. “For example, there is this device called the Jones tube. If it doesn’t fit, they simply open another one. They don’t reuse it. In Ukraine, we have fewer technical and material opportunities available to us.”

Beyond the technical exposure, Dr. Petrenko was struck by the discipline and organization of the American medical system. “Everyone starts their work so early – at 7:30 in the morning, everything is already in motion. The operating room works like clockwork. The level of professionalism and coordination is inspiring,” he noted.

For Dr. Cho, the value of the observership is also personal. With more than 26 years in military medicine, he feels a deep connection to Ukraine’s wounded defenders. “Ukraine is in a fight for its existence. It has been invaded by a foreign power without provocation. Ukraine as a sovereign state needs to be given the opportunity to survive. In the two years that I have been involved, I have come to love the people of Ukraine”. He added that introducing Dr. Petrenko to his colleagues in Ohio raises awareness and helps people understand Ukraine on a very human level.

Connecting with Community

While in Ohio, Dr. Petrenko also found support from the local Ukrainian diaspora. He celebrated Ukraine’s Independence Day with community members, who welcomed him as family. In conversations with patients during consultations, he was moved to hear how many Americans expressed solidarity. While he is unable to share the specifics because of the confidentiality agreement with the institution, he is still able to convey the general attitude: “Every tenth patient would say something about supporting Ukraine,” he remembered. “It made me feel that people here are with us.”

Looking Ahead

Back in Kyiv, Dr. Petrenko frequently treats wounded soldiers and civilians. He sees his observership as an investment in his ability to serve them with greater skill and confidence. “I have had opportunities to leave Ukraine and work elsewhere, but I have no intention of doing so,” he said firmly. “My country is my home. This is where my wife and children are. Ukraine is the best place for me.”

Reflecting on their collaboration, both doctors voiced gratitude to Razom’s Co-Pilot Project for making the exchange possible. “Thank you, Razom, for the support,” Dr. Cho said. Dr. Petrenko echoed: “Thank you for this opportunity, for organizing everything, and for supporting us.”

From Ivano-Frankivsk to Ohio, the journey of Drs. Cho and Petrenko is more than a professional exchange -it is a bridge of hope. It is a reminder that even in the darkest times, partnerships can flourish, knowledge can be shared, and lives can be changed.

How Veteran Taras Buhaienko Finds Purpose in Adaptive Archery

Published: September 24, 2025

Taras Buhaienko, 46, from Ivano-Frankivsk, is not a man who sugarcoats things. Even though his legs hurt constantly, his spirit remains unshaken. A seasoned soldier, a proud father, and now a certified archery instructor, Buhaienko has transformed unimaginable hardship into purpose — thanks, in part, to an adaptive sports program.

Buhaienko’s path to rehabilitation began long before he picked up a bow. He first joined the fight against the Russian invasion in 2014, driven by a deep sense of duty. “I couldn’t just sit back. I went to defend my homeland,” he said.

His first deployment resulted in an injury that earned him a third-degree disability. Still, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he volunteered again, and this time, the toll was even greater.

In March 2023, near the village of Lyman, Buhaienko sustained a life-threatening injury. “A [kamikaze] drone flew right toward my chest. Somehow, I managed to knock it down with my right hand — which turned black for months — and it exploded under my feet instead of hitting my head,” he recalls.

The blast damaged both legs, affecting the pancreas and his kidneys. “I thought they’d amputate,” he admitted. “I lost toes, including a big one, which I never knew was so essential for balance.”

Buhaienko spent seven agonizing hours on the battlefield before evacuation. Hypothermia likely saved his life, slowing his body functions just enough. From the war zone, he was transferred to hospitals in Sloviansk, Kyiv, Lviv, and eventually, Ivano-Frankivsk. There, in a local hospital, his long rehabilitation began.

“Pool therapy changed everything,” he said. “I couldn’t squat before. Now I can, thanks to the right exercises and excellent trainers.”

But it wasn’t just physical recovery he needed. Like many veterans, Buhaienko struggled with the emotional aftermath of war. That is when he discovered the Petros program.

The Petros, organized by the Re:Textile Group in Ivano-Frankivsk and supported by Razom, assists wounded veterans through two core areas: therapeutic and educational workshops during recovery and adaptive sports, including Olympic-style archery. The program helps participants regain confidence, find community, and explore new opportunities during and after their rehabilitation.

