come on, my name is andrii lyubka, i am a ukrainian writer, translator and now a volunteer. my current main activity is to revive the car market in the uk, buying cars, diesel jeeps, diesel pick-ups and minibuses, preparing them for use in the war zone and handing them over to official army units. this is what i do all the time, and what is now mine. the main and probably the most productive type of occupation. as a writer, andrii lyubka started making cars for the military. there is a separate article about this a story worth at least telling. it started before easter last year on the 22nd with a call from me to a friend of mine who was a civilian until february 24th and became a military man on february 24th. in april, i called him, easter was approaching, easter.

probably the key holiday in the transcarpathian cycle of holidays, we have our own specific culinary traditions for this holiday, despite the fact that, for example, i am an atheist, uh, i at least follow these culinary traditions, and the culinary tradition is that we we prepare such a whole pig's leg, which is called showdat decided to send this transcarpathian unit, conditionally speaking, 100 kg of this home-made imported sausage and 100 kg of pork leg so that... they had everything that will be here for easter, i then called him and said, listen, you there, my friends and i gathered, and he says: yes, but there is such a problem here, how to send it? we do not have transport, accordingly, even to get from the point of our location to the nearest city, where there is a new post office, there is 40-50 km, it was unreal, it was answered where to send this sausage, and we decided that such a jeep is necessary buy, it should have been done already, i decided to collect at least part of this amount simply on

facebook, so i wrote this ad and after 5 minutes the phone started vibrating non-stop, you couldn't open anything, because new ones were coming, new notifications, i simply turned it off, and when i turned it off in the morning, there was money in the account for two jeeps, this is one of the auto repair shops where we prepare our cars for the front, and here, in particular, there is such an interesting pickup isuzu rodeo, which stopped in uzhhorod, in ukraine a week ago, is now ongoing its preparation, that is, it first comes here completely raw, we don't know it, because since we buy cars that have been in use, this is always the biggest risk, because a car that has its own history, a biography that has, relatively speaking, 15 years , she is like a person, she has a map of diseases, if she has already arrived, it means that she is already more or less alive, that's good, but still she has a lot of hidden or

not hidden defects, minuses, flaws, guys they make the first inspection, determine the needs, order spare parts and start working, when it reaches a certain level, we paint it, we have a recognizable pixel, by which you can, in principle , recognize a car anywhere and on the roads, then your own, if they asked me what i want to do, then i definitely do not want to do cars, i drive on a car, but it's not my... passion, because if it was one car, then i'd buy it, hand it over, load a sausage in it, and that would be the end of the matter, but since after this one car, i have money left on the account money for another one, it put an additional responsibility on me, the first car i arrived in donbas, and a friend sent me a photo next to this car in uniform, i posted this photo again on facebook, i said thank you, and 100 people wrote to me privately asking if i could help them from the car. in the first months there i bought

20 cars, i decided that i should set myself such a goal and by the new year there should be 100 cars, and we achieved this goal. however, these were not the plans that andriy lyubka wanted to implement in 2022. in general, last year it was completely planned for me, i had to go to krakow for a long time a scholarship for six months already from april 1, and then i was supposed to be in... in canada for 3 months and in fact i was supposed to be gone for a whole year, this meant that i would write my historical novel abroad, i don't do that, i don't write , i continue to write posts on facebook, they mostly consist of three sentences: yuh-huh, i bought such and such a car, it is such and such a brand, i came from there, thank you all, here is the link, and although andriy is not writing works of art yet, in 2022 his new book, something 's wrong with me, was published in 2015, a collection of essays that was ready for

printed before the full-scale invasion, and issued already during the great war. in support of her, andrii lyubka had a literary tour of the largest cities of ukraine. the writer also has... speeches abroad, but in europe he does not talk about books, he tries to convey the truth about the events in ukraine and to reach europeans about the need to unite against the enemy, which is actually a common enemy. abroad, my first speech took place last july in berlin, it was such a very politically incorrect thing, like what i said about germany, about its role, about the support of culture, i.e. time ku'. cultural diplomacy in the sense of cultural diplomacy, we all culturally sat down and smiled, smiled and waved, passed, later, for example, we went on a tour of germany already in october, the general mood in germany changed, and they began to support us with weapons, and not only with pillows, and these speeches have changed,

that is, the main message has turned into a story about what, who and how is currently doing in ukraine to bring victory closer. you can see that the auto mechanic, you see how many cars, we drive in, this is our ambulance, this is an example how it looks in practice, a person works in his garage at home, an already repaired car will be delivered to the front line, very often andrii takes it away himself, so he is a regular. but it happens in the east of the country, it's such a slightly different world when you return from empty, de facto de-occupied territories, where there are no people, where mostly the military themselves travel, where it is impossible to restore life, and when you see that there are coffee shops here, cherry blossoms were blooming here at the end of april

