Amputees in Ukraine face many problems during rehabilitation, including a lack of information about available medical care options, a complex and tedious process of filing documents, a lack of specialized programs, institutions, and specialists, a lack of barrier-free environments in public places, and much more.
Minefields are “hidden killers”. November 10-11, 2025, Zagreb, Croatia
The conference “Rethinking the Ottawa Convention 2025” is scheduled to take place on November 10-11, 2025, in Zagreb, Croatia. The conference is organized by the Ukrainian NGO Charity Foundation “Kharkiv with you” (https://kharkiv-with-you.org/en/). The event will be participated by the representatives of several European and Asian demining agencies, Ukrainian and European experts and victims of the mine warfare from around the globe.
Minefields — the “hidden killers” — continue to claim thousands of lives each year, primarily among civilians. The 1997 Ottawa Convention, which banned anti-personnel mines, was a landmark in international efforts to address the humanitarian consequences of their use. Yet, nearly three decades later, an urgent question emerges: has it lost its relevance, particularly in the context of asymmetric wars?
The convention was born out of the crises of the 1990s, when countless people in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Angola were killed by landmines. Today, however, its effectiveness is being tested by new conflicts. Russia, which never signed the treaty, has mined nearly a third of Ukraine’s territory. France’s colonial legacy continues to exact a toll: in Algeria, its mines killed thousands after independence, while in Mali, operations against jihadists caused further civilian casualties. In the Caucasus, Armenia, retreating from occupied Azerbaijani territories, left behind minefields that have killed and maimed hundreds since 2020. These examples illustrate that the greatest harm stems from aggressors who use mines as instruments of terror and control.
It is therefore unsurprising that debates have arisen in Finland and the Baltic states about potentially withdrawing from the convention. A total ban, critics argue, limits their ability to defend against aggression. The rationale for allowing defensive use is clear: mines are inexpensive, effective tools for border protection, and the responsibility for their consequences should lie with the aggressor. The problem is that the convention makes no distinction between attacker and defender, a flaw that undermines its credibility.
For this reason, the upcoming conference must consider reform. The ban should remain in place for aggressors, but victims of aggression should be permitted to employ mines in a strictly limited defensive capacity. Such a change would preserve the spirit of the convention while adapting it to the realities of the 21st century.
✨ Within the United Nations Chirdren’s Fund (UNICEF) project together with the nongovernmental organization “Спільнота небайдужих “ДІЯ” and H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University supported by Kharkiv regional state administration “Kharkiv with you” charity foundation is implementing inclusive education activities for the kids with special needs and the children with disabilities in Kharkiv region.
💙 The project’s first phase includes a survey of people taking care of children with special educational needs and who lived in the Kharkiv region territory as of January 2022 and at present.
📌 If your child has an IRC conclusion and you didn’t receive a call from IRC, please take a survey at this link.
📌 If you went abroad, your child has an IRC conclusion, and you lived in the Kharkiv region please take a survey at this link.
📌 If you moved to the Kharkiv region from another region of Ukraine, your child has an IRC conclusion, and needs additional educational services, please take a survey at this link.
Let’s make education accessible for all children together!💪📚
#InclusiveEducation #KharkivWithYou #UNICEF #ChildrenWithSpecialNeeds #Education for all
CHARITY FOUNDATION “KHARKIV WITH YOU” within the project “Strengthening inclusive education for children with special educational needs, in particular children with disabilities, in the Kharkiv region” announces a repeated open tender for the purchase of equipment for the Inclusive Resource Centers of the Kharkiv region.
“KHARKIV WITH YOU” charity foundation within the scope of the grant project: “Strengthening of inclusive education for children with special educational needs, in particular children with disabilities, in the Kharkiv region“, which is carried out within the framework of a grant agreement with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on the initiative and with the support of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration announces open tender No. UKR/PCA/202297-OUT3-41 for the purchase of goods for Inclusion Resource Centers 2 lots in accordance with the technical specifications.
Terms of the tender:
Tender announcement date: August 12, 2024.
The deadline for participants to submit questions on clarifications of tender conditions: until August 22, 2024.
The deadline for submission of tender proposals: until 12.00 on August 25, 2024.
Determination of the tender winner: until August 28, 2024.
The deadline for signing the Supply Agreement: within 7 days from the date of the winner’s announcement.
The signing of the Supply Agreement: until September 7, 2024.
