Teen suicide in Kherson region, Russia, and the response to Professor Vasilenko's remarks: key highlights from December 24.

Teen Suicide from Kherson Region

The publication "Important Stories" released a joint investigation with an international team of journalists and lawyers from The Reckoning Project, detailing the story of Alexander Yakushenko, who was taken to Russia with his younger sister Kristina from a family-type home in the village of Tokarevka, Kherson region.

It is known that the young man later lived in the village of Akhtanizovskaya in the Krasnodar region with a family that had experience in fostering. In January 2024, at the age of 18, he hanged himself just a few kilometers from his new home — his body was discovered by workers heading to their shift in the morning.

Shortly before his death, he sent a voice message to his friends, expressing that he felt unwanted in his foster family and that "there would have been no problems if I had never come here."

Ukrainian law enforcement will investigate the case as a war crime resulting in death. The Security Service of Ukraine will take on the case.

First Funds from Frozen Assets — in Ukraine

Ukraine received $1 billion from the U.S. from frozen Russian assets. This is the first tranche of the $20 billion that the United States agreed to allocate as part of the G7 initiative.

Christmas in Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukrainians on Christmas, reminding them that the popular Christmas song "Shchedryk" was composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in Pokrovsk, which is now approaching the front line.

Additionally, he recalled the words of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who referred to current world events as "movement": “We strive to create, while for some, the meaning of life is to sow death. We want peace [...], but some find it ‘boring and lack movement’”.

Meanwhile, in Lviv, the largest trident made of didukhs in Ukraine was presented. Its height exceeds 7 meters and it is made up of approximately 340 didukhs woven by wounded soldiers of the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade.

Reaction to Professor Vasylenko's Words

The rector of Taras Shevchenko National University, Volodymyr Buhrov, promised to take measures prescribed by law regarding KNU professor Nikita Vasylenko, stating that he does not support his position.

The Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lysovoy called Vasylenko's remarks “unacceptable”, referring to his comments about "sex-hungry" Ukrainian women.

Meanwhile, the professor's daughter and editor-in-chief of the publication "Left Bank," Sonya Koshkina, criticized fellow journalists who mention her in the context of her father's statements, but did not want to discuss it "in essence," claiming that "everything is clear." She also reported receiving