“Ukraine is fighting for us. We must never forget that” – Cafe Kyiv 2024
On 19 February, the major event Cafe Kyiv took place in Berlin. The programme included numerous Ukrainian and international NGOs, interesting workshops, serious discussions, exhibitions, installations, Ukrainian cuisine and the screening of the recently released documentary film “20 Days in Mariupol” by Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov. About 5,000 visitors came that day. There were so many visitors that a lot of people had to queue for up to an hour to get in.
Visitors of the Cafe Kyiv 2024 in Berlin on 19 February 2024. Photo: Michael Leh
Cafe Kyiv was also visited by prominent personalities such as the Mayor of Berlin Kai Wagner, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev, boxer Volodymyr Klichko, German fashion stylist Frank Peter Wilde and others. Another unexpected surprise for the guests of the event was the visit of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In her speech she emphasized: “Ukraine is fighting for us. We must never forget that. …. Putin must never win this war“.
Volodymyr Klichko. Photo: Michael Leh
The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) was also represented at Cafe Kyiv. Together with other Ukrainian and international organizations, we informed guests about our activities in Ukraine, networked with colleagues and shared experiences.
ISHR’s activities in Ukraine are very diverse. Our Information and Analytical Centre of ISHR (IAC ISHR), headed by lawyer Anton Alekseev, began providing humanitarian aid to the victims in the first days of the war. Donations from the German Section enabled our Ukrainian Section to provide immediate humanitarian aid to the victims in Ukraine. Since March 2002, the IAC ISHR has been distributing food and other humanitarian help such as medicines, nappies and other hygiene items) to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and people who have been left behind in war-affected areas in various regions of Ukraine (Kyiv, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Sumy, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy). Our main focus is on pregnant women, young children and their families, the elderly and people with disabilities. The IAC ISHR also provides targeted support to vulnerable people and specialised institutions (orphanages, maternity homes, etc.). In March 2022 alone, the IAC ISHR provided various types of humanitarian aid to 774 people. Since 1 June 2022, ISHR German Section has been registered as a partner of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). From June 2022 to May 2023, ISHR German Section, together with the IAC ISHR, conducted two major humanitarian projects of the OCHA. The projects were implemented in 5 regions of Ukraine – Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Sumy, Kyiv and Poltava. Through these projects we helped thousands of Ukrainians.
ISHR German Section employee and representatives of the European Investment Bank. Photo: ISHR German Section
ISHR is also involved in the translation and distribution of the “Voices of War” (project of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group) into German and English, so that as many people as possible outside Ukraine are aware of the atrocities that the Russian army has committed and continues to commit in Ukraine.
ISHR is also concerned with the issue of Ukrainian civilian prisoners abducted or detained by the Russian military in Ukraine. The Ukrainian civilian prisoner Kostyantyn Litvinov was the first civilian prisoner we reported about on our website and social media, and for whom we found a political support in face of Martina Feldmeier. Together we wrote letters to the Russian authorities demanding his immediate release. Following Kostyantyn’s release from Russian custody, ISHR was contacted by relatives of other Ukrainian civilian prisoners who are currently either in Russian military custody or missing.
The wife of a Ukrainian civilian prisoner visited our stand at Cafe Kyiv and kindly agreed to give us an interview. Lusiena told us about her husband, Kostiantyn Zinovkin, who was abducted from the street by the Russian military in the occupied city of Melitopol (Zaporizhzhya region). On the morning of 12 May 2023, Kostiantyn left the house and never returned. Instead, three strangers wearing balaclavas arrived and used Kostiantyn’s key to open the front door of their house. His mother was home at the time. The strangers told her that Kostiantyn had been arrested for “breaking the curfew” and taken to the military commander’s office. They conducted an unauthorised search and took all the money they could find. On 14 August 2023, the Melitopol Prosecutor’s Office informed Lusienna that a criminal case had been opened against her husband. On 29 October 2023, Kostiantyn was featured in the news on Russian television on the Russia 1 channel. In the video clip, the journalist calls Kostiantyn a terrorist and a sick person for claiming that Ukraine is independent and Russia is a terrorist country. On 25 January 2024, Kostiantyn was taken to Melitopol for a hearing, but his family are unaware of the outcome. Now Kostiantyn’s fate and whereabouts are unknown.
ISHR staff and the wife of abducted Ukrainian civilian Kostiantyn Zinovkin (on the right). Photo: Michael Leh
Nevertheless, Lusiena believes that she will definitely see her husband again. “I want to believe and trust that he will be released. I will do everything I can to get him out. I said to myself: I will definitely see him again this year”.
Lusiena told her story with tears in her eyes. She was very brave, but you could tell how much it hurt her to go through this again and again.
Lusiena and Kostiantyn’s story is one of millions. Ukrainians have been experiencing this not just since 2022, but since 2014. Ten years of war crimes. Our most important task is to make sure the world never forgets about it.
Cafe Kyiv has proved it once again: No matter how much Putin and his supporters want to destroy Ukraine, they will not succeed. It is impossible to destroy those who fight for their freedom. And that is why we will never forget the words of the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko:
Keep fighting – you are sure to win!
God helps you in your fight!
For fame and freedom march with you,
And right is on your side!
