To Stand Strong Against All Odds: Stories of Resilience at the Museum of Civilian Voices by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

This collection at the Museum of Civilian Voices brings together stories of people who have gone through the most difficult trials of war. They lost their homes, loved ones, and health, yet they preserved the strength to keep living, dreaming, and inspiring the world.

Eleven-year-old Roman Oleksiv miraculously survived a missile strike in Vinnytsia in 2022, lost his mother, and is now gradually returning to an active life, finding himself through creativity.

Fifteen-year-old Yana Stepanenko lost her legs during the shelling of the Kramatorsk railway station in 2022. Today, her running with prosthetics has become a global symbol of Ukrainian resilience.

Fourteen-year-old Nastia Tsiapalo survived a missile strike in Ternopil in 2025, lost her mother and grandfather, but found the strength to go on living after a tragedy that changed her life forever. 

Eleven-year-old Kyrylo Krynytsky dreams above all of the simplest yet most important thing in life – taking his first independent steps.

This collection is about young people whose courage was recognized by the President of Ukraine, and about Ukrainians whose life stories were followed and with whom the entire country deeply empathized. 

Despite pain, loss, and severe trials, they find the strength to move forward, recover, dream, and inspire the whole nation with their resilience, bravery, and faith in life.