The Ukraine War Archive announces a new series of documentaries about the strength and resilience of people who became witnesses to the war. The films will be available on the project’s official YouTube channel. The first one will be shown on November 11 – the third anniversary of the liberation of Kherson and the right-bank part of the region.
“Kherson. Resistance Goes On” tells the story of volunteers Oleh Dehusarov, Vyacheslav Lukashchuk, and Oleh Salnyk. Since the first days of the invasion, they have been rescuing people, evacuating civilians, and delivering humanitarian aid – despite shelling, flooding, and being hunted by FPV drones. On April 12, 2025, Oleh Salnyk was killed in one of these targeted FPV drone attacks. The Ukraine War Archive team recorded an interview with him in August 2023, shortly after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.
“I’d like to tell absolutely everyone that this is no time to relax. The war continues, and we have to think about that – not just think, but act. Every day a person must wake up and dedicate some part of themselves to a common cause,” urged Oleh Salnyk.
This film is not about heroism, but about everyday courage – about humanity on the frontlines of destruction, about how ordinary people in Kherson keep the world standing when it seems to be falling apart. It is a story about what keeps people alive during war: help, fear, humor, exhaustion, memory, and even the stubbornness of “just living.”
Volunteers at the site of the shelling in Kherson, 2023. Photo provided by the protagonists of the film.
The absurdity of the occupation and the daily logistics of aid are described vividly by the heroes: “Many people didn’t want to leave; they asked us to bring food or water. They’d say, ‘Maybe you could evacuate a wardrobe for us?’” recalls Salnyk. “The occupiers say: buy two JBL speakers: one blue, one red. I’ll break my back if I have to, but I’m not bringing them those speakers,” jokes Dehusarov.
After the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the scale of their work only increased: “You come to help an elderly couple who once built their home with their own hands, and now they’re scooping mud out of it with a rusty bucket. This is a story about hope, about people first and foremost, not about buildings… Because 80% of what we did was thankless work – we were operating right on the front line,” says Dehusarov. “The first drone strike on our volunteers happened while we were clearing the aftermath of the Kakhovka Dam explosion. This past year has been incredibly difficult,” he admits. “I used to think the attacks were random… But now it looks like they’re hunting us,” Salnyk said back in 2023.
The film was produced with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. The material reflects the authors’ position and does not necessarily represent the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
