This is a collection of reports by the founder of Ukraïner, Bohdan Logvynenko, about his trips to the de-occupied villages and cities of Ukraine from April to November 2022. The book is arranged chronologically in line with the Ukrainian defence forces liberating Russian-occupied settlements..
The importance and timeliness of this book lie in the opportunity to give a voice to the people who survived the Russian occupation. In the foreword, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk writes, “It often lacks resonance against the backdrop of statements by politicians who suggest handing over the occupied territories to the aggressor country and satisfying its imperial appetites. The voice of the survivors makes such appeals immoral.”
Each story has its own narrator, people who agreed to describe their experiences. Alongside the eyewitness recounts of shelling, torture, and atrocities committed by the occupiers against civilians, there are life-affirming stories about saving an old oak tree, resistance to the Russians, and happy moments of liberation. After all, as one of the book’s heroes said, “We hear cannonades, but my heart is calm: these are Ukrainians.”
”De-occupation” differs visually from the rest of our books by the publishing house, as the photographs in it are in black and white and carry an additional emotional impact. At the same time, this makes the book more affordable for the general public. The publication is part of a multimedia project, so all the photos can be viewed in colour on the website, and you can also watch videos from the expedition if you like.
The book’s title and headings are set in the Volja font by Ukrainian type designer and graphic arts researcher Marcela Mozhyna. She created it as a tribute to the work of Nil Khasevych, a famous graphic artist of the mid-20th century who is considered the chief artist of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
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The book is available in Ukrainian.
