Oleksandra Matviichuk
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avalaina.bsky.social
Oleksandra Matviichuk
@avalaina.bsky.social
head of the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)/ Nobel Peace Prize 2022/ Democracy Defender Award of OSCE 2016
The rescue operation lasted many hours. Every life is precious and must be saved. This is what this war, which Russia is waging for our extermination, has taught us.
February 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
I am watching videos and photos from Kropyvnytskyi. Many people gathered near the animal shelter at night. The shelter was completely flooded, and people came to rescue the animals. They wrapped frightened cats and dogs in warm blankets and took them home to shelter them.
February 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
This is a book about the choices people make during war. And these choices are difficult. Because we do not choose the country we are born in, nor the time we are born, but we do choose whether to be an honest person or not.
February 12, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Two years ago, Katya got her first tattoo on her forearm: “The brave are always lucky.” A few months later, she went to rescue the wounded on the front lines so that defenders could survive and return to their children. “I am not fighting. I am standing next to those who are fighting,” she wrote.
February 12, 2026 at 5:08 PM
I received a gift in the mail from Kateryna Zarembo. She is one of the women I admire. She sent me her new book. I don't know how she managed to write it. Katya serves in the Ukrainian army. She is also a brilliant scientist, writer, and mother of four children, the youngest of whom is 3 years old.
February 12, 2026 at 5:08 PM
The photo shows the reaction of Vladislav Heraskevich's father and coach to his son's disqualification from the Olympics because of a helmet with portraits of killed Ukrainian athletes.
February 12, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Heraskevych's helmet, as a memorial to the Ukrainian athletes who were part of the Olympic movement, may irritate the Kremlin, but it should not raise questions among representatives of the International Olympic Committee. And yes, remembrance is not a violation.
February 11, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Because the Russians came to take everything from us — our land, our freedom, our joy, our children's future. And we decided not to give them anything.

Photo after a Russian drone hit a shelter for spinal cord injury dogs in Zaporizhzhia
February 8, 2026 at 7:12 PM
My solidarity with journalists. Our experience of blackouts due to Russian attacks teaches us that, even in complete darkness around us, you can become a light for someone.
February 5, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Ukraine signed two such peace agreements after the occupation of Crimea. Russia violated both and launched a full-scale invasion. The question is whether this peace agreement will be able to stop the war.
February 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Why did Putin not allow himself such brutal strikes on civilian infrastructure under Biden, whom Trump calls “weak,” but totally destroys peaceful cities and disregards the “strong Trump”?

Photo Liz Landers
February 4, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Another round of peace talks took place tonight. The results are on the map. Rocket and drone explosions in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and many other cities all night. In the morning, electricity and heat were out in many areas.
February 3, 2026 at 2:33 PM
I'm moving on to plan B. I have two fluffy cats. We'll keep warm together. And there's another month and spring.
Picture Nikita Titov
January 31, 2026 at 9:38 PM
Today I was in the Kyiv Botanical Garden. Plants in the greenhouse are freezing due to constant power and heat outages. Workers are doing everything they can to save them.
January 28, 2026 at 9:06 PM
People are freezing not just in Kyiv. This photo is from Lviv. The temperature in the room when there is no electricity. 12°C (degree Celsius) is 53.6°F (degree Fahrenheit).
January 28, 2026 at 12:17 PM
And the fact that Washington prefers not to notice the mass shelling of Ukraine during the peace talks is on its conscience.

In the photo, children from houses without heating after Russian shelling are warming themselves at special points.
January 24, 2026 at 8:16 PM
I spoke about Ukrainian women I know who serve in the military, make political decisions, fight for justice, and coordinate powerful initiatives. Because bravery has no gender.
January 23, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Those were quite challenging days in Davos. But there was also a pleasant moment when I received the World Woman Hero award. Every year, the World Woman Foundation honors a woman who demonstrates leadership, strength and has a significant impact on the lives of women and girls in different countries
January 23, 2026 at 8:02 PM
In an hour, I'll be speaking at the World Economic Forum in #Davos. I'll be talking about Trump's year of negotiations, which has become the deadliest year for civilians since 2022. I’ll share how Russians destroyed energy infrastructure and left my family and others without heat and electricity.
January 20, 2026 at 11:20 AM
4. Neighbours hold winter picnics in the courtyard, businesses provide generators for hospitals, people light up the entrances with fairy lights, some set up mobile saunas to warm up those who are frozen, others set up colourful playhouses from ice for children. 1/11
January 18, 2026 at 12:28 PM
3. Shops, restaurants and administrative institutions have opened their doors to homeless cats and dogs. A night in such cold weather is death for them. People take animals in for shelter. They feed birds.1/9
January 18, 2026 at 12:26 PM
In the stairwell, she met several other people who also did not know this woman but brought her the necessary items. Perhaps we are a tired but morally healthy society. Because people support those who are struggling and help each other. 1/8
January 18, 2026 at 12:24 PM
1. Almost every night, I hear explosions from Russian missiles and drones in Kyiv. Although the Russians practise double strikes, rescuers and electricians instantly appear at the sites of damaged civilian infrastructure. 1/5
January 18, 2026 at 12:20 PM
I associate this winter with three things: cold, darkness, and gratitude. I am not mentioning Russian missiles and drones because they strike civil infrastructure all year round. That is why we in Kyiv are sitting at minus -17 degrees without heating, electricity, water, or communication. 1/1
January 18, 2026 at 12:15 PM
I invite all the foreign journalists who have asked me if peace is coming soon, as we have been promised after each round of negotiations initiated by President Trump, to go to Kyiv now.
Listen to the explosions with us and gain a better understanding of what Putin thinks about these negotiations.
January 8, 2026 at 9:57 PM