Ukrainian journalist and host of the social talk show "Ukraine Speaks" Oleksii Sukhanov became an Ambassador of the memory Museum of Civilian Voices founded by Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and appealed to his compatriots to share their own stories in order to document and preserve every civilian's experience of the tragic events of the war.

The war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine back in 2014 in Donbass is staggering in its cruelty and cynical lies. Since 2020, the Museum of Civilian Voices has been collecting stories of peaceful Ukrainians to preserve their testimonies and convey the truth about Russian aggression. Since February 2022, there have been more such stories. There is no one in Ukraine today who has not been affected by the war. It has already taken the lives of thousands of civilians, and millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes.

“I want us all to remember this tragedy. And not just statistics, to remember the Ukrainian tragedy in stories, in the faces of people who encountered it. Together we will collect testimonies of civilians affected by the war. They will become part of the largest museum of memory. Every person, every voice is important in the truth about the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine, its people, their right to identity and, in general, against their right to physical existence. We will document all confessions so that everyone in the world knows and remembers what Ukrainians are going through, without distortion or censorship,”  says Oleksii Sukhanov.

Addressing Ukrainians, Oleksii Sukhanov shared the story of Serhii Perebyynos. He lost his family - his wife and two children - when Russian troops shot them with mortars during an evacuation on the Irpin bridge. In 2014, the Perebyynos' family had already survived the evacuation from Russian-occupied Donetsk and had set up life in the Kyiv region, but Russia destroyed it. Serhii tells his story so that the truth about the crimes against civilians will be known to the world.

The war in Ukraine is now in its eighth year. The Museum of Civilian Voices is an online memory museum founded by Rinat Akhmetov Foundation back in 2020 to document the testimonies of Ukrainian civilians and every civilian's experience of the tragic events of the war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine. The museum collects, preserves and shares with the world the confessions of ordinary Ukrainians, victims and eyewitnesses of the war, for the sake of understanding the lives of civilians under Russian aggression, so that no crime against humanity is forgotten, so that our memory, pain and anger are reborn into our strength for a better future, for the restoration of a free Ukraine and a decent life for Ukrainians.

You can tell your story at the Museum of Civilian Voices portal or by calling the free hotline 0 (800) 509001.

The project is supported by "Ukraine" and "Ukraine 24" channels, and "Ukraine Speaks" talk show.