As part of the Museum’s "CultResistance" project, a public meeting was held with artist and Defender of Ukraine Fedir Rudyi ("Author") – a writer, painter, serviceman of the 172nd Separate Battalion, and member of the "Cultural Forces" platform.
Fedir Rudyi is the author of the poetry collection "After Autumn" and the novel "The Ark Leaves the Pier," laureate of the Hlib Babich Military Poetry Competition (2024) and the 4.5.0 Competition (2025), and winner of the Vasyl Palamarchuk Military Prose Competition in the "Memoirs" category. His poems have been translated into English, German, French, Lithuanian, Greek, and Croatian. In 2026, another collection of his poems, "Position. Poetry from There," will be published.
The poet’s path in the military began in February 2023 with service in the infantry of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhians. In April 2024, he was wounded near the town of Vuhledar as a result of a UAV attack. After treatment, he continued his service. He holds the brigade award "For the Defense of Vuhledar." Since July 2024, Fedir has been serving in Donetsk region as part of a mobile "cultural assault" group that carries out tasks for the moral and psychological support of fighters on the line of combat contact.
During an open conversation with the audience, Fedir shared that the decision to mobilize was difficult but the only right one. The poet noted that describing military culture is only possible while being at the front. "Poets and writers are individuals whose thoughts influence society and its public opinion. Writers during war must also be together with their army. And only those who were not afraid will have nothing to be ashamed of in the future," emphasized Fedir Rudyi.
The artist read his poems dedicated to the period of service on the front line. The audience was moved by the poem "Desire," which Fedir dedicated to his daughter Solomiia. A touch of humor was added by the poem "Little Frogs" about the flooding of trenches at the position. The culmination of the performance was the recitation by "Author" of the poem "Hopscotch" in honor of the memory of his fallen brothers-in-arms.
The listeners also had the opportunity to communicate with the Defender. In the discussion about the importance of culture in war, Fedir shared the view that culture shapes a person’s desire to take responsibility for their actions, patriotism, and moral resilience. Incidentally, the writer noted that cultural resistance alone is currently not enough, and to stand firm, one must actively fight for independence with weapons.
Renowned poet and paramedic of the "Hospitallers" volunteer medical battalion Olena Herasymiuk attended "CultResistance." Taking the floor, she drew attention to the importance of honoring Ukrainian artists while they are still alive, not only posthumously, as the list of the commemorative project "Unfinished" unfortunately continues to grow. Among the event’s guests was also cultural scholar Daryna Davydenko. During the discussion, she noted that Fedir Rudyi’s poems contain a lot of love. Daryna remarked that his reflections once helped her find a way out of a difficult situation.
At the end of the event, Fedir Rudyi donated valuable artifacts to the Museum: an individual field backpack, protective charms made by children, children’s drawings and letters to defenders, a drawing by his daughter Solomiia, clothing items used while at positions, his own illustration for the upcoming poetry collection, a "Dnipro" tourniquet, a poetry calendar, a motivational "Vuhledar" patch, the "Cultural Forces" sleeve insignia, and much more.
The meeting was moderated by senior research fellow of the Museum Olha Vorobei. The guests included ninth-grade students from Kyiv and Obukhiv, as well as members of the Kyiv literary community "Ursus poetry."
The Museum of War team sincerely thanks Fedir Rudyi for his defense and creativity, and invites everyone to attend museum meetings from the "CultResistance" series!