Buhaienko stumbled upon an announcement for archery instructor training and decided to apply. “I just needed something to do. Sitting at home was driving me mad,” he said.

The training was led by Kateryna Dubrovina, a silver medalist in archery at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. “She taught us both the theory and the practice,” Buhaienko said. “We trained a lot, and thanks to her guidance, we really learned to shoot properly.”

At the final event, the Petros Cup, Buhaienko unexpectedly won first place in his category.

“Archery is deeply personal,” he said. “The bow is adjusted for me. It’s a sport where you can’t hide. It gets a grip on you.”

Buhaienko is now working to open his own archery club for veterans and wounded soldiers near Ivano-Frankivsk. “We’re planning to base it close to a rehabilitation center or hospital,” he said. He already has support from local officials and hopes to secure funding and equipment soon. “If I get one bow, one stand, and a few arrows, I’ll be thrilled,” he said. “That’s enough to start.”

“We, veterans, need to feel needed,” Buhaienko said. “Programs like these give us a sense that we’re not forgotten, that we’re not defeated. Archery gives us confidence, community, and a new role. When you’re an instructor, there’s added responsibility. You’re helping someone just like you.”

Looking to the future, Buhaienko dreams of a strong and independent Ukraine. “We have everything we need,” he said. “I want our country to be a pillar of security in Europe, and our veterans to be respected as the foundation of that strength.”

With your support, Razom is able to support the heroes as they adapt to civilian life after they gave it all, protecting their families and standing for democratic values.

Razom commends President Trump’s support for Ukraine victory

Published: September 23, 2025

RAZOM COMMENDS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE VICTORY

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 23, 2025 — Razom for Ukraine commends President Trump for his leadership at the United Nations and his remarks affirming support for Ukraine’s victory over Russia’s faltering invasion.

“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form… Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years,” wrote President Trump in a post on Truth Social. “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

“President Trump showed today that he knows Ukrainians are winners,” said Director of Advocacy for Razom for Ukraine Mykola Murskyj. “Military planners at the Pentagon are studying Ukraine’s miraculous victory in the Battle of the Black Sea, forcing Russia’s fleet to retreat from Crimea for the first time in over a century.”

“I hope we see President Trump double down by signing a U.S.-Ukraine drone partnership deal—Ukraine is literally writing the handbook on how to win a war with drones, and the United States can’t afford to miss out.”

“This is the kind of leadership that wins Nobel Peace Prizes. President Trump sent a clear signal to Vladimir Putin that any more raids into NATO airspace will result in Russian aircraft getting shot out of the sky, and he gave voice to the majority of Americans who want to see Ukraine win and Russia lose. Putin only respects strength, and that’s exactly what we saw from President Trump today.”

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For media inquiries please reach out to Julian Hayda (julian.hayda@razom.org or 773-505-4806). Razom (“Together” in Ukrainian) is a U.S. nonprofit providing medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and a leading advocate for continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine.

The ImpactUA Internship Program: Transforming Student Potential into Lasting Change for Ukraine

Published: September 15, 2025

The future of Ukraine is being built today – thanks to the energy of young people, their ideas, activity, and readiness to act. Young leaders are able to combine global experience with local needs, turning the initiative of a generation into a driving force for change. It is precisely this belief in youth proactivity that became the foundation of the ImpactUA program – a joint initiative of Razom for Ukraine and Brave Generation. Its goal is to engage students from leading U.S. universities, as well as Ukrainian students studying abroad, in actively contributing to real change in Ukraine – not as observers, but as creators.

For three weeks, program participants immersed themselves in the work of civil society organizations supporting communities affected by the war. They witnessed the daily resilience, ingenuity, and persistence of people keeping the country moving. The program gave students not only practical experience working with Ukrainian NGOs, but also a deeper understanding of the historical, cultural, and social context. Combining academic knowledge with lived experience created a solid foundation for international support of Ukrainian partners.

Participants in the program were carefully selected. Active, goal-driven students from top universities worldwide came to Ukraine, representing a range of academic disciplines. This added multidimensionality to the program and strengthened the synergy between international perspectives and local expertise. Impact UA became not only a platform for intercultural exchange, but also a hub for shaping a new generation of young leaders capable of working shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian communities and creating lasting impact.

