Ukrainian Witness

On the early morning February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian war that started eight years ago with the annexation of Crimea and occupation of Donbas territories has moved into a new phase. It is up to the historians to choose a name for it. For now, according to the UN for the first month of the full-fledged military aggression more than 4 million Ukrainians had to leave the country, and 7 million became internally displaced persons. At least 1 417 civilians have been registered as killed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This tragic statistic does not include people who perished in Mariupol, Volnovakha, Izium, Popasna, Trostianets and other cities that in the beginning of April continue to be under attack or occupation.

In the face of aggression against Ukrainian identity itself, Ukrainian academia appeared to be under the exceptional threat. Scholars, their research projects and livelihoods, universities, archives, museums, libraries are becoming the targets along with military and civilian infrastructure.

A minimum of ten scholars and staff members of various academic institutions have perished during the first months of the full-scale invasion. The fates of our colleagues from the universities in Berdiansk, Mariupol, Irpin are unknown. The striking photos of the bombed-out Karazin Kharkiv National University travelled around the world. Cultural community was shocked by the news about the burning down of the globally renowned Ukrainian naïve artist Maria Prymachenko museum in the first days of invasion. The Kuindzhi museum followed the same fate in Mariupol, as well as the historical Chernihiv venue of the local museum, one of the most prominent in the country. There is ample evidence that on occupied territories Russian militaries kidnap and torture people with pro-Ukrainian views as well as confiscate and burn books about Ukrainian history from the local libraries and schools. Western academic institutions have kindly introduced multiple scholarships to support their Ukrainian colleagues but unfortunately not all of them have opportunity to use this chance. Ukrainian male scholars who are exempt from mandatory mobilisation are not let out of the country to conduct their research in safety because of the current regulations.

However, Ukrainian researchers like the whole Ukrainian people proved to be irrepressible and resilient. We see how Ukrainian scholars worldwide and in Ukraine are uniting to promote Ukrainian agenda. We know that some people put aside their research and have joined Ukrainian armed forces or territorial defence, continuously take part in charity projects, assist refugees, evacuate people from besieged cities. This story is also about courage, cooperation and resistance of academic community in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Witness is a project launched by Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies during the first weeks of the full-fledged Russian aggression on Ukraine. We collect the stories from Ukrainian scholars – their experiences, thoughts, and ideas about the war. The project aims to provide first hand information about what is happening to Ukrainians researchers and Ukrainian academia, to record this plethora of experiences for history and to give an opportunity for the foreign audience to see the events through the eyes of Ukrainian scholars. Thus, we collect texts in any format: diaries, reflections, stories about what is happening here and now, what one sees, hears and feels.

We are honoured that these Ukrainian voices will sound here.

Contact

Please ask your questions and email your contributions to Ukrainian.witness@ires.uu.se

IRES has launched a project where Ukrainian scholars are invited to share their experiences, thoughts and ideas about the war. We are collecting texts from Ukrainian scholars that will be published on the IRES website and possibly in a book (if we manage to gather enough material). You are welcome to submit your texts in any format: diaries, reflections, a story about what is happening here and now, what you see, hear and feel. There is no word count and even small several paragraph texts are welcome. There are no deadlines, we are collecting texts as long as the war lasts.

English is preferable but if it’s more comfortable for you to write in Ukrainian or other languages please do it. The authors decide themselves if they want their names to be published. Please ask your questions and email your contributions to Ukrainian.witness@ires.uu.se

Kostiantyn Zadorozhny: These bombs freak my cat out

Khrystyna Semeryn: The five lessons of war

Maryna Skorokhod: Our previous life is not gonna be back

Iryna Matsyshyna: Russian tanks are staying in my vegetable garden

Volodymyr Shelukhin: The Russians are destroying our past with such brutality that it leaves us nothing but the future

Svitlana Zapara: The basement of our university became a safe space for foreign students who could not leave Sumy

Hanna Anisimova: Det är så universell ondska föds ur universell likgiltighet

Kostiantyn Zadorozhny: Old Cossack cities are staying on the way of the enemy invasion

Julia Buyskykh: Why is the Russian army fighting women and kittens?