, the center is closed, because there are a lot of tourists and everyone walks in crowds, taking pictures, well, to say that it is strange is an understatement, but i experienced this burnout. but for me, for example, routine work helped me, it allows me not to reflect, not to delve into the essence of things, not to think, because if you think, it becomes very scary, a lot of people, and with whom i talked, during this year a lot of people died, their no more, if you think about it and if you live it as it should be lived, i don't know how to deal with it psychologically, i at some point... also stopped going to military funerals, because this, if it is regular, to bear it it is impossible, and for me the salvation is routine work, routine runs, the more to load on my head, make arrangements so as not to have time for anything, not to sleep, but

thanks to this not to think and not allow myself this time alone, so that i simply do not look at this chasm, in order to psychologically hold on during the war, is worth looking for... in people who are nearby and together help our defenders go to victory, great, hello, hello, we are at the auto service at the atp in uzhhorod, and this is max, we we call him max, musk, because he is a designer, a person who invented, created, designed, then welded and assembled the first transcarpathian tank. this is such a specific car, despite all the other cars that we buy, we also create, it is very nice. carpathian bear-1, we already transferred it to the azov regiment last fall, it serves in reconnaissance, during the winter max assembled and shaped a new buggy, this is carpathian bear 2. abaghi ​​is such

a car, which in principle differs from other cars due to its speed and revenue. the first car that we tested we tested it on a tank training ground, where only tanks can pass. the war is felt, well, for example, in transcarpathia, in such a small region, very acutely, due to the fact that everyone knows everyone here, transcarpathia is the most rural region of ukraine. a significant part of the productive, active, healthy, male population was employed, there were practically no people in zakarpattia, those who were all. volunteered here, or were mobilized, because of this every family has someone who serves in the army, plus another aspect is the number people who came to live in transcarpathia, communities have grown, this is also the need

to learn how to live here together. another aspect that seems interesting to me is that transcarpathia has become one of those regions. which show quite significant financial growth, businesses are relocated here, and people here continue to create some kind of product, accordingly, the regional budget is there. grows by hundreds of millions, when all others fall, and this is important, because somewhere there must be a base that fills the budget, the west of ukraine has become its reliable rear, all efforts now aimed at expelling the enemy from the country, faith in victory and plans for the future give strength to continue the struggle. i really want to go back to writing, to go back at least to such a... variant of a diary, a slightly non-fictional one, to

write it all down and write it down , the counteroffensive took place there, nancy pelosi flew to where she flew to taiwan, and to write it down, what is forgotten and what no one will ever write about some everyday things, this is what this war and life during the war looks like from the inside, write down people's phrases, write down i don't know any funny situations there, but the funny ones are the closest to me, because i always loved the tailor, always... loved for me central europe, one of the formative factors for central europe is humor, it is the common humor of these countries. a small local here comes glory to ukraine, we are heroes, glory, glory to the nation, we are death to the enemies, ukraine, we are above all, and he says so, guys, we collect goodies, well, you can see such a patriotic young man, i say for whom, he says for myself, a good sense of humor is characteristic of ukrainians, especially it became an afterthought. during the war. perhaps our new literature will have its own tailor or ostap vyshnya of the new era. it seems that

not only ukrainians are waiting for their appearance, but also the world. i think that in ukrainian literature now is the time to collect stones, and we are collecting experiences. then later we will somehow rework it all, skip it, turn it into texts, but that will happen sometime and later. in addition, this is the time of, probably, the greatest. successes of ukrainian literature abroad, a lot of invitations, a lot of translations, a lot of buying rights abroad and so on and so on, i.e. a lot of attention, we have never had so many, for example, during the war, i had a french literary agent who deals with this, but, that is, it was not me who was looking for him , it will continue, there will be a trend that will last for 10-15 years, i think we can see it by the example of balkan literature, after the balkan wars. when media interest transforms into a certain fashion, when

books about the war will appear, we will be read, and then there will be a surge of tourism to ukraine, people will want to see these places with our own eyes, this is what we see in the balkans, for the last 20 years, is ahead of us after victory. we are all waiting for victory, but our culture does not freeze in this expectation, it develops and becomes a tool of fixation. lectures and support. it was in the west of ukraine, where a large number of displaced people had settled since the first days of the invasion, that cultural events were quickly restored, such as performances in the shelter of the frankiv theater, where people could not only experience air anxiety, but also participate in the artistic actions i am deeply convinced that theater, in particular, art in general can have a therapeutic function and heal people. and i want, i want.