Preparation for the internship began even before the students arrived and became the first step of their experience. Online sessions provided opportunities for introductions, psychological support, and discussions of future challenges with leading experts. Marci Shore, a professor of history at Yale University, helped them dive into the cultural and historical context, while Phil Kaplan with Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs shared practical knowledge of international politics and the humanitarian field. Special attention was given to safety: protocols for air raid alarms, rules of conduct, and principles of personal security that allowed participants to feel confident and focus on learning and work.

After arriving in Lviv, students entered their first immersion environment – where the multifaceted reality of Ukraine began to reveal itself in all its complexity. The trip, organized by the program team, provided a safe and smooth entry into the new context.

The first days of the internship became an intensive educational experience, where Ukraine’s history, politics, and culture intertwined with personal stories and present realities. An unforgettable moment was meeting Dora Chomiak, co-founder and CEO of Razom for Ukraine. Her story inspired students to recognize their own ability to be creators of change. Subsequent lectures and excursions deepened this understanding: Yaroslav Hrytsak, a professor of Ukrainian history, illuminated complex historical processes; Myroslav Marynovych, Ukrainian educator, human rights activist, and former Soviet dissident, shared his experience in the dissident movement; Yurii Pidlisnyi, a professor of political science, explained the mechanisms of civil society. A later visit to the museum-memorial of victims of occupation regimes offered greater understanding of the struggle for freedom.

A particularly powerful impression was left by the Superhumans Center – a modern rehabilitation center for those injured by the war. There, students learned about approaches to prosthetics and witnessed the scale of social power in action.

The cultural program of integration days added an emotional dimension: an icon-painting workshop, a barbecue with folk music, conversations about traditions, cooking varenyky and making chocolate – all of this offered a chance to touch living Ukrainian culture and see its relevance today.

The knowledge and skills acquired in the first days became a strong foundation for individual internships in NGOs, matched to each student’s interests. It was an opportunity to try themselves in different roles – from journalism and working with veterans to IT, fundraising, or managing social media.

For many, this became a defining moment in their professional lives. “My internship confirmed: I want to become a psychologist,” shared Anastasiia Shulhan, who worked with the NGO Ridni. She attended a workshop for psychologists on complex topics related to children and foster families – and, for the first time, felt she was exactly where she belonged.

Many others had similar revelations. Evelina Benderska, who had previously studied trauma in an academic context, noted: “This experience deepened my academic and professional interests. Now I want to study even more deeply how trauma affects Ukrainian society.”

After the program ended, some participants stayed in Ukraine to immerse themselves further in the country’s life, while others continue supporting Ukraine from abroad. One student, Aiden Stretch, decided to spend the next year in Ukraine, working as a journalist and reporting on the war for the American audience.

Impact UA became more than an internship – it was a transformative experience. The program showed that rebuilding a country begins not only with global projects or government decisions, but with simple human connections. These ties allowed students to experience Ukraine not at a distance, but up close – and to become its voice in the world. As one participant, Kristofers Krumins, said:

“This experience reminded me of something very simple but incredibly important: politics, international relations, even war – it’s all about people. When you have personal contacts in Ukraine, when you hear their stories – your perception inevitably changes. Reading the morning news about drones and missiles feels very different when you know people who have to fall asleep under shelling every night.”

This project proved a simple but powerful truth: Ukraine is not only a country demonstrating resilience in war. It is a country actively creating its future. Here, a new generation of leaders from around the world is emerging – those who do not just observe, but act alongside Ukrainians, learning and changing the world together with us.

Voices That Endure: New Ukrainian Books for a World That Must Listen

Published: September 12, 2025

As Ukrainians fight for their freedom, they never stop speaking to the wider world—telling stories that carry grief and hope, rage and resilience, loss and love. This year, several powerful new books have been released in English, ensuring that Ukrainian voices are heard far beyond the battlefield. These works are not only literature; they are testaments of endurance, identity, and truth.

Artem Chapeye

Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns

Translator: Zenia H. Tompkins

Artem Chapaye, a journalist and novelist turned soldier, once embraced pacifism. In this book, he reckons with what happens when war is thrust upon “ordinary people.” His raw account challenges readers to consider the choices forced upon Ukrainians when survival itself is at stake.

