SUBMIT A TESTIMONY
In May 2022, the Ukraine War Archive launched a programme to interview war crimes witnesses. We understood that the scale of crimes committed by the Russian military was so great that no single organisation could record and preserve all of them. Therefore, we joined initiatives that conduct interviews with witnesses of war crimes.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF OUR WORK ARE:
"DO NO HARM"
ethical standard, which we follow, ensuring the protection of personal data and information security
THE RECOMMENDATIONS
OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
are taken into account to work with traumatic events
USING PROTOCOLS
FOR COLLECTING TESTIMONIES
developed by human rights defenders
RECORDING
WAR CRIMES
to work with traumatic events
THE UNIQUENESS
OF EACH STORY
and its need to be recorded
STORING
DIFFERENT STORIES,
from war crimes to efforts to organise evacuations and support during the occupation
Interviewing department:
Maryna Roshchyna
department manager
інтерв’юери
ANATOLIY MAREMPOLSKYI
Theatre and film actor
"I believe that we will be able to bring to justice the Russians who came to our land with war. To do this, it is incredibly important to hear from every victim."
Ukrainian actor, Karpenko-Karyi University graduate, worked at the Kyiv Academic Young Theatre and participated in theatre and film projects.
From 2015 to 2023, he worked in the play Antigone (France). He also worked as an editing director.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Anatoliy has been a volunteer. He took care of the wounded in hospitals, helped sew ammunition, and assisted the media services of the Armed Forces with video editing.
In 2024, he joined the Ukraine War Archive, where he works to this day.
KATERYNA HORNOSTAI
Fiction and documentary films director
Kateryna was born in Lutsk in 1989. She studied biology and then journalism at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In 2013, she graduated from the Marina Razbezhkina and Mikhail Ugarov School of Documentary Film and Theatre.
After graduation, she returned home to Kyiv. She started working in cinema as a documentary film director. Later she turned her attention to fiction films and hybrid forms. Stop-Zemlia, her feature film debut, won the Crystal Bear from the Youth Jury at the Berlinale Film Festival.
She is also involved in educational projects, teaching documentary filmmaking to students at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Karpenko-Kary University. He lives and works in Kyiv.
OLESIA MORHUNETS-ISAENKO
Filmmaker
Born on 17 November 1984 in Kozelets, Chernihiv region. Graduated from the Ivan Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television in 2008.
Selected filmography:
- Deportation 44–46 (2021, director)
- Cello (2014, director)
- The Tale of Money (2018, production designer
- The Borderline. Hrubieszów Operation (2019, director)
- Shchedryk (2020, stage director)
- And Every River (2022, director, producer)
- Public documentary "The Last War. What's the Difference" (2023, director)
YULIYA DANYLCHUK
Cinematographer, documentary film director and photographer
Yuliya graduated from the National University of Ostroh Academy with a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies. She is also a graduate of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts with a degree in Cinematography.
Yuliya was one of the cinematographers of the short film "Beyond Styx," created as part of Serhiy Bukovsky's documentary film directing course Workshop.DOK.
In 2021, she worked as a cinematographer for episodes of the feature film "V. Silvestrov" (directed by Serhiy Bukovsky).
She is currently working on her own directorial project and is an interviewer for the Ukraine War Archive.
SERHIY ILLIASHENKO
Filmmaker, documentalist
"In recent years, I have been working more with documentary photography, started documenting the full-scale invasion from the first day, and collaborated with foreign publications and storytellers.
I joined the archive in 2023, I appreciate the team and share the values of the Ukraine War Archive, and I am always happy to hear your story."
ROMAN SYNCHUK
Director of fiction and documentary films
Film editor, cameraman, interviewer for the Ukraine War Archive.
Working with the Ukraine War Archive since July 2022.
At the same time, Roman works as a director at the Public Broadcasting TV channel and creates independent documentaries about war crimes.
MARHARYTA BURKOVSKA
Theatre and film actress
In 2011, Marharyta graduated from the acting department of the Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television. She has worked in theatre and cinema.
Filmography:
- Butterfly Vision (2022) by Maksym Nakonechnyi, world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2022
- Stasis (2018) by Mantas Kvedaravičius — Sofia, World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival
- Short film "Oedipus' Dreams" (2015) by E. Efimenko — Mother
- Short film "The Home Front" (2015) by I. Makarenko — Rita
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Marharyta has been working with foreign media as a local producer.
