Zine-comic “Luhansk, What Are You?” was created after a series of journeys to the occupied city.

“Before the full-scale invasion, I used to travel there every year to visit my grandmother — a woman who chooses to stay on her native land despite everything. She still lives there.
Those visits were a fragile thread that kept me connected, a quiet hope that the occupation was only temporary, that home was not entirely lost, that I would see my grandmother again — the person I love deeply.

This zine became my first attempt, back in 2019, to gather my thoughts, feelings, and impressions after years of silence — when speaking about loss felt unbearable, and I wasn’t sure if any of it would resonate with those who hadn’t shared the same experience.

Perhaps it holds traces of naivety and confusion, things I would no longer do today. Yet I’m deeply grateful to Taras Grytsiuk, who believed in me then, encouraged me to create, and came up with the title ‘Luhansk, What Are You?’

300 copies, 27 pages, 2019