Kharkiv Red Cross

The videos below from the Kharkiv Red Cross document the work they have done and continue to do to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Kharkiv and the surrunding towns and villages.

6.02.2024 Kharkiv region - humanitarian assistance.mp4

Humanitarian Aid

14.05.2024 Kharkiv - shelling of a residential area.mp4

Shelling of Kharkiv

25.05.2024 Kharkiv - destroyed supermarket.mp4

Destroyed Market

Kharkiv - Izyum.mp4

Kharkiv - Izyum

This is the work they do; these are the challenges they will face in the winter months ahead.  We can make a difference.  Your contribution to the Kharkiv Red Cross will impact the lives of the people in our Sister City.   Donate here.

Kharkiv, which is being destroyed.mp4

Under Attack

19.05.2024 Kharkiv region.mp4

After an Attack

30-31.12.2023 Kharkiv.mp4

Searching

Volunteers.mp4

KRC Volunteers

Kharkiv Red Cross Volunteers

International Committee of the Red Cross truck attacked

September 12, 2024, in the Donetsk region. Three staff killed.

Please take a moment to view this video "Broken Dreams - War Against Culture and Education".  It will deepen your understanding of what is taking place in our Sister City and throughout Ukraine. 

Update on the Conditions in Kharkiv

Denys Yaroslavskyi, member of the Ukrainian military on the front lines defending Kharkiv, paid a visit to Cincinnati after having attended the NATO Summit in Washington, DC.  In meetings with Mark Jeffreys and Greg Landsman, he shared infomation on the current conditions in our Sister City and the challenges they will face this winter as a result of the Russian attacks on the city's infrastructure.

There was also a public forum when he met with the community and friends of CKSCP.  Denys shared this video of the impact of the Russian attack on Kharkiv.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIMZcyHI9MU

Meeting with Mark Jeffreys
Member of Cincinnati City Council

Meeting with Greg Landsman
Member of the House of Representatives

Show Your Support for Ukraine with Sunflowers and a Sign

Plant the seeds and put the sign in your garden as a sign of support for the people in Kharkiv and throughout Ukraine.

For Seeds, a Sign or both, contact Bob Herring.
ckscporg@gmail.com    513-235-5920
The seeds are our gift you you. 
Your donation of $15 will cover the cost of the sign.

We thought you'd like to know ...

VIdeo 4.mp4
Video #5.mp4

Here you will discover the impact your contribution has had on those being treated at the Rubinko Medical Center in Kharkiv.  The Medical Center provides, free-of-charge, rehabilitation for members of the military who have been injured during the war.  Funds raised when Vadym and Taras came to Cincinnati to run in the Pig are helping underwrite their care.

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Cincinnati Digs Deep
to Support the Clinic in Kharkiv

Vadym and Taras came to Cincinnati with two goals in mind: finish the Flying Pig Marathon and raise funds for the Rubinko Medical Center in Kharkiv which provides, free-of-charge, rehabilitation for members of the military who have been injured during the war. They were successful in both!

Thanks to the generosity of the people of Cincinnati, they will return home with over $17,000.  We could not have done it without the donors to CKSCP and the support of Streetside Brewery that hosted an opportunity for Vadym and Taras to tell their story.

As this goes to press, Kharkiv and the surrounding region are preparing for a Russian attack sometime within the next 4-6 weeks.  Many civilians have left the city.   Supplies are being stockpiled; fortifications are being strengthened.  The funds we raised will be used to treat those who will be wounded in the defense of our Sister City.  We can't thank you enough!

Marathoners from Kharkiv Arrive for the Pig


Marathon runner Vadim Kovalenko and Lieutenant Colonel Taras Panasyuk will arrive in Cincinnati April 30 to participate in this year's Flying Pig Marathon.  In addition to crossing the finish line, their goal is to raise funds for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and civilians at the Rubinko Medical Center.


The Rubinko Medical Center provides assistance to wounded soldiers free of charge.  Due to the increase of battle activity in the Kharkiv region, which started in February, 2024, the number of wounded, severely injured soldiers, and the number of amputees has significantly increased.  The Medical Center receives 25-30 patients every day and needs financial assistance to meet the new challenges.

From the first day of the full-scale invasion, Taras took an active part in the defense of Kharkiv and was wounded on the left side of his chest.  During treatment, one bullet was removed; the second remains in his chest.  While on a combat mission in the Kharkiv region, the car Taras was driving hit a mine.  As a result, he underwent treatment and rehabilitation to restore his hearing. 


Lieutenant Colonel Taras Panasyuk

Taras is a Lieutenant Colonel in the National Police, Kharkiv Region and is responsible for organizing support for the Rapid Action Corps.  He was involved in anti-terrorist operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied by the Russian armed forces in 2014.  After completing the PIg, Taras will return to Ukraine to continue the battle for the territorial integrity of a free and independent Ukraine. 

