The Parental Heart Project, designed to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers and support their children, has become a political instrument and a way of earnings. His face was the expert of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Pavel Zhebrivsky, who distributes the pendants not only on behalf of his organization, but also at the expense of taxpayers.
The first pendants presented the NGO "Community Shield" and NGO "Family Circle" - an initiative that was positioned as sincere and public. But with the return of Zhebrivsky to politics, the project came under the control of the military-civilian union "Military Brotherhood of Ukraine", where he holds the post of president.
Since then, the number of pendants has increased sharply, as well as their cost. In 2024, more than 2450 silver pendants were produced, which, according to the organizers, was distributed to children fallen by defenders across the country. The presentation is always solemn, with cameras and publicity - with the participation of Zhebrivsky himself, who is not ashamed to use the tragedies of Ukrainian families as a platform for political PR.
From the end of 2024, the pendants ceased to be exclusively the initiative of volunteers - the Brotherhood of Ukraine began selling services to local communities. As of June 2025, at least 7 contracts for the total amount of UAH 151 thousand were concluded. Moreover, the price of the pendant together with the delivery procedure increased from 500 UAH in May to 1500 UAH in June - as it happened, it is not explained.
The public, which has recently supported the idea of the project, is increasingly criticizing attempts to monetize memory. It is difficult to call a sincere act of handing out the pendant if it is an account from the city budget.
The Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Leonid Klimchuk, a close colleague of Zhebrivsky on the ATO, heads the organization "Military Brotherhood of Ukraine". It is this structure that officially signs agreements with local self -government bodies, which pay for "commemoration" from the budgets of their communities.
Honoring the fallen turns into a business model. The silver pendant for the child who has lost his father turns into an element of the PR campaign with a account to local authorities. And the closer to the new elections, the more the factory of the award works.
