Description
«De-occupied: Stories of Ukrainian Resistance» is a reportage collection based on Ukraїner’s expeditions to the territories of Ukraine liberated from Russian occupation in April-November 2022.
While Ukraїner is known for its expeditions around Ukraine, we never have thought we would make ones to document the war and occupation. The term «occupation» has been brought back to our vocabularies since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and gained bigger momentum with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The territories we talk about in this book were liberated — «de-occupied» — within months. The Ukraїner’s team visited Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, Balakliia, Izium, Kupiansk, Kherson, and other places collecting various accounts of life under occupation. We talked to the Ukrainian military, police officers, volunteers, partisans, and just locals whose stories recount the tragedy of occupation as well the brave resistance of Ukrainians.
The full-scale Russian war against Ukraine is not over yet, and many cities, towns, and villages are still awaiting to be de-occupied. The stories collected in this book are vivid snapshots of the reality that we haven’t had the time to fully reflect on. Ukraine needs the world’s support to liberate all its territories from the Russian occupants and prevent the tragedy of war from happening again.
Bio
Bogdan Logvynenko (born in 1988 in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian journalist, writer, and founder of the Ukraїner media platform and publishing house.
In the years preceding Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, together with Ukraїner’s team, he travelled across Ukraine, gathering stories of people who preserve local traditions and drive social initiatives.
In 2022, he carried out a series of expeditions and documented the journey through territories liberated from Russian occupation. The result is this collection of stories — living accounts of survival and defiance.
Through the voices of everyday Ukrainians — civilians, volunteers, and soldiers — Logvynenko captures the raw, unfiltered reality of war: the brutal pain of Russian occupation and the extraordinary triumph of resistance.
