About us: The Active Community Initiative, launched by activists of the Respublika Institute after the Euromaidan Revolution (2014), which focused on activating and involving Ukrainians in the decision-making process. The goal for 2025 is to activate and involve at least 1% of citizens in decision-making and promotion of reforms in Ukraine on a systemic basis for the well-being of Ukrainian communities. Today we work in 30 communities in Ukraine.
Ukraine in brief:
Overall losses of the Russian army:
– Planes – 29
– Helicopters – 29
– Tanks – 146
– Armored fighting vehicles – 816
– Ordnance – 74
– SA-11 Gadfly – 1
– Fighting machine Grad – 21
– Automotive technology – 297
– Cisterns – 60
– Unmanned aircraft UAV-2 – 3
– Ships/caters – 2
– Airdefence means – 5
– Approximately 5300 personnel (to be specified).
The enemy continues the offensive operation against Ukraine with the support of operational-tactical and army aircraft using high-precision long-range weapons.
During the previous day, the Russian occupiers fired 6 missiles (up to 30 shots) and 4 air strikes, mostly from the airspace of the Republic of Belarus. Since the beginning of the open aggression, the enemy has used about 180 Iskander cruise and operational-tactical missiles.
The enemy suffered significant losses in Polissya, Donbas, Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv, and Mykolayiv regions.
Kyiv remains the enemy’s target. The defense forces of the capital took maximum measures to counter the enemy.
There is a need for additional weapons, technical equipment, medicines. Humanitarian provision of the population with fuel also remains relevant. Many cities are disconnected from the power grid. There is a lack of evacuation vehicles.
Northern regions
Kyiv
Marauders and saboteurs are being neutralized in Kyiv. There was no enemy equipment in the city. An air alarm sounded. A rocket strike was announced in the evening.
Kyiv region
In the town of Vasylkiv, two boiler houses were restored, which were completely destroyed by the enemy. Another one is being repaired. 12 residential buildings remain with no heat.
Also a boiler house in the village of Gavrylivka, Bucha district, which was damaged by shelling, is in the process of restoration.
Due to the shelling, a number of settlements have been left without electricity. In particular, in the town of Bucha and the town of Vorzel, a part of the power lines has been damaged.
There is also no water supply, mobile communication (Kyivstar mobile operator) and Internet in Bucha. Utilities are working to restore the city’s infrastructure.
Borodyanka township, some settlements of Borodyanka territorial community, Dmytrivka township and Nemishayeve township remain without electricity. There is also no internet and water supply in Nemishayeve.
In the village of Ivankiv, Kyiv region, where a fierce battle took place on Sunday, February 27, the Russian occupiers have destroyed a local museum that housed unique works by Maria Pryimachenko. It was reported that the locals hid the paintings before that.
Zhytomyr Oblast
The night was restless, air-raid sirens sounded. People continue to gather food for the military forces.
Sumy Oblast
The police detained 9 Russian soldiers during the day. According to Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the night was quiet, and “Grads” rocket systems in the Sumy Oblast were destroyed. In the city of Sumy, the threat of street fighting and the movement of hostile vehicles were reported.
Near Okhtyrka, Russian occupants on an armored personnel carrier shot civilians, took away a VAZ99 car and drove towards Chupakhivka. Missile hit an oil depot in the city. Public transportation is free until martial law is abolished.
A column of occupiers entered Trostyanets from Lebedyn and occupied the railway station.
Chernihiv Oblast
A rocket hit a residential building in the center, and one woman was injured. The Russians heavily fired on the city center, kindergartens, shops, and houses. Rescuers extinguished 7 fires, 13 people were rescued. An air-raid warning went off in Ichnia and Pryluky. People are forming a resistance movement in Nizhyn. A car was shot at in Sosnytsia without warning shots. The driver survived. In the middle of Sosnytsia, a man received a gunshot wound to the head. In Hrodna, people negotiated with an enemy armored column and they turned around. An enemy column has been standing near Nizhyn for the third day in Velyka Doroha. The battle took place, but enemy forces continue to surround Nizhyn. There were power outages in the city. Territorial Defense “Pivnich” reported that the enemy was expelling civilians from their homes in Osniaky and placing equipment in their yards. In Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky, Russians took clothes from citizens and disguised themselves as civilians. Power lines are being repaired.
Suburban villages of Chernihiv were shelled from “Grads” rocket systems.
Eastern regions
Donetsk Oblast
Kramatorsk.
A guided missile was launched in the city but the Armed Forces shot it down. Territorial Defense is preparing to meet the enemy.
City authorities are comforting the residents. The mayor recorded a video and organized the work of volunteers. Citizens help to protect hospitals, make Molotov cocktails, inspect shelters etc. After the rocket exploded, panic increased sharply, and air-raid sirens only intensified the situation. But in the evening everyone calmed down a bit.