Danielle Leavitt

By the Second Spring

Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine

Through seven deeply human portraits, Danielle Leavitt chronicles a year of war that reshaped lives forever. Her prose brings readers into kitchens, streets, and hospital rooms, revealing intimate moments that show not just suffering, but also endurance and unexpected tenderness in wartime.

Victoria Amelina

Looking at Women, Looking at War

Prose translated by Daisy Gibbons
Poetry translated by Uilleam Blacker

The final work of the late Victoria Amelina, one of Ukraine’s brightest literary voices, is both a witness account and an elegy. On the evening of June 27th, 2023, Amelina and three international writers stopped for dinner in the embattled Donetsk region. When a Russian cruise missile hit the restaurant, Amelina suffered grievous head injuries, and lost consciousness. She died on July 1st. She was thirty-seven. She left behind an incredible account of the ravages of war and the cost of resistance. Honest, intimate, and wry, this book will be celebrated as a classic.

THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING winner

Olia Hercules

Strong Roots

This is an ode to the land, to ideas of home and belonging, and to family stories and recipes passed down the generations – the tang of sour cherries, the best way to make borsch. It is an account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances. Strong Roots brims with hope and grief. It lays bare the compromises and betrayals of generations struggling and surviving through war, peace, invasion and exile. It is an uplifting reminder of how much the human spirit can endure when born from a land rich with strong roots.

To meet Olian Hercules and two more Ukrainian writers as they explore what it means to live with, remember, and resist occupation, join us on October 24 at an event that is part of Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival. Secure your tickets here.

Women and War

Letters from Ukraine to the Free World

Edited and translated by Aurélie Bros

How would you communicate the realities of living in a warzone to someone who has never had this experience? Thirty Ukrainian women, ages 10 to 72, answered this question in letters that emanate power, depth, pain, strength, and resilience. These fragments of life reveal the horrors of conflict but also the humanity of survivors.

These books remind us that war is not only fought on the frontlines, but also in stories, memories, and the will to speak truth to the world.

Look for some of these authors during Razom’s Ukrainian Cultural Festival in October – and most of all, seek out their books. By reading them, you honor their courage, carry their voices forward, and ensure that Ukraine’s story is never silenced.

Bringing Checkpoint Zoo to Your Community: A Story of Courage, Compassion, and Ukraine’s Resilience

Published: September 10, 2025

When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the world watched in horror as cities came under relentless fire. But few knew of the quiet heroism unfolding just outside Kharkiv, where the Feldman Ecopark Zoo sat between advancing Russian forces and the Ukrainian defenders. More than 5,000 animals were trapped in the crossfire – helpless, frightened, and in desperate need of rescue.

Against impossible odds, a small team of zookeepers and volunteers risked their lives day after day to save these creatures. Their daring mission is now immortalized in Checkpoint Zoo, an award-winning documentary directed by Joshua Zeman, supported by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson, and praised as “beautiful and beyond moving” by CNN.

This is not just a story about animals. It is about humanity, resilience, and the Ukrainian spirit of defying destruction with compassion and courage.

From Tribeca to Your Hometown

Checkpoint Zoo made its World Premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, where it earned the coveted Audience Award. Since then, it has been celebrated at festivals across the country, winning honors such as the Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award at the Hampton International Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at Mill Valley. The film has also been screened in the halls of Congress and at human rights hearings, underscoring its power to inspire not just audiences but policymakers.

In 2024, Razom Cinema and the American Coalition for Ukraine co-hosted a special screening of Checkpoint Zoo, pairing the film with a moving conversation between director Joshua Zeman and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Carol Guzy, who was on the ground documenting the rescues. For everyone present, it was more than a screening – it was a call to action.

Now, it’s your turn to bring this extraordinary story to your own community.

Why Organize a Screening?

Hosting a screening of Checkpoint Zoo with GATHR is more than an event. It’s a chance to:

Educate your community about Ukraine’s ongoing struggle for survival and freedom.
Inspire audiences with a story of selfless courage and resilience.
Mobilize support for Ukraine by connecting new audiences to Razom and other organizations providing humanitarian aid, medical training, and advocacy.
Engage in meaningful dialogue, with opportunities for Q&A sessions, panel discussions, or cultural programming alongside the film.

Every screening becomes a platform for solidarity and action.

How GATHR Makes It Easy

Thanks to the GATHR platform, anyone – individuals, schools, community groups, or cultural organizations – can bring the film to a local theater or venue.

