As of February 2025, Ukraine has recorded over 390,000 cases of wounded soldiers, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Many of these defenders return to the front after recovering—some more than once—so the actual number of individuals wounded is lower, but the toll remains staggering. Thousands return home with life-altering injuries that reshape not only their futures, but the lives of their families as well. Having gone through hospitals, physical rehabilitation programs, and painful adjustments to a new reality, the veterans are also dealing with invisible wounds of psychological trauma, guilt, and disconnection. They come home as heroes, but the war doesn’t automatically go away. It lingers in the silent distance between them and the people they love. For many, reintegration is a battle of its own. Relationships suffer. Connections break. Emotional walls go up. People who once knew how to reach and support each other now feel confused and isolated. The statistics are sobering: one in three military marriages ends after demobilization, and nearly one in five veterans lives alone. These breakdowns often stem from the emotional trauma of war, combined with the lack of adequate family-centered support. In fact, 70% of surveyed veterans said they need access to rehabilitation with their children and loved ones, and nearly 33% wished for joint psychological programs—yet as of early 2024, only 4.3% had access to them. Viktoriia Drach, the Nova director in Ukraine, highlighted that this issue is not unique to Ukraine:

“This is not a decoration—it is a signal. This is a conversation that needs to be started before it's too late." — Oleksiy Sai, installation artist behind Black Cloud On June 7th, in Kyiv’s historic Sophia Square, a large, ominous black cloud was unveiled, evoking imagery that many Ukrainians were already familiar with witnessing. People passing by remarked on how the cloud reminded them of an explosion and destruction. This art piece, created by contemporary artist, Oleksiy Sai, alongside a team of other artists, producers, and musicians, was meant to feel reminiscent of the horrors of warfare. Black Cloud, also known as Get Ready, blends multiple artistic mediums as it emits flashes of light and features music created by Ukrainian Drum and Bass artist Involver. Additionally, alongside music, the cloud features real sounds of Ukrainian warfare such as artillery fire, explosions, drone strikes, and more. According to one of the installation’s producers, Vitaliy Deynega, this piece is not simply a symbol of the destruction occurring in Ukraine, but is also meant to highlight the inevitability of destruction elsewhere in the world. He remarks on how the feeling of hope blinds humanity to imminent danger. The cloud is meant to symbolize the “elephant in the room”, the threat that is already hanging over our heads. Its message is already clear to those who are already familiar with the horrors of warfare, but is important to share for those who mistakenly believe that what is happening in Ukraine couldn’t happen in their home country. This art installation, originally unveiled in Kyiv, will travel across the world to the United States and will be featured at Burning Man, a festival taking place in late August of 2025, and known for highlighting incredible visual art and pioneering feats of self-expression.

As the war in Ukraine continues, children carry on living through the same harsh realities of war as their adult counterparts. These children are forced to grow up quickly and are robbed of meaningful childhood experiences. Many of them never even get to grow up past childhood, with over 2,520 children killed or injured since the start of russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.1 Additionally, these children experience pain that many adults have yet to undergo, with the loss of a parental figure affecting over 17,000 children.2 For this purpose, since 2014, Nova Ukraine has partnered with and pledged its support to camps dedicated to psychological recovery for children and families impacted by the war. Attendees of these camps have the opportunity to heal, connect with their peers, learn new life skills, and, most importantly, have fun. One of Nova Ukraine’s longest partners, Motley Racoons, has provided children with a safe place to go on adventures, create new friendships, and unwind away from the realities of war. Founded by Olexander Chub in 2016, this camp was inspired by his own happy childhood memories of camps he attended all through his adolescence. Olexander loved attending these camps in his youth but remarked on the lackluster content and activities provided at these camps. He sought to create a place where children could develop their moral values and independence, as well as knowledge and connection to Ukrainian culture. Thanks to your donations, Motley Racoons has been able to achieve the feat of hosting 215 children of deceased defenders in their camp programs. Camp GOYRA!, partnered with Nova Ukraine, provides children with the opportunity to backpack across the Carpathian Mountains, disconnecting from the digital world and reconnecting with nature and one other. One attendee of camp GOYRA!, twelve-year-old Katya, recounts her experience at the camp positively, as she ran up to an instructor on her last day exclaiming “I didn't even know I could have so much fun!” This joyous account from Katya is even more heartwarming when considering the trials she lived through. Katya is described as a shy girl who initially had trouble talking to other attendees even when it was simply to ask a neighbor at the camp for more space in a shared closet. Confiding to an instructor, she recounted the harrowing experience of a rocket landing near her home in Kherson, smashing windows and injuring her mother. But throughout the program, Katya eventually opened up to new friendships, played board games, and participated in dancing at the last night’s celebration event.

On May 29, 2025, the Ukrainian musical The Hunters and the Hunted was presented in a staged reading format at Open Jar Studios on Broadway, New York City. The event drew a full house, underscoring the growing resonance of Ukrainian stories and the global appetite for cultural works that explore themes of resilience, freedom, and historical memory. Based on Ivan Bahrianyi’s novel The Hunters and the Hunted (Tyhrolovy), the musical was written and composed by Kyrylo Beskorovainyi, Anton Humaniuk, and Bohdan Reshetilov. Lisa Rafferty directed the staged reading, which featured an American cast. While the full musical includes 28 songs, the New York reading showcased 11 of them and selected dialogue, with English translations by Anna Halas, Kyrylo Beskorovainyi, and Anton Humaniuk. Ukrainian pianist Ruslan Ramazanov provided live accompaniment. The event was organized in partnership with Nova Ukraine and Razom for Ukraine, and concluded with a 15-minute conversation with the creators and Stew Stewart, Tony Award and two-time Obie Award-winning playwright and performer. Cast:

Dear Friends, For Ukrainian children, the sounds of war have become part of daily life — sirens instead of school bells, bomb shelters instead of playgrounds. Childhood, as we know it, has been stolen by conflict. But you can help give a piece of it back.This summer, you have the power to help a Ukrainian child escape the trauma of war—even if only for a little while. Through a safe, nurturing summer camp experience far from the front lines, children are given the chance to laugh freely, sleep soundly, and simply be kids again. What does your support do? One week of camp can do what months of therapy sometimes cannot: remind a child that life can be beautiful again.