Pokrovsk.
Volnovakha. Fighting continues in the city center, there are almost no buildings left. The situation is constantly changing. In the cities of Dons’ke and Novotroyits’ke, residential neighborhoods are being shot at, high-rise buildings are on fire, and a boiler house is hit. People are constantly in shelters. There is no electricity and heating, no food and water.
However, people unite, help each other, receive migrants, take them out under fire, and bring food.
Southern regions
Zaporizhzhia Region.
Zaporizhzhia. The situation is tense but under control. Air-raid sirens went off in the city. On the night of February 28, Russian troops attacked the Zaporizhzhia airport. The attack was successfully repulsed, but the missiles hit “Motor Sich” warehouses at the “MIG-Remont” enterprise near the “Zakhysnyk ” lyceum. A boiler house located near the airport was damaged in Viyskbud. Therefore, at night people were left without heating and hot water. The boiler house has been restored.
The police are working in an intensified mode. They dismantle road signs in the city and remove street signs from the houses.
Volunteers continue to collect the necessary things such as clothes, equipment, and medicines. Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration, thanked the citizens for their activity and the humanitarian corridor they formed.
Melitopol
The movement of enemy vehicles was observed in the city. Russian troops have destroyed the building of the Executive Committee of Melitopol City Hall. Enemies struck the rescue unit. There are damaged buildings and machinery. The City Head urges citizens to patrol streets agains looters and donate blood.
Berdyansk
During the night local residents recorded the movement of enemy vehicles through the city. In the morning, similar movement started in the neighboring Osipenko community. As of 7 am Berdyansk district was occupied. Enemy machinery was observed in various communities. Berdyansk police department was dismissed. The city authorities refused to cooperate with the occupants. Some utility services are working. Public transport stopped. Periodically, problems with communication services appear in communities.
In Berdyansk, local residents staged a peaceful rally outside the executive committee and demanded that the Russian army leave the city.
(Video: https://web.telegram.org/z/progressive/msg-1449647007-2734:5251433032232997971)
Tokmak
On the night of February 28th, Tokmak faced powerful fights. The enemy suffered heavy casualties and retreated to the southern outskirts in the morning. Enemy intelligence groups are operating in the city. The Ukrainian military is fighting against sabotage and reconnaissance groups disguised as the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Communication with the city is difficult. Locals report problems with electricity and water supply. They also report that local authorities are refusing to cooperate with occupants and are trying to resist looting. Power supply has been restored in neighboring Molochansk.
Primorsk
The situation in the city is difficult. From time to time the movement of Russian military machinery was observed. Local authorities are trying to restore normal life in the city, in particular, electricity supply is fully restored, and partially water supply. Residents are asked to save water.
Vasylivka
The troops of the Russian Federation are approaching Vasylivka. Residents of the city are asked to gather on the highway bridge over the railway and appeal to Russian troops not to enter the city.
In the village of Orlyanske, Vasylivka district, the Russian military destroyed two houses.
Dniprorudne
Yevhen Matveyev, The City Head of Dniprorudne, together with the citizens came to the city entrance. The occupants, having faced the resistance of the civil community, turned their tanks around and drove away.
(Video https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=368383694856809)
Energodar (Zaporizka Nuclear Powerplant)
The night was relatively calm in Energodar. No cases of looting and violations of law and order were recorded. Primary and secondary hospitals, all utility services are working. The Russian military has repeatedly approached the city, but retreated again. The situation is constantly changing.
Kherson Region.
Skadovsk. The city is calm, fighting continues in Kherson region, in particular in Kherson, Nova Kakhovka and neighboring areas are being shelled by the occupants. Enemy’s military machinery was moving in the Dnipro direction using ground and field roads, in Skadovsk OTG and neighboring communities.
Territory Defend Groups are constantly in contact, and they establish patrols in the nearby villages. Five groups are already created. Patrolling is in action. The City Head has announced that all utility services are functioning, prices in stores and in markets are under control. Some felonies were detected, offenders were talked to.
There is no panic in Scadovsk, the number of volunteers is increasing. Farmers and citizens help with food supplies. There are complaints from people with serious deseases at the medical services that there is no possibility to reach the Regional Hospital because of the lack of transport and blocked roads.
Odesa.
In the evening of February 27 there was an air alarm, drones were flying. High probability of assault forces’ landing. The Armed Forces control the situation, shoot down drones. Maximum readiness for defence. The Head of region addressed the twin cities and told about the war. They promise to help. Notification systems are being checked (they did not work in all districts). The community unites, helping the defence.
Central regions
Kropyvnytskyi.
