On 24 February 2022, we all woke up as different people, yes. Could you go back in time and describe where you were on that day, how events unfolded for you?
What were you doing in the first days and weeks of the full-scale war?
I didn’t need train tickets to Kharkiv… On 24 February I was supposed to return from the winter holidays to Kharkiv, the city of my student days, but the war made its own adjustments. I was looking forward to a new job, a new semester of studies, a peaceful life, but instead I got complete uncertainty. I think this word best describes my emotional and physical state during the first week of the war. I didn’t know what to do next, I didn’t know what I felt, or maybe I didn’t feel anything. But I was one of those people who hoped for 2 to 3 weeks for a March coup in Russia and pinned my hopes on NATO to close the skies. So obviously the next chapter in my perception of the war was disappointment, despair, hatred. A crucial factor for me was the reassessment of my values and the realisation that I should look for a new way. A way where my life would be of value to the country. At a time when someone else’s life is being lost because of someone else’s will, mine is to make every effort to change this trend and bring benefits. Only then does it make sense.
I never went to Kharkiv, but I started helping the country from my hometown in the Kirovohrad region: my mother, I and my younger sister woven camouflage nets. I spent my entire scholarship on donations. At the same time, I was looking for opportunities to study abroad. That happened, but even from there, despite the seven and later ten-hour time difference, I volunteered. My first volunteering experience was with the then newly established Yellowblue Force Foundation. I realised that I could help Ukraine not only physically or financially, but also with my skills. So I joined the Foundation’s communications team and we are still working together today. I also volunteered with the Mentor Ukraine project, which aims to help talented Ukrainian students get scholarships to study abroad. It was a great honour for me to work with the largest charity NFT project in Ukraine – Meta History: Museum of War, which raised over $1.5 million for the country. Now I volunteer with the “Let’s See The Victory” charity, which provides military aid and also works to restore sight to the military and civilians so that as many Ukrainians as possible can see our victory.
You participated in the War Media Mobility Hub of the Souspilnist Foundation, could you please describe your experience within this programme, what you were able to do during your internship in the country’s leading media outlets? What do you think is the value of such programmes in general?
Participating in the War Media Mobility Hub was the final argument for my thesis: “I’m coming home”. I exchanged my peaceful life abroad for a life in Ukraine and activities that will make it peaceful. And it was the right decision. Yes, we are still fighting for peace, but at least my social role is bringing it closer. Participating in the internship programme made me realise the importance of the journalist’s mission. From now on, I will try to develop in this field.
I can say with confidence that I find my work interesting and rewarding. However, there is still room for growth and change.
What is your main focus today and what changes do you want to make in your work every day? How would you like to contribute to improving the world in general and life in our country in particular?
It is not enough to live a happy life, it is fundamentally important for me to make someone else happy. And the more people like me there are, the happier I am. That is my simple mechanism for happiness.
Yes, the news these days can’t make anyone particularly happy. But they tell the truth, and I want to see the day when one news can make 44 million people happy.
In your opinion, are young people in Ukraine today the driving force behind progress and development? What do we lack, perhaps as representatives of the younger generation, to really change the country and the world for the better?
I am sure that everyone can bring progress and development to their society, regardless of their age. However, young people still have a great desire for change, they believe in this world and that it can be changed.
We have all the resources to create change: enthusiasm, strength, access to information, and all we need is to believe in ourselves and realise that you can be more than you seem. That changing the world can start with you.
Perhaps this echoes a bit a previous question, but what contribution do you want to make as a journalist, as a Ukrainian citizen, as a human being, to your community, to your audience, to Ukraine in this period of youth? What do you want to do most in these certainly wonderful years of your life?
Actually, it’s hard to plan and imagine anything right now. It’s scary to even dream in the long term. The war has brought existential uncertainty, uncertainty about your future. So I try to make plans for the near future. I want to create something for my family. I realised once again that I love Ukrainian culture during my internship at Suspilne Kultura. I also realised how much I love the cities and towns of Ukraine when I travelled around. So now I want to combine everything into one: to create a project about the connection of culture, to tell how the culture of each city in Ukraine is intertwined with the global culture of the whole country and our DNA. I also want to finally stop writing “in a drawer” and try my hand as a writer. But it’s not certain yet, I still lack confidence. 🙂
Would you like to go abroad to work/study for a while?
Is the emigration of young people from Ukraine to more developed places on the planet a big problem in your opinion? Europe, USA, Canada, etc. Of course, we have been observing this phenomenon for a long time, and it started long before the full-scale war. But it seems that now, because of this war and the huge problems it has caused, this emigration will only increase.
As I said, I have had the opportunity to try to study and work abroad. Of course, I am grateful for this opportunity and to my University in Karazin, especially to the Sociology Department, and to the University of Montreal for hosting me. But I have come to realise that my place is in Ukraine. It is the only place where my life does not stop. My family is here, I can fulfil myself here, I feel valuable and important here. And that I can make a difference. Abroad you feel comfortable, while at home you feel a thirst for change, for change for the better, both for yourself and for your country.
For myself, I decided that I would definitely take part in university exchange programs and study for a Master’s degree abroad to gain experience, social and cultural capital. But I’m also committed to using all the skills I’ve learnt and developing myself at home, here in Ukraine.
Yes, unfortunately, the brain drain has always been a problem for our country. I think a sense of national identity should solve this. Not everyone can put their own interests aside and think about the future of the nation, taking into account its past and present. It is a matter of choice. And none of the options can be condemned.
How do you see our youth after our victory, and yourself in particular? Will they be undecided young people? Or will they be ambitious, with knowledge and vision, ready to rebuild the country?
Our generation is traumatised. But it only makes us stronger.
I think the war is a huge price to pay for the right to be Ukrainian. It is the price for the world to speak of us as a separate, strong nation that is not part of Russia. It is a price for getting rid of the inferiority complex, for promoting the Ukrainian language, for rejecting hostile content.
The war has turned our ideas upside down, made our position clear and made us understand that everything depends on us. We are the generation that consciously experienced the war. It marks our memories, changes our values and our thoughts. It makes us stronger as a nation, with young people at the forefront.
Translator: Ivan Chepaykin
