‘Eyes of Mariupol’ by Anastasia Dmyrtuk is the book of stories from the lives of Ukrainian military and their loved ones, photos, correspondence, phone calls, drawings and poems.
In the book, there are QR-codes of videos from the private archives of the heroes. A reader can wander with the heroes through the ruins of the plant in search of food, run around Mariupol during the shelling, and listen to the singing of Kateryna Ptashka. The hidden photos of the heroes who are currently in Russian captivity will appear on the ‘Eyes of Mariupol’ website as soon as they return home.
The author of the book is Anastasia Dmytruk. She is known for the poems ‘We will never be brothers’, ‘For Kharkiv, Marik, for Irpin’ and others. She is the initiator and coordinator of the global campaign #terroRussia, which took place in more than 60 cities in 2022.
The project began with the request of the mother of the soldier, who at that moment was at Azovstal, to tell about him through Anastasia’s social media pages. The mother wanted as much information as possible about her son’s fate. Subsequently, Anastasia Dmytruk began to receive similar requests from other people.
‘Then I promised them that I would do everything possible so that the whole world would know about their children. This is how the idea of the ‘Eyes of Mariupol’ project was born’, Anastasia says.
The book has more than a hundred heroes, the last of which the team added right before printing. As the book finds new readers, there are even more people willing to join the project. If you have your own story, you can share it with Anastasia.
‘We understand that Mariupol was courageously defended by hundreds and thousands of defenders. It is impossible to fit everyone in one book. Therefore, I am already collecting stories for the second part. If you want, send your stories here’, the author explains.
This book is a way to support families who are waiting for the return from captivity of their loved ones, families who lost their members in Mariupol. Funds collected from book sales, photo exhibitions and presentations will be directed to strengthening the combat units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and supporting the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders.
As of today, about 2,000 defenders of Mariupol are in Russian captivity, 700 of whom are Azov soldiers. ‘Eyes of Mariupol’ is also a reminder that we must fight for them as devotedly and tirelessly as they fought for us.
The resistance of the defenders of Mariupol will go down in the history of Ukraine as a heroic and at the same time tragic story of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Anastasia believes that the captives will return home to those who are waiting for them. Now it is necessary to talk about them and remember them.