There were reports of drones flying over strategic sites. Four were recorded near the Kropyvnytskyi railway station and one in Znamyanka. That night, in the Novomyrhorod community of the Kirovohrad region, the Ukrainian military shot down a Russian missile. Territorial defence patrolled the city, on duty at checkpoints. The head of the Kirovohrad Regional State Administration Mariia Chorna spoke about the current situation in the region during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to her, at 8:00 on February 28 the situation in the region is under control. Mariia Chorna appealed to the residents of the region not to post on social networks and chats messengers photos of fortifications and checkpoints, where and how measures are taken to counter the enemy. The regional coordinator of All-Ukrainian Initiative “Active Community” went live and told about the mood of Kropyvnytskyi on the 5th day of the war: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1821128648147105/posts/3276711545922134/
Kropyvnytskyi forms a list of donors who will be able to quickly donate blood for Ukrainian soldiers when needed. Currently, the need for a regional blood transfusion station has been closed, and volunteers will provide transportation if necessary.
Western regions
Lviv.
The situation in the Lviv region is calm. There are hacker attacks in order to find the coordinates of strategic objects.
Territorial defense is building strength. New formations are sent to the front. There is a need for ammunition. All military formations of Lviv region are ready to perform their duties. Continue to form additional. All checkpoints at the entrance and exit from Lviv region are under control. Fortifications are being built in the Volyn region, anti-tank hedgehogs are being erected and ditches are being dug.
According to the Lviv Civil-Military Administration, they have additionally formed 125 territorial defense brigades, which will accept volunteers who will be enrolled in the territorial defense of Lviv, 10th Streletsky Battalion, which can enlist civilians.
Drogobich.
Drohobych received humanitarian aid from the Krakow water utilities. People keep calm. Local Facebook groups have a specific opinion that only women with children should be accepted, and men should be asked to join the defense.
There is a lot of excitement in the shops, but this is due to the increase in the quantity of people in the communities of Lviv region. Prices have risen slightly. But products are constantly delivered to stores. Banks are working. Everyone in the city is working to maintain proper functioning of the city and the region. Volunteers are actively working on the basis of local self-government bodies – collecting everything necessary for the army and refugees.
Ivano-Frankivsk. The authorities of Ivano-Frankivsk call on all our entrepreneurs, all local businesses in the city to go to work. This is especially true of pharmacies, grocery stores, clothing stores and more. To do this, the duration of the curfew was reduced – now it will be from 23 to 7 am (previously it was until 8.00 am). The sale of alcohol is prohibited in the city. People work in the rear, helping to accommodate many refugees. They try to provide them with a comfortable stay and work with volunteer staffs from abroad. Activists are working to place and repair additional sirens in the city.
Authorities are urging refugee men to join the ranks of the defense. The same position is shared by many citizens: “We are ready to take care of women and children, but men must protect Ukraine.”
Rivne
Rivne. As of February 28, from 00:00 to 16:45 there were no air alarms in the city and the region. The border with Belarus is heavily patrolled. The streets in the city are being patrolled together with the patrol police. The head of the Rivne Regional State Administration and the mayor of Rivne noted during the briefing that: the situation on the border with Belarus is stable – the border has not been violated; reminded how to act after hearing alarms, as well as a 24-hour hotline for internally displaced persons – shelter is provided to citizens who decide to stay until the end of hostilities, and those who are in transit. (Link to the results of the briefing in the text – https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=280151460923216&id=100067850915100). It was snowing in the city, and utilities were working to clear the roads in the morning. Citizens unite and self-organize. Weaving camouflage nets, preparing Molotov cocktails, anti-tank hedgehogs, volunteer headquarters inform about the various needs that arise. The sale of alcoholic beverages was banned in the Rivne community. Recruitment to the resistance forces, construction of bomb shelters and shelters continues.
Zdovbytsia. There was no air alarm today. Volunteer detachments of the territorial defense of the villages of the Zdovbytsia community have been formed. They patrol the streets, collect aid, and set up checkpoints at exits from community villages.
Local authorities organized first aid training in the hall of Zdovbychi Lyceum. Anti-tank hedgehogs are made in the community on the basis of the largest local enterprise. Citizens are involved in the collection of medicines and medical supplies.
Khmelnytsky
Khmelnytskyi. No hostilities took place in the region, the situation is relatively calm. The city is preparing for a possible enemy encounter, checkpoints are being set up, and other preparations are being made. A territorial defense battalion and a volunteer battalion have been formed in the city. Organized Headquarters for Aid to Internally Displaced Persons. A large number of residents offer their help, the Headquarters does not have time to process all the information. Residents are self-organizing, arranging aid points and collecting necessary things for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense. A large number of volunteers and organizations work. Residents of the houses organize “patrols” in the yards.
