NUJU holds presentation of a book about a heroic general, published under the patronage of Valerii Zaluzhnyi

On December 12, the conference hall of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) held a presentation of the book called Mykhailo Drapatyi by a member of the NUJU and the National Union of Writers of Ukraine (NUWU)/military servicewoman and Major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Olena Mokrenchuk.

The literary and non-fiction series titled Heroes Of My Country, opened by Olena Mokrenchuk‘s book was created as part of the informational project called Let There Be Eternal Glory, with the assistance of the Department of Public Relations of the AFU and the Military History Research Center of the AFU, under the patronage of the AFU Commander-in-Chief/General, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

“For the largest journalistic organization in wartime, interaction with the AFU is one of the important priorities,” said the President of the NUJU, Sergiy Tomilenko. “Just a few weeks ago, we handed over an SUV to press officers, namely, to the operational-tactical unit Soledar, and this is also a contribution of journalists. We collected donations and bought the car so that the press officers who are at the front, who help civilian journalists, have the opportunity to do their work, to secure the lives of civilian journalists, to secure themselves. We constantly transfer equipment. The other day, here at the NUJU, we held a meeting with the Commander of the United Forces of Ukraine/Hero of Ukraine, Serhii Nayev, who presented awards to journalists of local front-line newspapers and media. It is also important for us to feel that the AFU understands the importance of journalistic work and objectively informing Ukrainians in our just struggle for the restoration of Ukraine’s Independence and our future victory.”

Then, there was an interesting, emotional conversation about the Mykhailo Drapatyi book.

In 2014, when russia drove its predatory claws into Crimea and the Donbas, a short video went viral around the world: an armored car with a Ukrainian flag rushing at full speed through the street of Mariupol, which the russian military and its collaborators were trying to capture. An armored personnel carrier literally flies over a barricade erected at one of the intersections of the city, and other cars with Ukrainian flags rush after it. Thanks to such brave desperation and local patriots, Mariupol remained free in 2014, but it was not given over to the occupier.

That video still takes my breath away today. But only now, during the presentation of Olena Mokrenchuk‘s book, Mykhailo Drapatyi, at the NUJU, many heard for the first time that the Commander of that famous “flying BMP” was a major of the AFU, and now a brigadier general of the AFU, a knight of the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and National Hero of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapatyi.

The presented book is the first book from the literary and non-fiction series of the AFU about the heroes of the russian-Ukrainian war, the generals of the newest Ukrainian army, which was created as part of the informational project Let There Be Eternal Glory and will have ten editions. It is a compact, convenient format and modernly designed.

But the main thing is its content, where the story of Mykhailo Drapatyi is embedded in the extraordinary events of the russian-Ukrainian war from its very beginning in 2014 to the legendary liberation of Kherson. That’s why it captivates and does not let go from the first page to the last.

During the presentation of the current edition, Olena Mokrenchuk, whose work includes the books Aliska The Front-line Fox, Afinka From Cuba, Ukraine-Mriya, and Wind From The Wild Field, relives the bright moments of her work again and again, communicating with an extraordinary person, experiencing the events about which she wrote so well – briefly, vividly, and figuratively.

Then, she says that she is impressed by NUJU‘s strong support of newspapers from the front-line and de-occupied territories, emphasizing the importance of local publications for people. And with special warmth and respect, Olena speaks about civilian journalists at the front – about their courage and high professionalism.

“We are military and carry out tasks, while civilian journalists could sit in warm newsrooms and not go to the front. But they go, meet the fighters in the trenches to tell firsthand what is happening,” says Olena.

It is worth mentioning how all journalistic paths intersect at the NUJU. Today, a meeting was held here – the presentation of the book of Olena Mokrenchuk, who in 2015-2018 was a press officer of the 72^nd separate mechanized brigade named after the Chornykh Zaporozhtsiv. Now, a well-known photojournalist from Dnipro, Roman Chop, serves as a press officer in this brigade. At one time, Sergiy Tomilenko handed him a camera, which, according to Roman, he walked with him more than one front-line kilometer of the extremely difficult Bakhmut Axis. And it was Roman Chop who was given the car purchased by the NUJU with funds collected by media persons from all over Ukraine.

The participants of the meeting-presentation received with interest the speeches of the senior officer of the Main Department of Moral and Psychological Support of the AFU, Oleksandr Fil, and the head of the department of the Military History Research Center of the AFU, Vitalii Kuravskyi. They emphasize the need to revive the true Ukrainian history, which its russian neighbor had distorted for hundreds of years, and the contribution of people like Olena Mokrenchuk was noted along this path.

“In a small book, Olena was able to show the quintessence of the struggle for Victory; she showed that only we ourselves can defend our identity, solving problems on the battlefield and inside the country,” stressed Vitalii Kuravskyi.

Oleksandr Fil notes:

• This is not just a book to read and put aside. These are the building blocks of history on which the facts of current events will be compared.

At the end of the meeting, the secretary of the NUJU/the editor of Volynska Hazeta newspaper, Volodymyr Danyliuk, who currently serves in the ranks of the AFU, said the following:

• Do not think that books are something archaic and not very necessary. For example, Kyivstar turned off today, but the book is there; you can read it, you can think about it and think about it. The book preserves our history.

Olha Voitsekhivska, Journalist of Ukraine

Larysa Portianko