31 March, 03:25 PM
Special project
It is the largest Ukrainian digital platform dedicated to honouring fallen soldiers and civilians by preserving their stories. (Photo: Memorial Platform)
As Russia’s war against Ukraine rages into its third year, tens of thousands of lives — both military and civilian — have been lost. Behind the growing numbers are names, faces, families, and memories. For the Memorial Platform, an independent Ukrainian NGO, honoring those lives is a mission — and one now under threat.
Founded in the earliest days of the full-scale invasion, Memorial Platform has become Ukraine’s largest digital archive documenting casualties of the war. It has collected and published over 9,500 stories of fallen soldiers and civilians, working closely with tens of thousands of families across the country. But the organization’s ability to continue its work is now in jeopardy due to funding cuts.
“People are not just numbers,” the organization says in its appeal. “They are lives, stories, and memories that must not be forgotten.”
A member of the international Casualty Recorders Network led by Every Casualty Counts, Memorial Platform is at the forefront of documenting war losses and preserving memory through digital projects, books of remembrance, illustrated biographies, and exhibitions. Its data has contributed to major reports by Human Rights Watch, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, Truth Hounds, and other international rights groups.
The team also plays a role in global advocacy. In cooperation with Every Casualty Counts, Memorial Platform brings information about Ukrainian war casualties to the United Nations and other international bodies.
But now, the organization says, a critical loss of financial support threatens to halt its work. “Without sufficient funding, we risk losing irreplaceable testimonies,” the team warns.
To raise the needed support, Memorial Platform has launched a public crowdfunding campaign aimed at sustaining its operations and preserving the stories of those who’ve died.
Among the group’s recent projects is an illustrated tribute to a fallen Ukrainian combat medic known as Cheka, based on her personal journal. Another initiative, Books of Remembrance, collects community-level accounts of lives lost and documents local resistance to Russian occupation.
One of Memorial’s most visible public efforts is the Table of Memory campaign, launched in 2024 to honor Ukrainian defenders on Aug. 29, the national Day of Remembrance for Fallen Defenders. Inspired by the American tradition of the “missing man table,” the campaign saw over 800 restaurants across Ukraine — and six other countries — set empty tables in tribute. The idea came from Mariia Hrabar, widow of fallen soldier Illia Hrabar, who brought the tradition to Ukraine after learning about it from U.S. military personnel.
In total, Memorial Platform has helped organize exhibitions in 20 countries, published over 230 memorial articles in national and international outlets, produced 18 documentary films, and broadcast stories across 500 public interactive screens.
The NGO’s message is simple but urgent: “True peace is impossible without memory.”
Memorial Platform is asking the public to join in its mission — to speak the names of the fallen, to keep their stories alive, and to ensure that “Never Again” means something real.
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