Here’s how it works:

Sign up on GATHR – Choose Checkpoint Zoo and request a screening in your area.
Pick a Date and Venue – GATHR handles theater bookings or supports community/partner venues.
Spread the Word – Share your event link with friends, colleagues, and local networks. GATHR provides customizable landing pages, embeddable ticketing, and even “Pay It Forward” tickets that let others attend for free.
Reach Critical Mass – Screenings are confirmed once a minimum number of tickets are reserved, ensuring no financial risk for organizers.
Host and Inspire – On the big day, your community gathers for a film that stirs hearts and sparks action.

GATHR’s model has powered documentaries like RBG and Free Solo, making films into movements. Now, it’s your chance to do the same for Ukraine.

Take Action Today

The animals of Feldman Ecopark survived because ordinary people refused to stand by. Checkpoint Zoo reminds us that even in the darkest moments, acts of courage and compassion matter. By bringing this film to your community, you become part of that story – helping ensure the world does not forget Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and dignity. Here is a Razom fundraising toolkit in case you’d like to go further and fundraise for Ukraine.

👉 Ready to host a screening? Visit GATHR’s Checkpoint Zoo page and take the first step. Together, let’s turn powerful storytelling into powerful action. Razom—together—we can make a difference.

Razom for Ukraine Presents the Third Annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival “Against the Grain”

Published: September 8, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Razom for Ukraine Presents the Third Annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival “Against the Grain”: A Month-Long Celebration of Art, Theater, Film, and Literature in New York City

Discover how Ukrainian artists defy convention and forge new cultural paths with bold, boundary-pushing creativity. Tradition remixed. Vision uncompromized.

Highlights Include:
Theater: NYC debut of Lesia Ukrainka’s groundbreaking drama “Cassandra”
Film: Vibrant showcase featuring U Are the Universe, Viktor, and 2000 Meters to Andriivka, alongside short film selections from the Kyiv International Short Film Festival (KISFF) and Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival
Visual Art: Defiant aesthetics partnering with The Ukrainian Museum to support two exhibitions: Boris Mikhailov, showcasing the work of one of Ukraine’s most acclaimed photographers, and Light on the Waves: Video Art of Odesa by Andrii Siguntsov
Literature: Spotlight on innovative works by Booker Prize–nominated Maria Reva, Oksana Lutsyshyna, Olia Hercules, Volodymyr Rafeyenko, Sam Wachman and more

(New York, NY – September 5, 2025) – This October, Razom for Ukraine announces the return of its acclaimed Ukrainian Cultural Festival, now expanded into a month-long citywide celebration with the theme Against the Grain. From October 1 to 31, audiences will experience daily events spanning theater, film, literature, and visual art, spotlighting the fearless creativity of Ukrainian artists who defy convention and reshape global culture.

In just two years, the Ukrainian Cultural Festival has become a vital fixture of New York City’s fall arts calendar. For 2025, Razom deepens its commitment with an unprecedented 31 days of programming across leading cultural venues. Against the Grain’s goal is to highlight how Ukrainian artists, through defiance, resilience, and innovation, create works that challenge assumptions and expand the boundaries of contemporary art.

Performing Arts – Spotlight on Lesia Ukrainka’s Cassandra
At the heart of the festival is Razom’s first-ever theatrical co-production with Ekletika Productions: Lesia Ukrainka’s Cassandra. This visionary play, never before staged in the U.S., will run for ten performances (October 10-19) during the month. Ukrainka’s epic reimagining of the Trojan War, through the eyes of Cassandra, a prophetess doomed never to be believed, resonates with striking relevance today. The production underscores the festival’s theme, as Ukrainka herself was a writer who went against the grain, challenging imperial and patriarchal narratives and affirming Ukrainian identity through literature and drama.

The festival also showcases Razom’s commitment to the performing arts with music, poetry, and additional theatrical works. A Romantic from Kharkiv is a piano recital and album release by Anna Shelest that channels both intimacy and resilience through music. Apocollapse! by Dean Temple brings audiences a staged reading of a provocative new play interrogating endings, survival, and rebirth. Our Life Behind Barbed Wire by Alex Averbuch with Olga Zaitseva-Herz, presented at the Shevchenko Scientific Society, is a musico-poetic experience blending words and sound to illuminate histories of displacement and memory. Together, these projects exemplify the festival’s mission of working against the grain by crossing disciplines and challenging form.

