Freedom Needs Those Who Act

Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defence

In the 1990s, Ukrainian volunteers from the Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People’s Self-Defence participated in wars outside Ukraine, aware of the threat of future Russian revanchism. Their experience had become one of the first manifestations of the new volunteer movement, which later formed the basis for resistance after 2014. For many of them, the struggle did not end upon returning from the war: they became active participants in public and cultural life, worked with youth, veterans’ community, national memory and civic education.

The contemporary authors of this section—Borys Humeniuk and Valerii Puzik—represent the generation of people for whom the war has become not only a front-line experience, but also an impetus for active cultural engagement. Through literature, art, documentary films, public speeches and work with memory, they shape the contemporary Ukrainian culture of resistance. Borys Humeniuk—a poet, writer and volunteer in the Russian-Ukrainian war—has been considered missing in action since 2022. His texts and activities remain an important part of the contemporary Ukrainian culture of remembrance and war experience. Their books and art, as initiatives, help society speak about the war honestly—as the experience of people, responsibility to the country and the struggle for the right to remain oneself.