sheltered performances were also organized in chernivtsi, we visited this city to find out how the war changed the local theater life. greetings, chernivtsi, kobylyanska drama theaters, actually here is olga kobylyanska, and our wonderful main theater premises, but i will show you something more interesting, you have to go there a little. the city of chernivtsi, like uzhgorod,

was not densely populated until full-scale invasion, and after february 24, many people from all over the country found refuge here. how should the theater react to all these changes in the city and in the country? this theater building was built 120 years ago, and all this time it functioned exactly as a building. but in the same period, a workshop for the theater was also built, this is the creative laboratory where the actual scenery, props, and costumes were made. and now, in that space, we have also created a platform where we can additionally implement theater projects. the question arose, what kind of theater does the wounded by the war need society, is it possible to find what is necessary in the old repertoire, or is it time to create a new one, at the demand of a thirsty request. i

already had music by oleg kadanov, this one from kharkiv. my friend, and this music resonated with me in relation to the theme, and already under it i understood exactly who would play from among the actors, what elements of this hall we would use, for example , there was a window, a window sill, a ladder, and after calculating all this, i already wrote p 'jesust patron, which is due to this, that everything was foreseen. we could implement it in a month

we approached it from the artistic side and the main storyline is that a young family lives, everything related to the war, it is always very close, but it does not scream, it does not work, as in some such propaganda format, in a poster format, it is just triggers in their relationship, and through these main characters we are already included and can draw some analogies. the play tries to bring the viewer to the fact that it is not separate, along with the war , children are born, people fall in love, and it has not stopped, it is, but at the same time it is not

is separate from the war, i understand that how good it is that we... took faust in the original from goethe and staged it, where everyone, knowing the plot, would just watch some format of the production, and we have an alternative version, we have our own unique the plot is in it, and the audience cannot predict what is happening, but the language we use to communicate with them is born now. don't forget, when you get up from the desert, who repulsed this anxiety , who sowed black and white enemies, to the sweet song of the sirens, who is against us, who is still with us in memory, victoria, don't forget. well

as usual in plays, as well as in cinema and literature, bad characters are also remembered, that mephistopheles in our country, for example, who is called mephisto in our country, he is maximally included in what is happening in ukraine, this is a big gambling field for him, this is the territory where it is possible for him now... to embody a lot of some kind of manipulation with people, what is now the truth, what is, what values ​​are now real, you still hear, your man, i am just beginning to think about a visit to you, as the whole planet is filled with all the heat

and cold, he checked the various possibilities, offers him... to feel like a winner, he announces, a delegation comes in, representatives of the government of the aggressor country, who are ready to sign the act of surrender. mephistopheles offers faust to become the signatory and this great savior, this historical figure who will bring victory to ukraine, but he does not find the answer to whether this will make him happy. how can we compare the joy of victory with the pain that has already happened and is happening. whether we can be at that point of happiness again after victory well, our faust, he didn’t believe in it,

remember when you were yourself, maybe even that, the question of what happiness is in our... other realities becomes even more interesting for us, that’s why he offers faust to turn back time and find himself even before the war, but it turns out that those problems that were on the personal front, they cannot simply be solved by rewinding something, because what we are experiencing now, it did not start much earlier, than in 2014. we often want to think about some historical moment somewhere some such alternative story, and what

if it would go in one direction or another, it can be done in the theater, gather yourself in a pile, you see everything yourself, my child is dying, my wife, i can’t look her in the eyes, i didn’t even shoot a single shot in the face, and i just plug my ears, i plug my ears all my life, maybe i’m born with it... in the finale of the play , we see that this story is a delusion of a ukrainian prisoner of war, who because of the physical and mental pressure, torture, he fights for himself, he fights for his family, for his values, and he does not break.

