Ukraine Impact
DONATE TO UKRAINIAN Refugee Children
Our Ukraine Impact Project 2022 is a student-led sustainability project to help the Ukrainian refugees. Specifically, we're supporting Ukrainian refugee children. Please help by spreading awareness of the violence against the Ukrainian children. We also need your support by donating to our GoFundMe drive. Donation proceeds will be sent directly to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). We have been in contact with UNICEF USA, which explained how donations will be distributed: 1) 90% will be applied towards relief efforts in Ukraine; 2) 7% will be applied towards fundraising efforts; and 3) 3% will be applied towards administration services. Refugee children are incredibly vulnerable and need urgent access to food, water, clothing, medical supplies and sleeping equipment. Please forward our GoFundMe information to your family, friends, colleagues and anyone else so that these Ukrainian refugee children may receive as much support as possible. Thank you very much!
Ukraine Art Project
Dedicated for Abused, Missing and Murdered Ukrainian Women and Girls
To support the Ukrainian people, Mary Liu, Sustainability Team Gender Equity Leader, wanted to raise urgent awareness of the violence against Ukrainian women and girls by the Russian military. Russian soldiers continue to commit atrociously violent war crimes against Ukrainian civilians. These war crimes include physical abuse, rape, torture, kidnapping and murder. Mary, and Angelina Wang, Sustainability Team Project Leader, researched Ukrainian women and girls that were murdered and violently abused, as well as those who are still missing and need help to be urgently found. We included contact information for the public in case more tips are found on the whereabouts of these missing Ukrainian women and girls.
Mary commissioned the following paintings from a Thai artist named Ms. Pang Aoy. If you or anyone you know has knowledge on the whereabouts of the missing Ukrainian women or girls, or has information leading to the lawful identification, arrest and conviction of the Russian soldiers accused of war crimes, please immediately contact the National Police of Ukraine and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
A destroyed Russian tank on the road leading into the small village near Borodyanka, Ukraine, where Viktoriya lives. Original source: The New York Times; Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Painted by Pang Aoy, August 2022.
Name of Victimized Woman: Viktoriya
Age: 65 (Born 1957)
Location: Small village near Borodyanka, Ukraine
Date Sexually Assaulted: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Eastern European Time (EET)
Events: The Russian military retreated from the areas surrounding Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in March 2022. Russian soldiers have been sexually abusing women and children since the invasion began, using rape and other sexual abuses as weapons of war. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating thousands of war crimes. However, the prosecution of perpetrators is difficult because evidence is limited. Victims are also traumatized and reluctant to testify about their assault. Russian troops arrived in Viktoriya’s two-street village, near the Kyiv suburb of Borodyanka, in early March 2022. Two (2) Russian soldiers raped Viktoriya and her neighbor. On the night of Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Viktoriya recalled a knock at her door. Three (3) Russian soldiers came in and forcibly took her to where the Russians were temporarily living. “When he was leading me there, I asked how old he was,’’ Viktoriya said. “He said he was 19 years old” (After Rapes by Russian Soldiers, a Painful Quest for Justice). The soldier who raped Viktoriya was the same age as her son. Viktoriya stated that the soldier treated her like a prostitute. Despite the stigma in Ukraine over rape, Viktoriya still chose to share her story because she wants the world to know the war crimes Russian soldiers commit.
Please share Viktoriya’s story to raise awareness of the brutal war crimes Russian soldiers are committing in Ukraine against civilian women and girls. These Ukrainian women and girls need international support and protection. Please donate to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to help gender-based violence survivors in Ukraine. Thank you.
Source: “After Rapes by Russian Soldiers, a Painful Quest for Justice.” The New York Times, Valerie Hopkins, 29 June 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/world/europe/ukraine-russia-rape.html, Accessed 24 July 2022.
Contact Information:
Missing Ukrainian woman Nadiya Ivanova Litvishchenko (Літвіщенко Надія Іванівна). Painted by Pang Aoy, August 2022.
Name of Missing Woman: Nadiya Ivanova Litvishchenko (Літвіщенко Надія Іванівна)
Age: 58 (Born 1964)
Location: Velika Komyshuvakha, Barvinkivskyi District, Kharkiv Region, Ukraine (Велика Комишуваха, Барвінківський район, Харківської області)
Location Last Seen: Hospital in Izyum, Kharkiv Region, Ukraine (м.Ізюм, Харківської області)
Time Last Seen: Friday, May 13, 2022 Eastern European Time (EET)
Physical Characteristics: Ms. Litvishchenko has brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair was last seen cut short in a pixie cut. She is also known to wear glasses.
Contact Information:
Phone Number (Friend Богдана [Bohdan]): +38 099-7627917
Missing Ukrainian woman Olga Mokrozub (Ольга Мокрозуб). Painted by Pang Aoy, August 2022.
Name of Missing Woman: Olga Mokrozub (Ольга Мокрозуб)
Age: 49 (Approximate birth year 1973)
Location: Kharkiv District, Kharkiv Region, Ukraine
Location Last Seen: Chuhuiv District, Kharkiv Region, Ukraine
Time Last Seen: Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at 9:00 AM Eastern European Time (EET)
Physical Characteristics: Ms. Mokrozub has short blond hair and gray eyes. She was last seen wearing gray sweatpants and a blue sports jacket when she left the house. Ms. Mokrozub has a birthmark on the chest area and a scar after operations in the lower abdomen.
Contact Information:
Phone Number: +38 068-7770112
Email (Ukrainian Organization Working with Family): poisk.milena@gmail.com
Missing Ukrainian girl Valeria Sosmiy (Сосмий Валерия). Painted by Pang Aoy, August 2022.
