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Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation

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Ruslan Shostak
Charitable Foundation
Благодійна організація
"Благодійний фонд «Руслана Шостака»"
FounderRuslan Shostak
Founded atDnipro, Ukraine
TypeCharity
44821459
HeadquartersKyiv, Ukraine
Location
CEO
Natalia Maslo
Websitehttps://rush.org.ua/en

Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization that specializes in helping the Ukrainian Defense Forces and those affected by the Russian-Ukrainian War. The organization is engaged in the evacuation of orphans from Ukraine during the war — within the framework of the "Childhood without War" project and the purchase and supply of wheeled vehicles for the needs of Ukraine's defenders, as well as their maintenance — within the framework of the "HeroCar" project.

As stated on the organization's website, its mission is "to save children, preserve their physical and psychological health during the war in Ukraine" and the main task is "to give a shelter and protect orphaned children, and in the future to help them socialize and even find their reliable family."[1]

In 2025, an investigative report by “Slidstvo.Info,” based on the findings of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, published an exposé on the “Childhood Without War” evacuation project.[2] According to the report, the children evacuated to Turkey were subjected to systemic violations, including physical and psychological abuse, food restrictions, and the effective denial of access to education and medical care. The monitoring group also documented the foundation’s prohibition on allowing external specialists from the Red Cross and UNICEF to meet with the children.[3]

History

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Registered on June 15, 2022. The founder is Ruslan Shostak — Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist, founder and co-owner of the national retail chains EVA and VARUS. Executive director — Natalia Maslo.

The foundation became well-known after raising 3.9 million euros for the relocation and accommodation of about two thousand Ukrainian orphans in Turkey.[4]

On March 27, 2023, the foundation announced its readiness to accommodate Ukrainian orphans and children deprived of parental care, illegally deported to Russia, in hotels in Turkey rented for the "Childhood without w ar" project. [5]

Projects

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Taking into account the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the current activities are focused on the safety of orphans and bringing victory closer. This goal is realized through two charitable projects: Childhood without War and HeroCar.

Childhood without war

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The project aims to evacuate 5000 children from the frontline areas.[6] It is planned that after the war, all children will return to their homeland.[7]

As of March 2023, within the framework of the "Childhood without War" project, Ruslan Shostak's foundation has raised 4.67 million euros for the evacuation and maintenance of orphans and has engaged more than 300 volunteers and ambassadors.[8] The project carried out the largest evacuation of orphans since the Second World War: 1700 children and their accompanying persons were evacuated to Turkey from the frontline territories of Ukraine (as of May 2023). [8]

HeroCar

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As part of the HeroCar project, founded by the Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation, as of April 3, 2023, the Ukrainian military received 19 pickup trucks and several buses. The foundation has also launched the only national platform for providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with wheeled vehicles.[9]

The project also takes care of the operational maintenance of the cars — repair and technical inspection.[10]

Investigation

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In March 2024, a monitoring group from the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights conducted a visit to hotels in Turkey where more than 500 orphaned children and children deprived of parental care had been placed as part of the “Childhood Without War” evacuation project implemented by the Ruslan Shostak Charitable Foundation.[11] According to the monitoring report, published within a journalistic investigation, employees of the foundation and some accompanying staff restricted children’s access to education and medical care, used physical and psychological violence (including beatings with phone chargers and other degrading treatment), used tablets and phones as tools of reward and punishment, and involved minors in promotional and charitable campaigns for the foundation. Journalists published excerpts from the monitoring report and interviews with the children, some of which corroborated the findings presented in the document.[12][13]

The report also stated that the foundation restricted access for local authorities, international organisations (including delegations of the Red Cross and UNICEF), and psychologists to the children, and lacked clear procedures for staff selection and oversight of personnel inside the hotel. The monitoring team recorded instances of sexual relationships between minors and hotel employees, as well as cases of children born from such relationships. Following the visit, Ukrainian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into alleged failure to ensure the safety and well-being of the children; the case was later closed due to insufficient evidence.[14][15]

In November 2025, journalists obtained a document outlining a so-called plan to “neutralize” the impact of the investigation, which included proposed media strategies and the involvement of controlled influencers.[16] The disclosure prompted additional accusations that the foundation attempted to discredit the journalists rather than facilitate a transparent investigation of the reported facts.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "About Childhood without war charity project". Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  2. ^ Горон, Діана (2025-12-01). "Били й обмежували в їжі: «Слідство. Інфо» оприлюднило звіт Офісу омбудсмана про дітей-сиріт, евакуйованих фондом Шостака до Туреччини". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  3. ^ Горон, Діана (2025-12-01). "Били й обмежували в їжі: «Слідство. Інфо» оприлюднило звіт Офісу омбудсмана про дітей-сиріт, евакуйованих фондом Шостака до Туреччини". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  4. ^ Ivan Boyko (2023-02-28). "Ruslan Shostak Foundation raised 3.9 million euros to evacuate and support orphans from Ukraine to Turkey during the war" (in Ukrainian). UNIAN. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  5. ^ "Shostak Foundation offered to accommodate illegally deported Ukrainian orphans in its hotels in Turkey" (in Ukrainian). Interfax. 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  6. ^ "Childhood without war. How children from the frontline regions are evacuated to Turkey" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Truth. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  7. ^ Oleg Makarov (2023-02-28). "Ruslan Shostak Foundation has raised 3.9 million euros for the evacuation and maintenance of orphans from Ukraine in Turkey" (in Ukrainian). Glavred. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  8. ^ a b "Charitable Foundation that carried out the largest evacuation of orphans since the Second World War celebrates a year of work" (in Ukrainian). NV. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  9. ^ "HeroCar Project: How philanthropists provide Ukraine's defenders with cars" (in Ukrainian). TV Channel Dim. 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  10. ^ "A single platform for providing the Armed Forces with cars has appeared in Ukraine" (in Ukrainian). Ukrinform. 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  11. ^ "Дітей били зарядками до телефонів, обмежували у їжі, змушували зніматися у промовідео, — звіт Офісу омбудсмена після відвідин українських дітей-сиріт, евакуйованих Фондом Шостака до Туреччини". Slidstvo.info (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. ^ Горон, Діана (2025-12-01). "Били й обмежували в їжі: «Слідство. Інфо» оприлюднило звіт Офісу омбудсмана про дітей-сиріт, евакуйованих фондом Шостака до Туреччини". detector.media (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  13. ^ "Знущалися психологічно та фізично. Журналісти Слідство.Інфо презентували розслідування про життя сиріт з Дніпра у Туреччині". NV (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  14. ^ "Евакуйовані до Туреччини сироти розповіли про фізичне та психологічне насильство за кордоном - розслідування - ZAXID.NET". zaxid.net. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  15. ^ "«Слідство.Інфо»: Фонд бізнесмена Шостака надіслав журналістам документ із «планом нейтралізації впливу» їхнього розслідування (ДОПОВНЕНО)". Hromadske (in Ukrainian). 2025-11-19. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  16. ^ "«Залучити контрольованого інфлюєнсера». Фонд бізнесмена Руслана Шостака надіслав журналістам документ з планом нейтралізації впливу розслідування «Слідства.Інфо»". Slidstvo.info (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  17. ^ "Shostak Foundation emails investigation neutralisation plan to Slidstvo.Info". IMI. 2025-11-19. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
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