All are invited to a Community Meet & Greet at the Streetside Brewery on Friday, May 3 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Taras will share his experience on the front line with a Q&A at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30.  Streetside Brewery is located at 4003 Eastern Avenue in Columbia Tusculum.


Channel 9

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/ukrainians-running-in-flying-pig-marathon-raising-money-for-wounded-veterans


https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/we-are-unbreakable-ukrainian-runners-come-to-cincinnati-for-flying-pig-marathon


Channel 5

https://www.wlwt.com/article/flying-pig-marathon-cincinnati-ukraine-kharkiv-runners/60663484


CKSCP Supports Teachers 

in Kharkiv

When you first think about those in our Sister City who have been most impacted by the war, teachers probably don’t come to mind.  This was true for CKSCP Board Members until we were approached by a former Kharkiv teacher and now refugee here in Cincinnati.

She knew what the teachers there face every day.  They are working, so very hard, on-line and in underground classrooms, trying to do their best to give children, and their families, a more predictable life in the midst of chaos.  Every day they must put on their “best face” and get to work doing what they do best, teaching children.

The former teacher, based on her experience with a support program for Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia, suggested a format.  Fourteen teachers would be offered four group meetings, led by two psychologists, to learn new coping skills to deal with their daily stresses.  They would be offered a stipend, and the professionals involved in planning and implementing this program would be paid. It made complete sense that CKSCP should fund this pilot program, fitting perfectly with our mission to help the citizens of Kharkiv.

With the Kharkiv International Cooperation Department and Mayor Terekhov’s knowledge and support of this proposal, the pilot program began in late December.  Teachers have now attended all four sessions, and their responses have been very positive.  We received follow-up evaluation reports from Oksana Krasnikova, the psychologist who trained the two group leaders, and Tetiana Barbinova, the psychologist in charge of the teachers’ group activities during each meeting.  These reports will be shared with the CKSCP board and with Kharkiv governmental officials.

Kharkiv Red Cross at work following the Russian attack on December 30
Russia launched the biggest air attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion.  An unprecedented number of drones and missiles fired at targets across the country, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 150 others.  The attack targeted Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as well as Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and other Ukrainian regions.  Source: CNN

The videos below provide a look at the work of the KRC as they search through the rubble of destroyed buildings.  

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Kharkiv Red Cross, our volunteers and all citizens of our city are extremely grateful for everything you have done for our city.  Without your help the state of the people's lives would be much grimmer.  

                                                            Konstantin  Bashkirov

                                                            President Kharkiv Red Cross


A second winter of war has come to Ukraine, and the people in our Sister City of Kharkiv once again need our help. This holiday season, please consider a donation to the Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister City Partnership.  All money we raise goes directly to the people and organizations on the ground in the Kharkiv region as they work to provide ongoing relief.


The money raised by this Sister City Partnership all goes to tangible relief efforts that directly benefit the people of the Kharkiv region.  For example, in 2023, we distributed funding for the following projects:

The winter is an especially tough time for the residents of Kharkiv.  All money that you donate will be distributed to organizations that we have vetted, and who can use it right now to help people get through the coming months.  Your contribution to CKSCP is tax deductible and can be made by check, PayPal or credit card.


Checks sent to:

Bob Herring

CKSCP President

3544 Glen Edge Lane

Cincinnati, Ohio 45213


Online Donations

Link to: PayPal and Credit Card

 

We can’t thank you enough for your thoughtful consideration of the request and your response to help those so desperately in need this winter in our Sister City.

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New Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by Mayors of Cincinnati and Kharkiv

In an online signing ceremony Setptember 19, Mayor Aftab Pureval and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov will sign the new Memorandum of Understanding that will guide the activities through 2028. 

Singatories to the MoU and present in Kyiv will be CKSCP Pesident Bob Herring and Kharkiv-Cincinnati Sister City President Iryna Bakumenko.

Bob Herring and City Council Member Mark Jeffreys will travel to Kyiv, Ukraine September 16 to meet with Mayor Terekhov and attend the Kharkiv Restart Forum where ideas will be presented for our Sister City's rebirth after the end of the war. 

"We stand in solidarity with the people of Kharkiv," said Jeffreys.  "It's really looking ahead for when the war does end — what do they need? They need physical infrastructure, for sure. But then even things like medical professionals ... so we're approaching it from the standpoint of listening and hearing their needs, and then coming back and sharing that with not only our city, but the broader community."

"Our presence at the Forum sends the message to our friends in Kharkiv that they are not alone, that we will be with them in the weeks and months and years to come” said Herring.

Over the past 35 years collaboration on hundreds of projects has deepened the understanding of each other and fostered strong friendships.  .


The Sister City Partnership between CIncinnati and Kharkiv began in 1989.  Click here to learn more about this incredible story.

The Russian Invasion

It's been a year that we did not anticipate and has been unlike anything we've ever experienced.  This is the story.