Memorial Platform: Ukraine’s largest initiative to honor those killed by Russia’s war — and how you can help (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members, 

Thank you for your continued support — and for your feedback. We’ve consistently heard from you that there’s interest in getting more involved to help Ukraine, so today we’d like to share with you another initiative you can support: Memorial Platform. 

Memorial Platform is an organization that has been working since the first days of the full-scale invasion in March 2022 to commemorate those killed by Russia’s war. 

Memorial Platform is Ukraine’s largest digital platform dedicated to honoring those lost to the war, both fallen soldiers and killed civilians, and implementing memorialization initiatives: They’ve published over 10,000 stories, written hundreds of articles for Ukrainian media, and conducted dozens of awareness campaigns, film screenings, and exhibitions. 

Their mission is to make sure that the victims of war are not reduced to numbers, but instead remembered for the individuals they were, both preserving history and inspiring support for those still fighting for freedom. 

Memorial Platform recently launched a campaign on GoFundMe with the goal of 45,000 pounds — this sum would cover around 50% of their annual budget, supporting a core team of 14 people. 

The organization was recently hit by the U.S. freeze on foreign aid: About 60% of Memorial Platform’s budget was from USAID. Even prior to the freeze though, they’ve started to raise funding for their initiative from individuals in Ukraine, to make them less dependent on the requirements of donors or funding schedules.

In practice, 45,000 pounds means that the Memorial Platform team will be able to: 

Tell around the stories of 1,500 civilians and military personnel who have been killed, like those featured on the Memorial Platform home page

Produce 100 video stories commemorating fallen soldiers. These videos are shown in public spaces — for example, on the largest screens in shopping malls in Kyiv and on public transport — and here’s what they look like.

Publish multiple, full-length documentaries on YouTube about fallen Ukrainian soldiers

Write dozens of articles about Ukrainians who have lost their lives and the culture of remembrance for publishing in major Ukrainian media outlets, like this story published in English in Ukrainska Pravda 

Memorial Platform also works on projects like this illustrated memorial to the fallen combat medic Cheka, which tells her life story and shares her writing from her journal, and creating Books of Remembrance that feature the stories of all those lost from a community and the community’s resistance efforts during the war. 

In 2024, Memorial Platform also helped organize the “Table of Remembrance” campaign, a nationwide initiative honoring fallen soldiers on Aug. 29, Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance for Fallen Defenders. The “missing man table” is an American tradition of honoring fallen soldiers, which was introduced to Mariia Hrabar, the wife of fallen Ukrainian soldier Illia Hrabar, by U.S. military personnel. In 2023, she organized a similar initiative in Ukraine for the first time, involving around 100 restaurants which set tables to honor fallen soldiers. In 2024, she approached the Memorial Platform team with a proposal to collaborate — the campaign grew to over 800 restaurants in Ukraine, as well as restaurants in six other countries.

You can help Memorial Platform continue their work by making a donation to their GoFundMe here — even a few dollars make a big difference. You can also help by sharing their fundraiser with those in your own community. 

Thank you for your support — and we hope you find these letters highlighting Ukrainian organizations, their work, and ways you can get involved insightful.