Early recovery rarely begins with rebuilding destroyed walls. First and foremost, it takes root in people—those who are already bringing their communities together today, who are not afraid to take on responsibility, and who are planning for the future despite the past they have lost.
This is exactly how Svitlana Fomenko and Kseniia Konyushok—young women from Donetsk Oblast and internally displaced persons who joined the project “Code of Recovery: The Youth Dimension of Donetsk Oblast”—are acting today. In late December 2025, they participated in an integration meeting for IDP youth from Donetsk Oblast in Poltava. But their story goes beyond the usual narrative of resilience—it is a living example of how young people are becoming true ambassadors of revival right now.
Today, the young women organize events, launch initiatives, and perform on stage, each time proudly emphasizing their origins. Their principled stance is to present themselves as a team from Donetsk Oblast, using their own example to break down entrenched stereotypes about “people from Donetsk.”
They prefer not to refer to their current situation with the dry term “relocation,” but rather call it a full-fledged revival. This new cultural space came into being solely thanks to their tireless perseverance. Through the civic organization “Time of the Free,” the team wins grants and, step by step, rebuilds its infrastructure. For them, culture is a strong rope connecting them to home; it is their quiet but surprisingly effective front.
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