Hello, world! I am an illustrator from Ukraine.
There is a war going on in my country now. The Russian Federation is taking actions that cannot be called anything other than genocide. The illustrations you can see below are dedicated to the struggle against Russian fascism in Ukraine.
Many people in the Mariupol city are still blocked. They have no food and clean water. They are fired on every day. People who was killed are remaining lying on the streets. Many families cannot find relatives, and the dead cannot be buried because of the shelling. If you saw the horrible footage of the Second World War, now Ukraine, which was also a fighter against fascism, has been turned into ruins.
If you know Pablo Picasso's famous painting "Guernica", this illustration is a reference to it. Guernica is a Spanish city that was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. Nowadays, many Ukrainian cities are experiencing the realities of Guernica.
Even in the worst times, there is hope. Our hope is our warriors. Our brave angels. Thanks to their struggle, Ukraine continues to live. Ukraine is fighting on all fronts, including diplomatic ones. We are fighting for the right to exist within sovereign borders. We are fighting for the right to happiness. And we fight for the values of the civilized world.
Our war for the right to exist has been going on for a long time. From the very beginning of the existence of our state, the neighboring country, first the Moscow Empire, then the USSR and now the Russian Federation - deny the existence of Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood and independence.
Many Ukrainians were deported to Siberia just because they were Ukrainians. The Holodomor of 1932-33 is one of the many proofs of the existence of the genocide of Ukrainians by northern neighbors. Also, there is a period in the history of Ukraine that called "Shot Renaissance". Many Ukrainian intellectuals were killed, imprisoned or deported by USSR government.
But despite this, Ukraine continues to live. Ukraine continues to fight. And I believe that the day will come when we will win. When Ukraine rises from the ruins and flourishes like never before.
Терпіть кайдани – то всесвітський сором, забуть їх, не розбивши, – гірший стид.
Tolerate shackles is a universal shame, to forget them without breaking them is the worst shame.
Quote by Lesya Ukrainka. One of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active political, civil, and feminist activist.
