01 / 07
Why I created this bookThis is not only a coloring book.
It is also a way for me to continue doing the work I chose to do. I am Belarusian. And I chose to stand with Ukraine.
When I came to Lithuania, I wanted to work, build a life, and support the Ukrainian Armed Forces financially. I also gave my own cars to the Ukrainian military.
Until 2025, I worked at an international school in Vilnius.
Then I spoke openly against the silence surrounding the war and against the bullying of Ukrainian pupils at the school.
I tried to resolve the situation peacefully.
It did not work.
I left my job.
Later, I went on Lithuanian television and told my story.
At that time, I still believed that I would simply find another job in Lithuania and continue working and supporting Ukraine.
I did not yet understand that there can be different kinds of peace.
And that sometimes a place that looks safe from the outside can still be a place where people choose silence because speaking is uncomfortable.
02 / 07
FROM EUROPE TO THE FRONTFROM EUROPE TO THE FRONT
When I lost my job, I had two weeks to either find another employer or apply for humanitarian protection.
The Belarusian community in Lithuania helped me apply for a humanitarian visa.
I received it.
And for the first time, I went to Ukraine myself.
Not just to donate money from Europe.
But to go to the places where help was actually needed.
Since then, I have been organizing humanitarian missions and delivering vehicles and supplies directly to Ukrainian military units.
I work with specific requests from soldiers.
Vehicles.
Generators.
Humanitarian supplies.
Equipment.
Things that are needed at the front.
Much of what I do cannot be publicly described.
Not only for my own safety, but for the safety of the people around me.
Sometimes the most responsible thing a volunteer can do is not tell the whole story.
03 / 07
SEPTEMBER 2026SEPTEMBER 2026
On September 15, 2026, U.S. special envoy John Coale arrived in Minsk for another round of negotiations.
On September 16, Belarus released 25 political prisoners.
The release was connected to further easing of U.S. sanctions, including sanctions affecting the Belarusian companies Lakokraska and Bellesbumprom. Reuters
For many people, the release of prisoners was a reason for hope.
For me, it was also a moment of profound conflict.
Because I saw a different side of the equation.
Human lives were once again becoming part of a political bargain.
Only a small fraction of those still imprisoned were released.
And among those released were people who had spent years under a system of repression.
At the same time, Russia’s war against Ukraine continued.
For me, the events of September 15–16 changed something fundamentally.
I could no longer accept the idea that the lives of Belarusians could be traded for political or economic concessions while Ukrainians continued to face Russian missiles and drones.
So I made a decision.
I would continue helping Ukraine, but I would work exclusively with Ukrainian and Lithuanian foundations and partners.
04 / 07
THEN I CAME TO UKRAINE AGAINTHEN I CAME TO UKRAINE AGAIN
There was another moment that I will never forget.
I was entering Ukraine.
During the document check, an air-raid alert began.
My passport was already on the Ukrainian side.
But without confirmation from Kyiv, I could not move forward.
And because I could not move forward, I could not simply enter Ukraine and go to a shelter.
I was not alone.
I was travelling with a vehicle intended for a Ukrainian service member.
A Lithuanian volunteer was also there, travelling in another vehicle carrying a vehicle for a Ukrainian soldier.
The border guard told me:
“Run to the Poles.”
There was something almost absurd about those words.
Run to the Poles.
It sounded like the sentence that lives somewhere inside the mind of every opposition activist who has been told that Lithuania cannot — or will not — protect them.
But I stayed in the vehicle.
Because leaving meant abandoning a vehicle that was supposed to reach a Ukrainian defender.
And there I was, sitting in a car during an air-raid alert, knowing that a Russian missile or drone could reach us.
A missile created by a war that continues partly because so many people are afraid to act.
I called my Lithuanian colleague.
He ran back to my vehicle.
He moved me behind the trucks, where there was at least some illusion of safety.
That was it.
No heroic music.
No dramatic rescue.
Just two volunteers trying to get through another dangerous moment.
And then we continued.
05 / 07
SO WHY DID I CREATE THIS BOOK?SO WHY DID I CREATE THIS BOOK?
I continue to organize humanitarian missions and deliver things directly to Ukrainian units according to their requests.
But sooner or later, people ask a very simple question:
“How do you live?”
“Does the foundation pay you?”
No.
It doesn’t.
I am a volunteer.
But being a volunteer does not mean that I don’t need to eat, sleep, travel, communicate, maintain a car, or pay for everyday life.
I need to be able to continue doing this work.
And I wanted to find a way to support myself without pretending that my own needs do not exist.
So I created this book.
06 / 07
UKRAINIAN CATSUKRAINIAN CATS
This book is about Ukraine.
Its culture.
Its history.
Its nature.
Its people.
Its traditions.
Its food.
Its cities.
Its stories.
And its resilience.
But it is also a practical part of my own story.
I am an educator, an illustrator, a creator and a volunteer.
I decided to turn something I can create into something that can help me continue doing something I believe is important.
07 / 07
WHERE THE MONEY GOESWHERE THE MONEY GOES
I want to be completely transparent.
From the income generated by this book:
40% supports my living expenses
So that I can continue travelling, organizing missions and volunteering without having to hide the fact that I also need to live.
10% goes toward taxes and related obligations
50% goes toward generators for Ukrainian military units
The generators are purchased according to requests from Ukrainian defenders and units I work with.
Thank you for reading my story.
Thank you for supporting independent volunteers.
Thank you for standing with Ukraine.
SLAVA UKRAINI.
ПРАЧЫНАЙСЯ, БЕЛАРУСЬ.
