On May 27, an online meeting was held to coordinate and synchronize joint actions between Donetsk and Zakarpattia regions as part of the implementation of the “Carpathian Change” initiative launched by the Office of the President of Ukraine.
The event was attended by Deputy Heads of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Ihor Boiko and Oleksandr Shevchenko, Deputy Head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration Yuriy Huzynets, Vladimir Mytsyk, Head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Olena Tokareva, Director of the Department of Social Protection of the Population of the Donetsk Regional State Administration; Mariana Marusynets, Director of the Department of Education, Youth, Culture, and Sports of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration; Tamara Lukyanchuk, Director of the Donetsk Regional Center for Public Physical Health “Sport for All” Serhiy Golovchenko, and the heads of the Donetsk and Zakarpattia Football Associations, Oleg Zubarev and Ivan Duran.
During the meeting, participants discussed the development of a clear program of activities and excursions within the “Carpathian Shift” project with a detailed schedule by day and hour to ensure full synchronization with the internal schedule and recreational program at the “Pearl of Donetsk Region” complex, located in the village of Karpaty in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Particular attention was paid to organizing training sessions on soccer fields under the guidance of professional instructors. Specifically, as part of the “Carpathian Shift” initiative and with the support of the Ukrainian Football Association, a 14-day sports program is planned, which will include over 50 hours of group training sessions focused on game play.
Separately, the meeting participants discussed the organization of transportation for children to the venues of the planned events, as well as the coordination of educational and pedagogical work.
It should be noted that the goal of the “Carpathian Shift” project, launched in 2026, is the mental and physical recovery of children from frontline regions through a combination of health programs and team sports.
Two hundred children from the Donetsk region, aged 9 to 12, will be able to participate in the program at the “Pearl of Donetsk Region” municipal enterprise, which has been relocated to Transcarpathia. The first session at the “Pearl of Donetsk Region” began on May 25 and will run until June 14; the second session will run from June 17 to July 8. The project is free of charge and is primarily intended for children of military personnel, police officers, rescue workers, and other groups most affected by the war.