Term of provision of goods/services: within 10 days from the date of signing the Supply Agreement.
A detailed description of the goods/services announced as the subject of procurement is Goods for Inclusive Resource Centers 2 lots in accordance with the technical task.
On May 31, 2023, the International Conference “The impact of anti-personnel mines – civilian casualties of the minefields” was held in Berlin. Co-organizers: Charitable Fund “Kharkiv with you” and our German partners Altner & Nemirovski GbR. The event was supported by the Department of Civil Protection of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration.
As part of this event, we held an exhibition and a podium discussion on the topic “Russian anti-personnel mines in Ukraine and Karabakh”.
The main goal of the Forum is to draw the attention of German political circles, as well as the general public of European countries, to such problems as:
the use of anti-personnel mines of indiscriminate action by the Russian aggressors, which is a violation of international humanitarian law;
consequences of this use;
assessment of the possibilities of providing technical assistance to accelerate the demining of territories;
medical aid to injured civilians.
The main event of the event was a podium discussion with representatives of political and industrial circles, as well as with doctors and NGO representatives.
The following participated in the discussion:
Dr. Sven Merdian, chief physician of Berlin’s Charité clinic;
Dr. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Member of the Bundestag (Free Democratic Party);
Olena Sherzhukova – co-founder of BF “Kharkiv with you”, adviser to the Head of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine in the PACE;
Oleksandr Goncharov – head of the Kharkiv Oblast demining program, which was implemented by the Charitable Foundation “Kharkiv with you”;
Ivan Sokol – director of the Department of Civil Protection of the Kharkiv Regional Administration;
representative of the Ottobock company – the world’s leading manufacturer of prostheses
Also, a large family under the care of our Foundation took part in the work of the Forum. Father Yevhen and son Bohdan, 7 years old, were injured by an uncontrolled landmine explosion while visiting their grandmother in Vovchansk.
Photo by Jonny Wen
This measure, aimed at drawing the attention of European countries to the problem of mining territories, is very important.
Given that Kharkiv region currently has the largest mined territory – tens of thousands of square kilometers – which primarily affects civilians.
Within the framework of the Mine Safety Forum and during working meetings with foreign partners and donors, the issue of providing equipment for humanitarian demining of territories and assistance in carrying out measures to warn the population about mine safety were discussed.
The demining program of the Kharkiv region was implemented by the Charitable Foundation “Kharkiv with you” together with our German partners Altner & Nemirovski GbR and with the support of the Department of Civil Protection of the Kharkiv Regional Administration.
Today we announce the collection of donations for the production of a Ukrainian demining machine.
The production cost of one machine 6,000,000 UAH or 150,000 Euros.
🙌We have a good friend and partner Denis Ostrovsky. For the fifth month in a row, he has been devoting himself to the victory on the volunteer front. Now Denis and his volunteer group are carefully feeding doctors and rescuers, carrying out one of the directions of our project “Kharkiv will live”. His mission is supported by the “Renaissance” International Foundation.
💖What is the idea of the project “Kharkiv will live”? We are trying to support institutions that, even under the sights of racists, literally keep the pulse of life in Kharkiv and the region.
We recently shared the news about the transfer of the X-ray diagnostic system to Lozova Hospital. One of these days we will talk about the support of SES officers and structures involved in demining territories.
We try our best to support our favorite city Kharkiv.
Kharkiv region, like the whole Slobozhanshchyna, is known as a friendly region. Even now, during the war, our region receives not only forced refugees from Kharkiv, but also from the regions temporarily occupied by Russia.
The Kharkiv with You Charitable Foundation, with the support of Zurich Insurance, provides humanitarian aid to all districts of the Kharkiv region.
Today we are reported by volunteers from Zmiiv district of Kharkiv region – Volodimir Vlasenko and his team.
Thank you for the logistical support of the Emerland Foundation.
The occupiers cynically shell the districts of Kharkiv every day. But as far as we know, the Northern Saltivka suffered the most from the Russian invaders. The large developed housing estate, which had a modern infrastructure, now looks like the epicenter of a real Apocalypse.
But despite everything, people live there. And they need help. We are glad that we are able to support them in difficult times of trials.
💙💛 The “Kharkiv with You” Charity Foundation would like to thank the partners who help Kharkiv residents survive: Zurich (Switzerland) and the Emerland Charity Foundation.
Special thanks to the priest Rostislav, who with his team of volunteers brings help to all needy residents of Kharkiv.