Film – A Bold Showcase of Ukrainian Films
Cinema lovers will encounter a striking cross-section of Ukrainian stories. Feature films include U Are the Universe, Viktor, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, My Dear Theo, and Editorial Office, alongside short film selections from the Kyiv International Short Film Festival (KISFF) and Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival. These screenings bring together urgent, poetic, and provocative voices in contemporary Ukrainian cinema.

Razom Cinema will also host Kyiv to LA with Asha Bukojemsky. Kyiv to LA is a cross-cultural initiative that invites Ukrainian artists, researchers, and art historians to participate in a Los Angeles-based residency and public program. UCF will host a one-night screening featuring four short films by Ukrainian artists Daryna Mamaisur, Oleksiy Radynski, Darya Tsymbalyuk, and the ruїns collective (Teta Tsybulnyk and Elias Parvulesco), who participated in the residency and explored the topics of environment, borders, and shared spaces.

Literature – Voices that Witness

From crossing lines of identity and queerness to bearing witness at a time of war and occupation, literature takes the center stage as an act of resistance and testimony with this year’s programming.

Lines We Cross: Translating Ukraine – An event at the Center for Fiction exploring the complexities of migration, queerness, and identity through fiction (Oksana Lutsyshyna and Sam Wachman.)
Voices of Occupation: Stories of Cultural Survival brings together writings from temporarily occupied regions of eastern and southern Ukraine, including Crimea. This event, held at the New York Public Library’s Stavros Niarchos Library, features Olia Hercules, Volodymyr Rafeyenko, and Natalia Shpylova-Saeed.
Poet as a Witness – at Poet’s House, featuring Ilya Kaminsky, Anna Malihon, Irina Vikirchak and Lesyk Panasiuk and others.
A Reading and Conversation with Ukrainian born Canadian author Maria Reva. In her Booker Prize–nominated novel Endling, Maria Reva explores the metaphor of the “endling” — the last of a species — to examine war, loss, and resilience.

Visual Art – Defiant Aesthetics
In addition to partnering with The Ukrainian Museum, this year’s festival includes an incredible lineup of visual artists across multiple mediums: Memory Patterns by Anna Seniuk, DIA/spora by Igor Martiniouk, I dream of seeing the steppe again by Darya Tsymbalyuk, What the Water Told Me by Oleksandra Zborovska, and Yurko Gutsulyak’s striking Blue-Yellow Series.

Against the Grain

The 2025 festival marks a turning point: what began as a two-week initiative has now grown into a full month of daily events, cementing its place as a platform for cultural exchange and creative resistance. “Against the Grain reflects the spirit of Ukrainian artists today,” says Dora Chomiak, CEO of Razom for Ukraine. “They are responding to war, displacement, and trauma through boldly reshaping tradition, transforming vulnerability into power, and ensuring their voices are in the global conversation.”

Festival Information
Against the Grain: Ukrainian Cultural Festival 2025
Presented by Razom for Ukraine
October 1–31, 2025 | New York City
Full calendar and tickets: www.razomforukraine.org/ucf2025/

Press Contact:
Olga Samofalova
Press Lead, Ukrainian Cultural Festival
olga.samofalova@gmail.com

Building a new career thread by thread: Svitlana Rohozyan’s path from oil to needle

Published: September 4, 2025

“I was about to become an engineer,” says Svitlana Rohozyan, 51, a woman from Lysychansk, Luhansk Oblast. She used to work at the local oil refinery and was getting ready for a promotion. She was raising the child she had long prayed for. “Life began to get back on track,” she said. However, the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed it all. Part of the Luhansk Oblast was occupied back in 2014, so Rohozyan’s hometown authorities and volunteers immediately began evacuating people, knowing that Russian attacks would escalate.

The Rohozyan family relocated to their farmhouse, not too far from Lysychansk, thinking it would be safer there. “Still holding on to hope that everything will be okay—I planted parsley, carrots, beets, and dill. My child loves those very much,” the woman said. However, severe explosions were getting closer, and she decided to flee.

In mid-April 2022, Rohozyan took her 6-year-old son, Yaroslav, and boarded the cramped evacuation train to Lviv, after getting to the station by bus—all while Russians were shelling the area. The family escaped before the missile damaged their apartment in Lysychansk, and the city was completely occupied in July 2022.