Name of Missing Girl: Valeria Sosmiy (Сосмий Валерия)
Age: 16 (Born 2006)
Location: Kherson, Dnipro Raion, Ukraine (Херсоне, Днепровский р-н)
Location Last Seen: Kherson, Dnipro Raion, Ukraine (Херсоне, Днепровский р-н)
Time Last Seen: Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 11:40 AM Eastern European Time (EET)
Hobbies: Art, Social Media, Interior Design, Decoration
Physical Characteristics: Valeria has brown eyes and red hair. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts and burgundy sneakers when she left her house. Valeria is also known to wear dark-framed glasses.
Contact Information:
Phone Number (Friend: Наталия [Natalia]): +38 099-2951123
Murdered Ukrainian woman Karina Yershova. Painted by Pang Aoy, August 2022.
Name of Murdered Woman: Karina Yershova
Age: 23 (Born 1999)
Location: Bucha, Ukraine
Murdered: Thursday, March 10, 2022 Eastern European Time (EET)
Events: Russian soldiers invaded Bucha, a town northwest of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Sunday, February 27, 2022, and committed war crimes during their occupation. The remains of Karina Yershova were discovered in a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine, after she was raped, tortured and murdered by Russian troops. According to the local Ukrainian police, when Karina’s body was found, the skin of her hand was scorched, her bones were revealed and nine of her fingernails had been torn off. As Russian soldiers surrounded Bucha, Karina hid in an apartment with two (2) other friends. On one of the last occasions Karina’s family heard from her, she told them she had left the apartment to get food from a nearby supermarket. When weeks went by without hearing back from Karina, the family became desperate. Weeks later, the local Ukrainian police told the family that Karina had been killed by Russian soldiers. Karina worked at a sushi restaurant in Bucha and hoped to earn her university degree in the future. Tragically, Karina’s young life was brutally stolen by Russian soldiers (Russian troops use rape as 'an instrument of war' in Ukraine, rights groups allege).
Source: “Russian troops use rape as 'an instrument of war' in Ukraine, rights groups allege.” CNN, Tara John, Oleksandra Ochman and Sandi Sidhu, 22 April 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/22/europe/ukraine-sexual-violence-allegations-russia-cmd-intl/index.html, Accessed 24 July 2022.
Contact Information: National Police of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Russia Invades Ukraine Under False Pretenses
On Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin (born 1952) ordered the Russian military to invade the country of Ukraine. Putin continues to publicly deny Russia’s invasion as an act of war despite vehement condemnation from western nations. Instead, Putin and the Russian government hold firm that Russia has done nothing more than entered Ukraine on the grounds of a special military operation with the goal of liberating the Ukrainian people from violent neo-Nazis. The Russian government continues to make baseless accusations that the Ukrainian government is facist and is brutalizing its own citizens. But there is no credible evidence to support Russia’s allegations that the Ukrainian government is violently killing its own people with facist objectives. The leader of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978), was born to Jewish parents and was once even offered an opportunity as a teenager to study in Israel. Zelenskyy continues to fight for democracy and the protection of Ukrainian citizens.
Russian Military Targets Ukrainian Civilians
As of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, United States intelligence estimates that at least 150,000 Russian soldiers have entered the war in Ukraine with approximately 7,000 Russian soldiers being reported as killed in action by the Ukrainian military (New York Times 2022). These casualty rates are relatively high considering that this intense war has been just over three weeks. On the other side, approximately 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers are reported as killed in action (New York Times). But the real tragic numbers are the deaths of Ukrainian civilians. As of Thursday, March 17, 2022, the United Nations estimates that 1,900 Ukrainian civilians have been wounded and 726 civilians have been killed, including 52 children (United Nations 2022). These numbers are expected to rise as Putin’s military continues to fire missiles at civilian targets, such as hospitals, apartment buildings, television stations and schools, including kindergartens. The Russian military has even violated ceasefire agreements. These atrocious violations, which would constitute as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions, show that the Russian government cares only about dominating, not liberating, the 44 million Ukrainian people.
Ukrainian Refugees Flee to NATO Countries
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of Friday, March 18, 2022, approximately 3,328,692 Ukrainian refugees have fled Ukraine (UNHCR 2022). Most refugees have sought emergency protection in nearby North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, such as Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. But even other non-NATO countries, such as Moldova, are hurrying to shelter Ukrainian refugees. With millions of displaced Ukrainian refugees, many are struggling to secure food, water, medical attention and shelter against the brutal cold. Women, children and the elderly are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Since Ukrainian men ages 18-60 are required to stay in Ukraine to defend the country, many Ukrainian refugees are struggling to provide basic necessities for their families.
Spreading Awareness Among Students
As educators, we have the inherent responsibility to teach students about world affairs, geopolitics and even the brutalities of war. Regardless of where our students live, they need to know what is happening out in the world. They need to keep up with relevant news from credible, uncensored sources. We must educate students on the values of civil rights and civil liberties. We must educate students on human rights violations and war crimes. But much more, we must teach students to care, to understand and to love. We must teach students how to empathize with those who hurt so badly on the other side of the world. We must teach students to defend the defenseless, to defend the innocent and to defend the victims of hate. If we can spread awareness and nurture students in a way that encourages them to help others, then we have succeeded in teaching them something of real value and of real depth. This is why we create Presidio Impact Projects so students can collaborate on real problems that can potentially save lives.
Articles by Our Students
The following article examines the war crimes committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian women and girls in the current war in Ukraine. In an effort to shed transparency concerning the atrocities of sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians, our students researched many stories of Ukrainian victimes, many of whom were sexually assaulted, kidnapped, raped and murdered.