Ukraine’s struggle for its land, identity and freedom has always been multicultural and multinational. Today, representatives of different national communities of Ukraine fight, volunteer and work side by side in various fields, united against a common enemy. Russia once again used the narrative of the “liberation of brotherly peoples” from “fascism” and “neo-Nazism” to start a major war in Ukraine. Russian propagandists continue to use similar messages for their disinformation campaigns.
The Ukrainian Institute and Ukraїner are launching a joint communication campaign. This is a series of videos — short monologues by foreigners and representatives of various ethnic communities in Ukraine, who share their experience of helping during the war and call on the world to support Ukraine.
Ukraine has become a battlefield, but this war is the war of the whole world, which seeks to preserve human values and freedoms.
Short videos in ten languages native to our heroes will be shared on social media in France, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Austria, South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Israel, Spain, Italy and Great Britain.
Heroes of the communication campaign about the national communities of Ukraine in the war against Russia:
Ayder Rustemov (in Turkish) is the head of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he has actively volunteered, and now he is engaged in information warfare, especially to overcome Russian influence in Muslim countries.
Muhammad Ali (in Arabic) is a programmer from Kharkiv who, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, has been evacuating elderly people from the frontline areas and addressing targeted humanitarian requests.
Pavlo Khazan (in Hebrew) heads the Scientific and Technical Department of the Environmental Monitoring Centre. He participated in the war in the east in 2014, and is currently a lieutenant colonel and group commander at the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Mark Wilkins (in German) is a director and screenwriter, originally from Switzerland, living in Ukraine for more than 5 years. After the full-scale invasion, he is engaged in active public activities to support Ukraine abroad. The founder of the film and fundraising project #u4ukraine, which films interviews with people and the consequences of the Russian invasion to show the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war to foreigners.
Zhan Beleniuk (in English) is an athlete in peaceful life, an Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, he actively volunteers, addressing humanitarian requests of war-affected people in the liberated territories.
Paolo Coia (in Italian) is an Italian artist and designer who lived in Ukraine for more than 6 years. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he became a volunteer, together with his Italian friends, he collected funds for the purchase of medicines, humanitarian aid and ambulances.
Roman Nikitenko (in Greek) is an ethnic Greek, in peaceful life he is an IT specialist who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Paul Manandiz (in French) is a French singer who currently lives in Ukraine, organises charity concerts in support of Ukraine and disseminates information about the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war to the world community.
Alberto Cortez (in Spanish) is an athlete from Bolivia who has been living and working in Ukraine for many years. He has his own martial arts school, and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he actively volunteers – with the team of his own charitable foundation “Esperanza”, they create modular houses for temporary accommodation of people who lost their homes due to Russian attacks.
Krisztián Skirjak (in Hungarian) is a Hungarian from Zakarpattia who worked as a DJ under the Christian Rythmique pseudonym. Before the Russian invasion, he used to live with his family in the town of Bucha near Kyiv, from where he evacuated in time when the Russian military invaded and committed a series of bloody war crimes. Subsequently, Christian returned to Bucha and is now a volunteer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and helps with medical supplies.