For the BBC:
- Collecting the dead in Bucha (2022) by Joel Gunther, just named The Online Story of the Year by the Foreign Press Association's Print.
- It's like Chernobyl now: Life in Kharkiv's Ghost Town (2022) by Joel Gunther.
- Worked with Kyrre Lien for VG.
- New York Times Magazine "Voices from Pavlivka".
- Vogue "Portrait of Courage": First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
- ARTE documentaries and more.
VOLODYMYR ZAYETS
Actor
Since 2008, he has been working as an actor at the Kyiv Academic Theatre in Pechersk: "8 Steps of Tango", "Push up 1-3", "Sea-Ocean".
Finalist of the British Council's Taking the stage theatre competition, sketch performance Kitsyunya by the Wild Theatre in 2017.
Charisma of the Year nomination from Dzerkalo Tyzhnia 2019 for the role of Patrick in the play Kitsyunya (Wild Theatre).
On 12.05.23, the premiere of the documentary play "Make Me Quiet" directed by Pavlo Yurov was performed in Coimbra, Portugal, and in 2023, the play was also performed in Poland, and a tour to Germany is planned for 2024.
His other works include the short film Operator Victoria, directed by Anna Yatsenko, nominated for Best Short Film at the 2022 Golden Dzyga Film Festival, and a participant in the PÖFF Film Festival.
You could also see him in popular TV series:
- Diet #0 (TET)
- Knight's move (2+2)
- Children's hospital (1+1)
Since 2017, he has also been a dubbing actor.
TARAS LAZER
Documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, investigative journalist, translator, lecturer
Until 2022, Taras had been writing scripts for historical documentaries (The Borderline. Hrubieszów Operation, Deportation 44–46).
With the start of the full-scale invasion, he began collecting testimonies from people who survived the occupation, making independent investigative documentaries about potential war crimes in the Kyiv region, and founded the independent documentary film group Denotat.
He has worked as an investigative journalist and producer for PBS Frontline, Associated Press, ARD, TEXTY.org.ua, and RAI.
Literary translator from Italian and English.
Associate Professor of Romance Philology at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University.
Producer of the music band Mavka.
Joined the Ukraine War Archive in autumn 2023.
YANA SUSKA
YEVHEN PAVLIUKOVSKYI
Alla Holets
a psychologist by education with 13 years of experience in the criminal justice system
FILMS BY THE Ukraine WAR ARCHIVE TEAM BASED ON COLLECTED TESTIMONIES
SIGN UP FOR AN INTERVIEW
We are still recording interviews.
If you would like to share your story, please leave your details in the form below and we will call you.
FILL OUT THE FORMOr call us at +380669996633:
Call us-
WHAT ARE WAR CRIMES?
War crimes are violations of the laws and customs of war as defined by international conventions and treaties. The list of war crimes includes:
- injury or killing of civilians;
- torture, physical violence, rape, inhuman treatment or deprivation of liberty;
- violence against medical personnel;
- the use of civilians to shield the military (human shields);
- deportations and illegal displacement of the population;
- forcing citizens to participate in hostilities against their own state;
- damage or destruction of civilian infrastructure, as well as robbery of civilians;
- destruction of cultural and educational institutions;
- damage/destruction of religious buildings (churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.)
- denial or deprivation of access to medical care;
- deliberate attacks on personnel, vehicles, and equipment related to the provision of assistance.
-
WHO WILL SEE MY TESTIMONY?
First of all, it is up to you to decide. We cooperate with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine and Europe, as well as with artists, researchers, and filmmakers.
We sign an agreement with each individual witness, where the person giving the interview can specify to whom the video will be made available. In addition, you can also specify what information from the video can be made available to certain groups.
For example, you can choose to make the video with your image and voice available to law enforcement agencies and human rights organisations, while the artists will only be able to learn the information from the interview without seeing your image or hearing your voice.
-
HOW EXACTLY DOES THE INTERVIEWING PROCESS WORK AND WHAT IS REQUIRED?
Our interviews are a detailed portrait of a person and their experience of life during the war.
We start each interview with the question "How did you meet your February 24, 2022" and from that point, we gradually move through the chronology. We also focus on the facts of war crimes and ask for details about each situation.
On average, such an interview lasts 1.5-2 hours. We also ask the witnesses to add their own photos and videos to support the story with additional materials.
We record all interviews with video cameras and voice recorders. We can record both in our office and come to a place where it is more convenient for you.
PARTNERS
UKRAINIAN PARTNERS
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