and we already have reviews, feedbacks, to achieve the point that, despite the complexity of the topic, no one rejects this issue, that is, there is no such thing as why you raise it, it is so difficult for us, but... it’s just that someone gets more involved, someone can there may be reactions, someone may have tears at the performance, someone may simply be left with open questions, someone, on the contrary , will find some clear confirmation of their thoughts. among the audience of the performance are not only the residents of chernivtsi, but also those for whom this city became a refuge and a home because of the war. example, tatyana moved to chernivtsi at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. you know, when i came here, i was in such a state for the first month that even i did not accept the spring that was last year in chernivtsi, then

we started going to the mountains there with friends for a little while, and when the theater season began in september, then i watch two or three plays almost every month, i rewatched them, i watched almost the entire repertoire, and i want to say that the theater itself is like therapy, for me it became... therapy, and when i went here, i thought, the third time i i will not cry, but, as he said, we are bringing ourselves back to life, i believe that each of us will bring ourselves back to life, we will return to our native homes, to our native cities, because it cannot be otherwise, the most important message is that... er, the development of our culture, our art did not stop with the war, but on the contrary, we can accumulate this energy in creativity, i think that we will still have a

lot of powerful performances that will raise powerful themes, and they will come to us from the same europe to feel this pulsation of what it hurts us, and when it hurts, you have something to talk about with the audience. our country is currently going through difficult and transformative times, as is our culture. now is the time not only to preserve the heritage, but also to enrich it. what modern ukrainian culture will do and is doing now, it will supplant, best of all, all those influences of russian culture. something has to squeeze this culture. it is very good if it will be something of ours. but is modern ukrainian culture capable of becoming a mirror of the new reality? many artists share the opinion that we do need time to be ready to rethink this experience. "i want

to paint a strong ukraine and a truthful ukraine, i want to write so that people will read and be proud of ukraine. culture is what helps us to understand and rethink, to experience." in our country , every generation lost something from russia, every generation lost something because of russia, and every generation resisted this totalitarian regime, and that is, we have this experience of resistance, he conveys. is transmitted from generation to generation, and this is possible thanks to such a conversation. in this state , people are already ready to fully engage in creating a common future. creating texts that will help us digest everything that has happened to us, art should perform this medical and psychotherapeutic function. that's it. creation is

an antonym, the opposite of war, and war is the destruction of everything, such destruction is total, and at the other pole there must be cultivation.

congratulations, a stunning reversal has occurred among russian propagandists, you may have already forgotten about the fugitive president viktor yanukovych, but russian propagandists about he was not forgotten. moreover, you know, how they pushed him to the position of president, a whole brigade of polytechnologists from moscow came to work there, and not once, twice, when he was running for the position of president of the councils. how beautiful he is, how ukraine needs him, in the end they convinced him, he became the president, then the opposition, the people of maidan argued that something is wrong with this president, and in general, somehow he is not doing the right thing, and what do you think, now the same, what was said on the maidan about yanukovych is said in the studio russian tv channels. yanukovych, then that one, vitya shapka, yes, vitya shapka, that's right, or

a pilot, i don't know what he was wearing on his head. yes, the one who made money from people who sat down like an eagle on the toilet, quickly took off their hats and ran away, women, two meters tall, why, he couldn’t even commit a serious crime, robbed women, women, just nothing, at yanyk’s there were two houses, yes three, they say, they say three, one was found by three, well, but there was no authority, authoritative. that is, it suddenly turned out that he is a thief, and this is what people who were there say fractions of his party, which seemed to support him all this time, you know, well, with such conversations, a few more years will pass, and they will say the same thing that we are now talking about putin, putin, well, three

dots, and it's just... it seems that there's not much time left to wait, literally a little bit, and we'll hear about it as well, we'll hear a lot more that we're talking about now, and they say it's not so, and then they'll tell, but no, that's how it is, here's a thief, someone else over there, there killed himself and so on, well, that's it there is also another event, they talked, talked, talked, they talked for two years, the third world war has started, the third world war is already here, so... something happened and the third world war is already here, and suddenly with the same mouth, it turns out that it is not the third world, warlike rhetoric is growing, ukrainians podolyak believes that the third world war is already underway, he usually has a weak idea of ​​what the third world war is, and in general, the ukrainian leadership is tormented by megalomania, it is not going, no.