All utilities continue to provide services in full. Public transport is available. Authorities are monitoring products in stores, there are problems with the supply of cereals, and measures are being taken. We have already received several consignments of humanitarian aid with medicines and other means for the fighters from the sister cities.
Kamianets-Podilskyi.
Territorial defense increased the number of checkpoints, weaving camouflage nets. Local authorities informed about the situation in the city, IDPs, new IDPs and new bomb shelters. Locals help the army. The city is relatively quiet
Chernivtsi.
Fighting is not taking place in the region. In the village of Tarashany, unknown people fired at an ambulance, no one was injured. Cases of looting are recorded. Enrollment in the Armed Forces and Territorial Defense continues. Groups are being formed to help police patrol the city around the clock. The head of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration Serhiy Osachuk met with EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ilva Johansson on the border with Romania. The air alarm system worked at night, but it was not heard in all districts of Chernivtsi. Some of the bomb shelters and basements proved unsuitable for shelter, and residents organized to put them in order. Due to this situation, the head of the city department of civil defense was fired. There are more than 6,000 migrants from other regions of Ukraine in Bukovyna, including more than 1,000 children. The public sector is actively working to meet their needs for accommodation, food, treatment, etc. Fundraising for the front continues.
War through the Eyes of Ukrainians. Volnovakha
The 5th day of the Russian invasion continues. Russian troops mercilessly shell Ukrainian cities, villages, and infrastructure objects, launch rockets and fires from multiple rocket launchers (“Grad”) on residentials and shoot civilians and even children! While addressing the nation, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, informed that 16 children died and 45 were injured by massive Russian shelling during the Russian invasion in just four days. https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3415676-prezident-vnaslidok-rosijskih-obstriliv-zaginuli-16-ukrainskih-ditej-45-poraneni.html
The situation remains very difficult in eastern Ukraine, in particular in Volnovakha. On the evening of February 27, it was reported that Russian troops had surrounded Volnovakha and were trying to break through to Mariupol. As of February 28, Mariupol and Volnovakha remain the hottest spots in the Donetsk region – fighting for these cities continues. The city is now in a humanitarian catastrophe. Locals are asking for help en masse. However, there is no way to help people because the Russian army surrounds the city.
“Private and apartment buildings, infrastructure facilities, a hospital were massively damaged by the shelling of the occupiers (a Russian shell hit an ENT department and a women’s clinic). People are constantly in the basements, “said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional state administration. Residents of Volnovakha are asking for help to avoid starvation and bombing by Russia. Kirilenko later said that Russian troops fired from the Grad rocket system at buses traveling to Volnovakha to evacuate civilians. “A convoy of evacuation buses came under fire from “Grad” as it was on its way to the frontline Volnovakha,” he said. (https://t.me/pavlokyrylenko_donoda/2424)
The coordinator of the “Active Community” in Volnovakha, Yana Tvereza, described the situation in the region first hand.
“This is hell: Mykolayivka, Donske, Volnovakha, Novotroitske… Villages are being erased. They are recaptured and retreat again. In Volnovakha, the fighting is just in the city center. There are no more buildings there. In Donskoye, Novotroitskoye they shoot straight into residential districts. This is not just a humanitarian catastrophe. This is genocide! People are hiding in shelters, but there is no light, heat, gas, food and, most importantly, WATER! There was no water a week before the invasion, because there were no water tanks”, says Yana.
Yana adds that there is no connection, sometimes someone gets in touch via SMS.
“Volnovakha is shattered, the center was completely destroyed. In Donske, high-rise buildings and a factory are on fire. In Novotroitske high-rise buildings were destroyed. I won’t even talk about homes (50-70% of them were destroyed). Yesterday they hit the boiler room. Good thing the gas just caught fire
Asked if there were any victims of Russian aggression, Yana said there were.
«Nobody will say how many [victims] there are now. Most of them are in Volnovakha. It was 10 yesterday, but these are only those victims who are known. People die. The family of the wounded had just been taken to hospital, and a 10-year-old child was left alone in the basement».
Regarding the mood of the locals, Yana says that “they do not need victory or defeat. They just want to survive. In my stories I have a post of a girl from the vault, my friend».
However, people near Volnovakha are very united. They help, receive migrants, take them out under fire, and bring food to Volnovakha.
We asked Yana, what would she say to the Russian military if she met them?
«Leave us alone!».
- Проект BBC 100 Women про “жінок, які залишились в Україні”. Одна з центральних постатей матеріалу – очільниця УЖВ Олена Білецька - 11.04.2022
- Ukraine Operational information from the regions 03.04.2022 (photo, video)/ Україна Оперативна інформація з регіонів 03.04.2022 (фото, відео)(English/Українською) - 03.04.2022
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