LocationsSouth of my home. Ukraine
June 30, 2026
OPEN SOUL
If you drive west from the city of Zaporizhzhia, the sky gradually changes — the factory smoke starts to clear, and somewhere between the fields and windbreaks of Kherson Oblast the heavens grow wider and higher.
That's the sky Oksana Pasichnyk sees: She moved here to Kherson from the north of Ukraine, Zhytomyr Oblast, to be with the man she loved, and she stayed for good.
“That (Zhytomyr) was the homeland where I was born, and this (Kherson) is the homeland where I became myself,” she says
For fourteen years, Oksana has run her local Centre of Culture and Leisure. The building is a former Lutheran church from 1868, an architectural landmark.
“We had a very rich and active spiritual and cultural life,” Oksana recalls. “In 2022, we were preparing a concert programme for International Women's Day on 8 March.”
The concert never happened. When the full-scale invasion began, locals organised a humanitarian hub here. During the occupation and the fighting, the building took some damage.
“They did a lot of damage, but they didn't break us,” says Oksana as she gives a tour of the damaged building. “Cultural life is thriving here now, a lot of children have come back.”
Work on a new roof for the building is now being completed. The renovation is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of the Republic of Korea.
“It's such great joy!” Oksana says, obviously extremely happy. “This is the centre of our cultural life, and it already has a roof — a brand-new, whole roof!"
But for the community, this is more than a renovation — it's a revival, a restoration of identity.
“I love this place for its Kherson character,” Oksana says of her fellow villagers. “People are hardworking. Here we are at war, and what are people buying at the market? Flowers, trees, shrubs. Nobody has shut themselves away. Their souls are so open.”
This year she herself planted apricots, peaches, berries, and lots of flowers: “After all this horror, everyone wants to look at something beautiful,” she says.
A UNIQUE LAND
A connection to nature is an important part of the south of Ukraine. Ihor Holovko knows every corner of his community. He was born in Velyka Oleksandrivka, in the northern part of west-bank Kherson Oblast, built his life here, and today works as deputy head of the military administration for critical infrastructure recovery.
“We have a river, pine forests — four forests surround us,” Ihor says. “We have beautiful land. The mighty Dnipro, two seas, Askania-Nova — all of that is now occupied. It hurts so much when what our fathers and grandfathers built is being destroyed."
Velyka Oleksandrivka also came under occupation. Eight thousand people now live here. Some of them are internally displaced persons from the occupied left bank (eastern bank of the Dnipro River) of Kherson Oblast.
During our conversation, Ihor holds up a shell fragment — one of thousands that have landed in the community. The equipment at the municipal yard was also affected.
“Our old garbage truck was hit by shelling,” Ihor says. “It was nearly destroyed. We spent a very long time repairing it. And during that time a lot of garbage piled up on the streets.”
The community now has a new large garbage truck, purchased with the support of UNDP and the Government of the Republic of Korea.
“This vehicle came to the community at just the right time, and in just the right way,” says Ihor, adding, “Our task right now is to not raise tariffs for people, but to raise the quality of services. We want our people to live better. To feel that someone cares.”
COSSACK SPIRIT
“The Cossack spirit. I think that's what sets Zaporizhzhia Oblast apart from the rest," says Maryna Kononenko with a smile. She was born in Zaporizhzhia — a large industrial city in the southeast of Ukraine. The front line is 20 kilometres away.
“Missiles are flying overhead, and I’m struggling with my health problems,” Maryna says. “I don’t know which is scarier.”
In 2022, Maryna was diagnosed with stage four cancer. She has endured 23 rounds of chemotherapy. The disease has damaged her joints, making it hard for her to get around on her own.
“I’m getting treatment and going through chemotherapy,” she says. “Every day I come in for procedures, for physical therapy.”
This was made possible by a social taxi — a vehicle provided by UNDP and the Government of the Republic of Korea.
Maryna has been using the service since October 2025. “I can go to any government office. And how grateful I am to the drivers,” she says, wiping away tears.
“I never could have imagined that I would one day need this kind of help myself.”
"South of My Home. Ukraine" is a collection of stories about people living in the south of the country under wartime conditions. About those who survived occupation and destruction — and kept going. Those who are reviving their culture and identity and rebuilding the daily lives of their communities. They come from different cities, they have different faces, and they feel different pains, but they are bound together by belonging to one land, and by their faith in it. Because recovery doesn't begin with buildings — it begins with people. UNDP and the Government of the Republic of Korea are alongside them as they walk the road to recovery.
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Photos: Nazarii Mazulyuk / UNDP in Ukraine
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