Concert in Pineto

The other day, a charity evening called “Grazie, Italia” was held in the Italian town of Pineto, Abruzzo region. Thank you, Italy is what Ukrainians say to Italians for their support and assistance during the war.

In general, since February, Italy has accepted about 120,000 Ukrainian children and mothers forced to flee from the war in their country. In particular, the Abruzzo region has become one of the leaders in Italy, despite its relatively small territory. Here, about ten thousand Ukrainians were accepted for full support and medical care.

The charity event was organized by the Ukrainian Association of the same name “Grazie, Italia”. The event was supported by many Ukrainian artists, in particular – Nataliya Buchynska, Volodymyr Hryshko, Mila Nitich, Mykhailo Hrytskan, the band “Anna-Maria”. The singers performed lyrical songs in Ukrainian and Italian, as a sign of respect for the Italian language, culture and traditions.

The mayor of Pineto, Roberto Verocchio, showed special support for Ukrainians during Russia’s war against Ukraine. For which he was thanked with a special honorary award from the charity association “Grazie, Italia” during the event. The hosts of the evening were Ukrainian journalist Maryna Chankova and host Danylo Yezhgurov. The event was held in Ukrainian and Italian.
The purpose of the evening is to raise funds for the “Mother and Baby” charitable foundation, which has been providing assistance to children with physical and mental disabilities for many years. With the beginning of the Russian invasion, this fund began to work in Europe, in particular in Italy.

“Mother and Baby” was able to save the lives of hundreds of seriously injured children. Among them is Kyrylo Devyatko, an eleven-year-old resident of Kharkiv, in front of whom a projectile killed his mother. Kyrylo himself received dozens of shrapnel wounds. In difficult military conditions, Kharkiv doctors performed an emergency operation.

But in general, it turned out that one fragment remained, which descended to the carotid artery and caused a stroke of an eleven-year-old boy. The operation in Europe became the only possibility of survival for Kirill. The charity foundation “Mother and Baby” managed to organize it in Italy and transported the boy by private air ambulance to the city of Padua. The surgical intervention was successful. Now Kirill is undergoing rehabilitation in the Italian town of Pineto. Kyrylo and his father Vladyslav became honored guests of the “Grazie, Italia” charity evening.

The organizers of the event and Ukrainian singers hope that “Grazie, Italia” concerts will soon be held in many Italian cities.

As part of the charity evening, funds were collected for the “Mother and Baby” charity organization, which for many years in Ukraine has been helping and supporting mothers of children with physical or mental disabilities and which has been working in Italy since the beginning of the war, helping many Ukrainian refugee families in a difficult situation.

“During the first month of the war, we managed to bring to Italy 100 children from Buchi, who were in a difficult condition: with shot spines, without arms, without legs, with bullets in their heads. We managed to bring them all alive. And today, thanks to caring people and, first of all, the country of Italy, which provides these children with everything they need, the children are starting to recover and be discharged,” said Anna Melnychuk, head of the board of the all-Ukrainian charitable organization “Mother and Baby”.

Well-known Ukrainian and Italian artists sang for the guests of the event, including maestro Volodymyr Hryshko, a recognized Ukrainian tenor who performed with the soloist of the Metropolitan Opera, Montserrat Caballe; Ukrainian singer Nataliya Buchynska, Ukrainian pop singer Mila Nitich, Ukrainian duet Anna-Maria, Mariam and the group The Shadows.

The songs were sung in Ukrainian and Italian as a sign of respect for the Italian people and their culture.

The mayor of Pineto, Roberto Verrocchio, was awarded a special honorary award by the organizers for helping Ukrainian refugees affected by the Russian invasion. “Children and their well-being are what we are here for today. With the beginning of the war, many child victims of the war from Ukraine were taken to various regions of Italy, including Pineto. Today, we unite for the sake of peace and solidarity with Ukraine,” said Roberto Verrocchio during the event.

The event was facilitated by Proloco Pineto in cooperation with the charitable association “Gioia” and other partners under the patronage of the municipality.