Suicide of a teenager from Kherson region in Russia and reaction to Professor Vasylenko's words: highlights for December 24

Suicide of a teenager from Kherson region

The publication “Important Stories” published a joint investigation with the international team of journalists and lawyers of The Reckoning Project, which told the story of Oleksandr Yakushchenko, who, together with his younger sister Khrystyna, was taken to Russia from a family-type home in the village of Tokarivka in the Kherson region.

It is known that the boy then lived in the village of Akhtanizovskaya, Krasnodar Krai, in a family with “experience”. And in January 2024, at the age of 18, he hanged himself a few kilometers from his new home — his body was found by workers who were on their way to work in the morning.

Shortly before his death, he sent a voice message to his friends, saying that he felt unwanted in his foster home and that “there would be no problems if only I hadn't come here”.

Ukrainian law enforcement will investigate the case as a war crime that resulted in the death of a person. The Security Service of Ukraine will take over the case.

First money from frozen assets goes to Ukraine

Ukraine has received $1 billion from the United States from frozen Russian assets. This is the first tranche of the planned $20 billion that the United States has agreed to allocate under the G7 initiative.

Christmas in Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wished Ukrainians a Merry Christmas, noting that the popular Christmas song “Shchedryk” was written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in the city of Pokrovsk, which is now approaching the front line.

In addition, he recalled the words of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who called the current events in the world “a comotion”. “We strive to create, while for some the meaning of life is to sow death. We want peace […], but for some, life feels ‘boring and lacks excitement’.”

Meanwhile, the largest didukh trident in Ukraine was presented in Lviv. Its height is over 7 meters. It consists of about 340 didukhs woven by wounded soldiers of the 80th separate airborne assault Galician brigade.

Reaction to Professor Vasylenko's words

The rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volodymyr Buhrov, promised to take measures against Mykyta Vasylenko, a lecturer at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, as provided for by law, saying that he did not support his position.

And Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi called Vasylenko's words about Ukrainian women “hungry” for sex “unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, the professor's daughter and editor-in-chief of the Left Bank newspaper, Sonia Koshkina, criticized her fellow journalists who mention her in the context of her father's statements, but did not want to speak “in essence” because, she said, “everything is clear”. She also spoke about the insults she received online.

Ukraine denies wanting to reduce payments to refugees

The Spanish newspaper El Pais wrote that the Ukrainian government wants to cut payments to refugees and stop consular services for men. In this way, Kyiv allegedly seeks to solve the demographic problem in Ukraine by returning refugees from abroad.

The Foreign Ministry denied the Spanish newspaper's claims, saying that Ukraine's goal is “to create positive motivation, not obstacles, to encourage the voluntary return of our citizens”.

Strike on Kryvyi Rih

Russian troops hit an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region. The head of the city's Defense Council, Oleksandr Vilkul, said it was a ballistic missile and urged people to prepare for “hard news”.

As of the evening, the number of victims reached 15, including a child. One woman was rescued from the rubble, where she had been trapped for 4 hours. Another man died.

Other news of the day

• Orban: The war will end in 2025 either through negotiations or the destruction of one of the parties.
• There are no bills to lower the mobilization age to 18 are in the Rada, MPs reported.
• The war correspondent of hromadske was recognized as the journalist of the year.
• The Defense Ministry asks the Rada to postpone the draft law on demobilization until March, UP says.
• Podcaster Friedman wants to conduct an interview with Zelenskyy in Russian: as a Christmas and Hanukkah gift.