The Ukrainian Institute and Ukraїner have completed an international digital campaign about representatives of different national communities in Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. These stories are vivid examples of the multiculturalism of the Ukrainian mass resistance, refuting Russian narratives about a “Nazified society.” In a series of 11 videos, representatives of national communities and foreigners living in Ukraine tell in their native languages how they fight, volunteer and work in various fields for the victory of Ukraine and call on the world to support Ukraine.
Participants in the campaign include:
Zhan Beleniuk is an athlete in peaceful life, an Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and a Member of Parliament of Ukraine. After February 24, he started volunteering, addressing humanitarian requests of war victims in the liberated territories.
Mark Wilkins is a director and screenwriter, originally from Switzerland, who has been living in Ukraine for more than 5 years. 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.
Paul Manandiz 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 among the world audience.
Alberto Cortez is an athlete from Bolivia who has been living and working in Ukraine for many years. Has his own martial arts school, with the beginning of a full-scale invasion, he and the team of his own charitable foundation “Esperanza” create modular houses for temporary housing of people who lost their homes due to Russian attacks.
Paolo Coia is an Italian artist and designer who has been living 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.
Ayder Rustemov is the head of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Crimea. He volunteered, and now he is engaged in information warfare, specifically to overcome Russian influence in Muslim countries.
Christian is a Transcarpathian Hungarian, DJ and sound producer under the pseudonym Christian Rythmique. 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 volunteers for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and helps with medical supplies.
Muhammed Ali 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 specific humanitarian requests.
Pavlo Khazan is the head of the scientific and technical department of the Environmental Monitoring Centre, he participated in the war in the east in 2014, and now he is a lieutenant colonel and commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine group.
Olga Solarz — ethnographer, translator. In 2014-2015, she actively carried volunteer assistance to volunteer battalions to the east of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she personally delivers humanitarian aid, equipment, medicines and clothing to the Ukrainian military to the front line and front-line territories.
The 8-week campaign on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram, reached 53,690,918 users in 14 countries: France, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Austria, South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Israel, Spain, Italy and Great Britain. The largest coverage was in Turkey with more than 21 million users, followed by Italy (7.8 million), Spain (6.5 million) and Great Britain and South Africa (more than 6.5 million both). Among more than 10.5 million views, the UK (27 %) and Turkey (24 %) have the highest share.
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This publication was produced jointly by Ukraïner and the Ukrainian Institute.
