The writer Volodymyr Vakulenko hid his notes before the abduction

Writer and volunteer Volodymyr Vakulenko left his notes near his parent’s house, knowing that the occupiers would come for him. The writer Viktoria Amelina reported it on Facebook.

“I was visiting the parents of the writer and volunteer Volodymyr Vakulenko in Kapytolivka near Izium. On March 23, 2022, Volodymyr, knowing that the occupiers would come for him, buried his notes under a cherry tree and told his father: ‘Give them to our troops when they come,” the writer said.

The next day, March 24, Volodymyr was abducted by the Russian military.

“Today, September 24, 2022, my father Volodymyr and I unearthed Volodymyr’s works buried under the cherry tree – the package in my hand you can see in the photo. Another photo shows Volodymyr’s mother and his son. I publish the photo of the child after getting permission from his mother,” Viktoria Amelina stated.

In a comment for the media Chytomo, the writer also said that the works will be transferred to the Kharkiv Literary Museum, which she has already agreed with the museum development deputy director Tetiana Pylypchuk.

“We will consider sharing the content with Volodymyr’s family, PEN Ukraine, and the Kharkiv Literary Museum,” Viktoria stated.

In addition, one of the notes the writer shared on Facebook. Volodymyr Vakulenko wrote there, “Everything Will Be Ukraine! I believe in our victory”.

Volodymyr left about thirty densely filled pages.

“In general, it is clear that Volodymyr Vakulenko wrote this to all of us, so it is his will to share the content of the notes. But I will also remind you that we still have hope. We should hope until the end,” Viktoria added. 

Volodymyr Vakulenko is a public figure, a participant in the Revolution of Dignity, and the author of 13 books. From 2003 to 2006 he was a member of the Izium literary group Kremianets, and in 2005 he was a member of the Kostiantyniv literary group Prometheus. He is known as Volodymyr Vakulenko-K. He is a laureate of the international Oles Ulyanenko literary award, laureate of the Les Martovych Ukrainian competition, laureate of the international award Koronatsiya Slova, and he has been awarded the Silver Trident honor for literary achievements dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence.

Volodymyr prepared and published the almanac Izіumska Gora (2007) and was the editor-in-chief of the translation magazine DzeRkaLo. His works were translated into Crimean Tatar, Belarusian, German, English, Esperanto, and Russian

The writer characterizes his style as “counter-literature” calling it an experimental style based on postmodernism, modernism, and neoclassicism, with elements of logical absurdism.

On March 24, Volodymyr Vakulenko was abducted by Russian occupiers in the village of Kapytolivka near Izyum in the Kharkiv region.

We also remind that friends and social media users who want to support Volodymyr spread posts with the hashtag #SaveVakulenko and ask to spread information about the writer.

Photo: Viktoria Amelina