This paper examines how photographs, online posts, mapping initiatives, and expert commentary narrate about urban ecosystems in post-Soviet mass housing estates in the context of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and debates on postwar reconstruction. Focusing on Northern Saltivka, one of the largest mass housing estates in Kharkiv, it proposes the notion of a narrative of ecocide as an analytical lens for tracing how environmental damage is articulated in public discourse. Late Soviet media portrayed mass housing estates as integrated urban ecosystems in which green zones, water sources, and landscape design were crucial to the microdistrict logic. This historical framing provides a contrast for reading contemporary accounts of wartime destruction. Today, damage to greenery, soils, and water infrastructure is rarely narrated through spectacular events alone. To situate these narratives within broader urban imaginaries, the analysis engages Simo Laakkonen’s distinction between the “shock city” and the “model city.” Environmental discourse becomes a key medium through which resilience and postwar futures are negotiated. References to green technologies, restored parks, and renewed attention to natural resources align mass housing estates with “building back better” agendas. At the same time, nature enters commemorative practices through proposals for memorial parks and trees. In this configuration, post-Soviet mass housing estates emerge as anthropocenic landscapes, where environmental repair mediates between Soviet-era planning ideals, wartime destruction, and the production of postwar memory.

The study is devoted to Telegram channels in Mariupol that emerged during the occupation (confirmed by the presence of Russian symbols in the design of the channels' basic frames, such as the flag and the imperial eagle; the formulation of politically biased slogans; and the date of commencement of operation). Particular attention is paid to the channel “Mariupol is ours,” which was founded on March 12, 2022. The assault on the city by Russian troops continued until May 20, 2022. The channel began operating in the besieged city, not only under fire, but also in the absence of electricity, heat, mobile communications, television broadcasting, and other infrastructure. This testified to a conscious information policy that emerged even before the city was conquered and continues to this day, transforming itself to suit new tasks and serving as a tool for colonizing the media space. The channel has a stable audience of about 70,000 subscribers, professionally produced content that is predominantly local (an average of about 30 posts per day), and a high level of citation and promotion on other Telegram channels. Environmental issues occupy an important place in the messages of this channel. They first appeared in the summer of 2022 and are regularly reproduced. Sometimes, several posts per day are devoted to environmental issues. This can be explained by seasonal exacerbations, such as a critical shortage of drinking water in the summer, as well as the serious attitude of the channel's authors and moderators towards this topic. Environmental narratives are used as a way to manipulate public opinion and involve city residents in the broader pseudo-non-ideological agenda of Russian discourse. The contexts of their application and the tasks which they perform are considered. It is shown that the solutions of environmental problems are presented as a justification for the need to further seize territories in Donbas and Ukraine for various audiences (Mariupol residents, Russians, representatives of the Global South). The focus of this study are the chronology and the structure of environmental narratives of this Telegram channel in occupied Mariupol.

The Russian war against Ukraine is accompanied by widespread violence against nature, including the large-scale destruction of wildlife, increasingly framed in scholarly, public, and political discourse as ecocide. This raises an important question: how can we communicate the realities of war and environmental destruction to children? This report examines narrative strategies that adapt traumatic wartime experiences for young audiences while fostering a sense of responsibility for protecting the natural environment. The presentation focuses on two case studies. The first analyzes children’s literature published in Ukraine between 2014 and 2025, during the period of Russian aggression and the full-scale war, as well as children’s animated films addressing the conflict, with particular attention to ecological themes. The study examines narrative techniques and visual strategies through which the realities of war and environmental destruction are conveyed to children in an accessible manner. At the same time, the task of narrating the war and its ecological consequences often falls on the parents. The second case examines interactive approaches in which volunteers or educators engage directly with children. This includes the example of a non-formal school under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Tallinn, Estonia. Its organizer personally writes and illustrates stories about war and nature, depicting interactions between Ukrainian soldiers, animals, and the natural environment at the front line, and then conducts collective readings and discussions with children. These narrative strategies serve both therapeutic purposes - helping children cope with trauma - and educational goals, nurturing values such as kindness, compassion, humanism, and environmental stewardship. They also portray Ukrainian soldiers as defenders not only of the nation and its people but also of its environment and wildlife. Thus, the paper demonstrates how stories about war and ecological violence can be adapted for young audience, functioning as both a means of processing trauma and a tool for fostering patriotism, love for the homeland, empathy, humanistic values, and ecological awareness. Although children do not yet understand the term ‘ecocide,’ this way of presenting information can help foster basic ecological awareness, a sense of responsibility for nature, empathy for living beings, and the development of critical thinking skills regarding human impact on the environment.