“The only thing I regret is that the icon [holy image] we used for our child’s baptism—I didn’t take it with me. That’s what I regret the most. That little icon stayed behind. You know, I looked at it and left it there, thinking it would protect the house,” Rohozyan said.

Starting from scratch in Lviv was tough. They settled in a dormitory and had to fit in a tiny room with only two beds, together with another family, surviving on internally displaced persons (IDPs) financial aid. Her chemical engineering background became useless, as there were no such businesses nearby. There were some customer service job openings in the area, but Rohozyan could not leave Yaroslav alone.

One day, Rohozyan saw an announcement on Facebook about the School of Sewing Arts, hosted by the West Ukrainian Fashion Industry Cluster (WUFIC) and sponsored by Razom.

“Sewing was my hobby. I used to hem costumes for my son. I also made a lot of clothing for myself. But I understood that I had little knowledge,” she said. She was excited to join the course, but evening sessions didn’t work well with her son’s schedule. Later, she received a call saying a daytime group had been formed and asking if she wanted to join. “I joined with such joy! I was waiting for this,” she recalls.

The School of Sewing Arts’ goal is to teach IDPs tailoring skills, provide graduates with job placement support, and promote growth within the field. It is being implemented in two cities—Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk. 84 women have already graduated from sewing courses.

Every cohort of future seamstresses is trained for three months. “We sewed skirts, pants, and tops. I sewed myself the skorts I wanted so much,” Rohozyan said. She shared that her favorite part was learning the technology of measuring and cutting out fabric.

“The most interesting is the technique of making those patterns. It’s really fascinating. At first, you don’t understand where the line goes or what it leads to, and then suddenly, you already have a pair of pants,” Rohozyan said.

Rohozyan described her experience during the course as “fun and amazing,” saying she felt like part of a family with the other students and teachers. The group had two instructors—a garment technician and a tailor. “One teaches us how to make patterns, and the other teaches us how to sew on the machine. First, we learn to make the pattern, then we transfer it from paper to fabric [and sew],” Rohozyan explained. “I’m grateful that they [WUFIC, supported by Razom] provided us with fabric, and we didn’t have to run around looking for any.”

The project inspired Rohozyan to seek opportunities to expand her knowledge in the craft. Together with the women she met at the sewing school, she started spending her Saturdays at her former instructor, garment technician Viktoria Karpova’s place, striving to learn more advanced techniques.

After the project, “a job found me on its own,” Rohozyan said. Karpova was looking for women to work at her sewing business, which she relocated from the currently besieged city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, to Lviv. Rohozyan accepted the offer and now works part-time for KVK Pokrovchanka.

“I gained knowledge. I now have a job that I enjoy. I like the products we sew, and if you like the products, you like the work that goes into making them. It [apparel] is beautiful, high-quality, and well-made, and you realize that your hands helped create it,” Rohozyan said.

Rohozyan dreams of starting her own business. When she joined the sewing courses, she had a clear goal in mind—to learn the craft and eventually open a clothing repair shop. For now, she hopes to begin with something small. “I want my own home sewing machine—not a professional one, but a modern one,” she said. Rohozyan added that even a basic machine at home would allow her to get started and earn some income. At the moment, she works on an old treadle machine, which can’t compete with electric models, but as she laughed, “it’s great when there’s no electricity.”

“I truly want peace, so that my child is no longer afraid of the sounds of explosions,” Rohozyan said. She recalls her son imitating missile and drone sounds, which he should never have heard. “I don’t want children to know that kind of fear—the fear of losing everything,” she continued. “Yes, you’ve saved your life and your child’s life, but everything you’ve worked for your whole life—it’s all gone.”

8-year-old Yaroslav now studies at a local school, plays fortepiano, and attends drone construction courses. Rohozyan’s husband is fighting for Ukraine.

Rohozyan believes that Ukraine’s prosperity is deeply tied to the well-being of its people. With so many IDPs having lost their jobs, reskilling initiatives like Razom Jobs are key to driving change. “If Ukraine prospers, so will its people. If everyone gets a job, the country will become wealthy. If everyone is willing to work and to earn money, then the country will have money, too,” she said.

Thanks to your support, Razom is able to provide avid learners like Rohozyan with opportunities to gain skills and thrive in a new, exciting field on a professional level.