Protests in Ukraine escalate

[Natalka]

Euromaidan PR ‏@EuromaidanPR 1h1 hour ago

Militants fired upon Ukr positions nr Pisky, Opytne y/day in the evening; fired w/ grenade launchers nr Shyrokyne

34m34 minutes ago




Donetsk-based militants banned Médecins Sans Frontières from working in occupied areas - Tymchuk

[Natalka]

Azov regiment walked w/ torches in Urzuf outside Mariupol to commemorate their 33 fallen

[Natalka]

US airborne brigade is in Ukraine training soldiers - and took time to visit students

[Natalka]

Enej's new song "Біля Тополі", feat. Kozak System & Тарас Чубай, is dedicated to the Ukrainian soldiers who have died defending their country, in the fight for truth and freedom of future generations!

"Bilya topoli" (Near the poplar tree)


"There next to the poplar a kalyna (highbush cranberry) grows, maternal eyes await you. Strength in despair, crying, still waiting for her son but his soul is with God... Mom, in a battle for freedom I've gone into the abyss, for the truth and the fate of the new generation, for those who are far at sea and on the wings of the stork will all return alive"

[Darth Penguin]

Ukraine Lenin statue given Darth Vader make-over

A statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been given a sci-fi twist - by being transformed into Darth Vader.
The statue, in the grounds of a factory in the Black Sea port city, had been earmarked for removal under the country's "de-communisation" law. But instead, it now wears the instantly recognisable shiny black helmet and mask of the Star Wars villain, the local Dumskaya news website reports. "Everything flows and nothing abides," says warehouse manager Semyon Horbunov, taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. "New heroes replace old ones, and this is how the world goes round."
But while the monument is Darth Vader on the outside, deep down it's still Lenin. "The bronze Lenin was left inside, so that the grateful or not-so-grateful descendants could exhume him, if needed," sculptor Alexander Milov is quoted is saying by Ukraine Today.
In April, Ukraine's parliament passed a bill banning communist propaganda on monuments, and in the names of places and streets. The law spelled the end for hundreds of statues of Lenin across the country, but as Odessa's newly transformed monument no longer depicts the Bolshevik leader, it will now be spared.

[Natalka]

^ Yes, I thought that was so cool! Might as well make use of the base.

[Natalka]

"People of Maidan" exhibition opens in Jelgava, Latvia.

Was relocated from Riga after attacks of pro-Russian vandals.

[Natalka]

Ban due on direct flights between Russia and Ukraine


Direct flights between Ukraine and Russia will stop on Sunday, as new sanctions initiated by Kiev come into effect.

Moscow first called Kiev's ban on Russian airlines "madness", then announced that it would mirror the move.

Ukraine now says flights will end at midnight on Saturday, after last-minute crisis talks failed.
Up to 70,000 passengers a month will be affected.

The sanctions are intended to punish Russia for annexing Crimea and supporting armed rebels in eastern Ukraine. The fact that they have been introduced now, when a ceasefire is finally holding on the ground, shows how bitter relations remain.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34622665

[Natalka]

25 October 2015, Ukrainians will be taking part in local elections. 51% of Donbas local communities will not be participating.



Elections to the city, town, village councils, and of mayors in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine.

[Natalka]

Wow, this would have been an amazing concert to see. Pop star Ruslana from Ukraine in a sold-out concert at Massey Hall in Toronto with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus.








Ruslana also went to schools in Toronto to talk with and visit with students

[Natalka]

Euromaidan PR ‏@EuromaidanPR 10h10 hours ago

ATO spox confirms 1 Ukrainian serviceman KIA y/day as militants attacked nr Opytne, Pisky

4h4 hours ago Ukraine More fighting reported tonight - near Verkhn'otorets'ke

Liveuamap ‏@Liveuamap 4h4 hours ago
Also they reporting on small battles in Stanitsa Luhanska, Popasna, Schastye, Sanzharivka, Verkhn'otoretske, Horlivka-Hol'ma

[Natalka]

Canadian medical team makes third Kyiv visit
to operate on Ukrainian veterans

A team of 22 Canadian health professionals arrived in Ukraine on Oct. 23, its third visit in less than a year, to operate on 40 Ukrainian soldiers wounded during Russia's war on Ukraine in the Donbas.

Organized by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation under the patronage of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the mission runs through Nov. 1 and will carry out reconstructive surgery on victims of Russia’s war in eastern Ukraine and a master class for Ukrainian military surgeons.

“This time the mission consists of 22 health professionals. Among them, there are two anesthesiologists, six surgeons and a professional team of nurses,” said Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn, the head of the Adult Craniofacial Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, at a press briefing in Kyiv on Oct. 26. “Together with (our) Ukrainian colleagues, members of our mission will be carrying out operations on facial and upper extremity traumas, post-traumatic craniofacial deformities, soft tissue defects, and scars for 40 patients in three operation rooms for one week in Kyiv Military Hospital of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.”

Ihor Fedirko, the head of the oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic of the Kyiv Military Hospital, said that all 40 patients were previously operated on by Ukrainian surgeons.

Krystina Waler, the Canadian foundation’s director for humanitarian initiatives, told journalists that this time 1.2 million Canadian dollars was allocated by Canadian government and non-governmental organizations for the third and fourth mission.
She also stated that the group bought 700,000 Canadian dollars worth of medical equipment that it will donate to the military hospital.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukra...ns-400738.html

[Natalka]

A documentary is being made about the mission; this is the trailer.

[Natalka]

Canada Ukraine Foundation


Today the Canada Ukraine Foundation was honoured to be able to help one of the youngest, most innocent victims of war that we have encountered to date.

In August, little Mykola (age 11) from Mariupol and his friends were innocently playing with an undetonated RPG not realizing what they had found. The unthinkable happened... the RPG exploded and Mykola's 4 year old brother died on the spot. Mykola was airlifted to Zaporizzha for medical attention where they were able to save his life. This horrible nightmare has left him as a triple amputee. Both legs and his right arm have been amputated.

Our dedicated team of medical professionals worked with their Ukrainian colleagues today to reconstruct his craniofacial defects. Mykola has many more steps to his recovery ahead of him. We look forward to finding counterparts to try and find Mykola all of the help he needs.

[Natalka]

Euromaidan PR ‏@EuromaidanPR 7h7 hours ago

1 Ukr serviceman was WIA in a militant attack North of Horlivka (nr Zaitseve) Donetsk region

Col. Lysenko: Near Krymske village, Luhansk region, UA police found a cache full of ammo