Update from Ukraine: “Even in the darkest times, there is light”
By Liz Drew, Andrew Geddert, and Sergiy Petukhov
As our partners on the ground shared with us this month during our time in Kyiv, the widespread and systematic use of torture by the Russian military and occupying forces is a terrifying and well-documented reality in Ukraine.
Looking to the Future
“Amid drone attacks that kept us awake and the election results in the U.S., our Ukrainian counterparts kept working—engaging in lively, sometimes heated, and ultimately productive discussions about the challenges they face.”
Heartland Alliance International has been on the ground working with Ukrainian partners to reach survivors with specialized torture treatment services as part of our multiphase project, “Strengthening the Torture Treatment Network in Ukraine”, led by our technical team from the Marjorie Kovler Center.
In early November 2024, Andrew Geddert, the Kovler Center’s Manager of Clinical Training, and Liz Drew, HAI’s Senior Advisor, traveled from Chicago to Ukraine to meet HAI’s Ukraine Representative Sergiy Petukhov in Kyiv. Building on the mapping and needs assessment conducted earlier in the year, we brought together an extraordinary group of Ukrainian and international partners from nearly a dozen organizations, including Ukrainian government offices, working with survivors of torture and trauma for an intensive three-day convening. Our group included survivors who shared their experiences of being in captivity and made sure the discussions stayed practical and grounded in their lived reality. We were struck by how everyone in the room, regardless of their position, feels the impact of this war. We spoke with delegates who have spouses serving in the military, those with family members missing in action, and those who have lost loved ones; the conflict is always present. One participant shared with us, “Secondary trauma is a mode of life for Ukrainians now.”
With expert facilitation by the Ukrainian organization, Dialogue in Action, this group identified the key challenges and barriers to successfully scaling up services for survivors and their families. They also agreed on priority actions and made commitments as individuals and organizations to lead this work going forward.
Amid drone attacks that kept us awake and the election results in the U.S., our Ukrainian counterparts kept working—engaging in lively, sometimes heated, and ultimately productive discussions about the challenges they face. Thanks to this convening, many had the chance to meet in person—some for the first time— and spend meaningful time away from their urgent day to day work to connect, support each other, rest, and strategize for the future. By the third day, the group had named itself the “Agents of Change Network”.
Ensuring that survivors of torture and captivity and their families can access the services and support they need is an urgent immediate need and will also be critical to Ukraine’s recovery and rebuilding. This is also central to efforts led by the Office of the Prosecutor General’s Coordination Center for Support of Victims and Witnesses to promote accountability and access to justice. Creating more trauma-informed systems, stronger case management, and clear communication and partnership with the communities and families most impacted will ultimately benefit all Ukrainians.
We at HAI are ready to support this work in the weeks and months ahead, inspired by our Ukrainian colleague who shared, “Even in the darkest of times, there is light. We are that light.”
