The Andrey Rylkov Foundation urges countries to stop the war on drugs and provide full rehabilitation to the victims! On 26 June, the Andrey Rylkov Foundation joins the global advocacy campaign, Support Don’t Punish Day, to shed light on the devastating consequences of the War on Drugs in Russia and its expansion into Ukraine. Collaborating with Drugreporter, the Foundation releases a short video exposing the atrocities inflicted by punitive drug policies, aiming to raise global awareness and demand urgent change.
Ukraine
Mariupol. The city that was killed
This is the story of Natasha Kaluzhskaya, a patient in an opioid substitution programme in Mariupol, Ukraine. Mariupol was completely destroyed by the Russian army in 2022. Under the bombs, Natasha rescued people who were using drugs. She managed to survive. And today she stands as a witness to the crimes of war in Ukraine.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part V. We kept watching
We wanted to remember it, to make sure it would never be forgotten. On 29 August, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an operation to liberate the right bank of Kherson Oblast. And despite the regime of silence imposed by the General Staff, despite the disgusting communications, good news reached us from time to time.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part IV. The ground was burning under their feet
Summer came to Kherson, with thick morning mists and frog concerts at night. Sweet cherries, juicy apples, and all of the many things that the soil generously provides began to appear. And with them came blackouts and mobile phone disconnection.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part III. Substitution therapy under fire
Time passed. The occupation continued. As spring came, the situation in the city hardened. The Russians began to behave more brazenly and defiantly, and gradually life turned into a chronicle of violence and crime.
The 66th CND Sessions
Drugreporter recorded six side events, organised by NGOs at the 66th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, between 13-17 March, 2023. The issues addressed are implementing a human rights approach in drug policy, the nordic drug policy reform, Ukraine’s harm reduction measures during Russian invasion, environmental impacts of the war on drugs and more.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part II. Under the power of the Dementors
Imagine for a moment that you have been deprived of the ability to do the usual routine things; to leave the house whenever you like, to walk wherever you like, to go to the cinema, museums, or the theatre, to drink coffee with friends at the corner café, to buy something at the shop, to go to a neighbouring town or to another country. When – in one moment – you find yourself under occupation, you lose everything that your life consisted of.
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION – Part I. The day that changed our lives
We found out about the war on the morning of 24 February. All the news channels were screaming about it. We were literally crushed by the news: missile attacks on Kiev, Odessa, Dnipro, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk… At the same time gigantic military columns were heading towards Kiev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odessa…
Support Igor Kuzmenko – a Ukrainian Video Reporter Documenting Harm Reduction during the War!
Igor Kuzmenko, a filmmaker and founder of the Drug Users News (DUNews) video blog, needs your help! Please make a donation today to support his work to produce a series of documentaries about the community of people who use drugs in Ukraine during the war. Movies about the people, organizations, and networks that save thousands of Ukrainians from death and give hope every day.
Harm Reduction During Wartime in Ukraine
An interview with Anton Basenko, chair of the Ukrainian Network of People Who Use Drugs
