The French magazine L’Obs dedicated an issue to Ukraine, featuring the voices of prominent Ukrainian authors

The editorial board of the French weekly magazine L’Obs dedicated one of its latest issues to Ukraine, inviting Ukrainian authors to contribute. The news was shared with Chytomo by the Ukrainian Institute.

“Do not forget us!” Those words, so often found in the messages to international journalists who return from Ukraine, reminded us of the endless void that existed between us, the journalists who could return to a peaceful country and move on to other topics, and our Ukrainian counterparts whose lives were consumed by the war. “Do not forget us!” That is what we kept in mind while working on this Ukrainian issue, as our magazine decided, for the first time, to involve exclusively Ukrainian authors in its creation,” said Doan Bui and Céline Lussato, journalists at L’Obs.

“The Ukrainian Institute was pleased to cooperate with the editorial board and organize, together with the French Institute, a presentation of the special Ukrainian issue as part of a series of events titled ‘In the Face of War – European Dialogues.’ The event allowed the audience to engage with the emotional states experienced by Ukrainians due to the war. It also drew attention to the fact that this war, as philosopher Séline Spector said, has awakened Europe from its geopolitical sleep, making support for Ukraine an essential cause to preserve Europe’s democracy and freedom,” explained Natalya Guzenko Boudier, communications manager at the Ukrainian Institute in France.

Among the contributors were famous Ukrainian writers, philosophers, and journalists.

The issue includes:

• an interview with Sevhil Musayeva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, one of Ukraine’s top independent news sites
• the first pages of the book “Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns” by Ukrainian writer and soldier Artem Chapeye
• a diary article by Andriy Kurkov, author of “Diary of an Invasion”
• an article by poet Lyubov Yakymchuk about the Ukrainian language
• a tribute to Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer killed by a Russian missile strike in July 2023, written by poet and filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk
• an article by philosopher Konstiantyn Sigov examining the European humanistic values of the Ukrainian society
• excerpts from the book “Letters of Love and War” by Pavlo Matyusha and Victoria Ma

“These wonderful authors tell the story of a country at war, where optimism still triumphs over fatalism. In contrast to the anxious prospects prevailing in the rest of Europe, most Ukrainians see no other way out of this war than to restore Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders. Ukrainian democracy has not said its last word against Putin’s nihilism, according to each of our authors who convey hope on behalf of a nation that, though weakened, is still standing. Their voices must be heard on our side of Europe. Ukrainians are protecting our future. Let’s not forget about it,” L’Obs added.

RELATED: Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns: Artem Chapeye writes a book for a French-speaking audience

Photos: Mykola Kolisnyk
Translation: Sofiia Slaba
Editing: Tanya Mykhaylychenko