In this project, poetry, music, sounds of nature and cities, and visual art are seamlessly merged into a multi-dimensional portrayal of the turbulent reality of today's Ukraine. 

Intertwining her poetry with the works of fellow Ukrainian poets, Yuliya Musakovska brings stories from both the home front, where life goes on between the air strikes; and the frontline, where fierce resistance to the aggressor continues. These poetic records — the manifest of hope and courage — bear witness to and reflect on the essence of this centuries-old colonial war.

The included poems by Ukrainian writers currently serving in the military, Artur Dron', Liza Zharikova, Fedir Rudyi, Eva Tur, and Ihor Mitrov were translated or edited by the University of Exeter team led by Hugh Roberts. Most works by Yuliya Musakovska from the project were published in her collection “The God of Freedom", available in English translation (Arrowsmith Press, 2024).

In his music, composer Artem Bemba infuses the recorded sounds of cities and nature—the places in Ukraine that are now gravely endangered or have ceased to exist because of Russian aggression—while videographer Natalia Yastręmbska inserts real-life footage in her visual art.

About the project:

The project features music by the composer Artem Bemba, who, together with Audiostories Production, traveled to the south of Ukraine in 2021 to record the sounds of nature on the left bank of the Dnipro River, now wrecked by the ecological catastrophe caused by the aggressor through the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and reservoir in 2023.

You will also hear the sounds of Kramatorsk, the city in the east of Ukraine close to the frontline, recorded by the producer and sound engineer Volodymyr Olshanskyi together with Natalia Yastręmbska, a videographer and volunteer from Poland helping the Ukrainian military and civilians at the frontline as a part of the “Ukraina Pomagamy” Charitable Foundation.