The idea of writing a work belongs to the Department of Communication of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and its author is a serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine – Tymur Nahalevskyi. The book was published with the support of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko and in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
At the event DonSUIA was represented by higher education seekers headed by Kateryna Shnaider, head of the department of social and humanitarian work and monitoring.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Inna Yashchuk emphasized to the present cadets of higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the novel was about those heroes whose stories were important not to be lost, to be heard and seen:
“In this time of trials, when we are in the process of defending our rights and freedoms, it is extremely important not to relax, not to despair and to be united during this third year of a full-scale war. Some people really want it. But the people described in the book do not allow us to do this. You are carried away by the book with its first pages. This novel is about our heroes.”
The author Tymur Nahalevsky emphasized that the genre of the book is military-historical fiction: “The main idea of the book is that history is a weapon. Those who are in the army create the history of the latest time. And the main character of the book is a mature man, a representative of the middle class, who was changed by a full-scale war and joined the Ukrainian army.”
The pages of the publication are decorated with illustrations of Dariia Kopiika, who, together with the author of the book, traveled to the soldiers to meet them personally, to learn about their lives before the full-scale war, about their preferences and dreams. As a result, the designer managed to put hidden senses and certain traits of each of the main characters of the book into each poster.
“Every element on the posters is important. Sunflowers, musical notes, birds, sakura branches, images of native places, colors – all these characterize the heroes who became the characters of our collages and the book, in particular. I have lived a little life with each of them,” shared her impressions artist Dariia Kopiika. During the presentation, those present had the opportunity to meet three military men who became the characters of the collages. They were “Major” from the Steel Border brigade, “Piehan” from the Rage brigade and “Deputy” from the Spartan brigade. The men told how the war began for them, about the first combat losses among their comrades-in-arms and what helps to move forward now. Each of them is a volunteer who changed his peaceful life for the sake of fighting for Ukraine.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine joined the publication of the book. In particular, the adviser to the head of the MCP, Lesia Chervinska, thanked the soldiers of the Guard of Offensive and the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for participating in the implementation of the idea: “We value your daily feat and do everything for the Ukrainian nation to remember its history and know its heroes. This book is a sample of our work.”
The book is planned to be distributed to the libraries of educational institutions, and now the book “The Guard of Offensive. The Witness” can also be seen at the London International Book Fair in Great Britain at the stand of the Ukrainian publishing house Samit-Knyha.
