You're reading: Young Ukrainians appeal for help through videos

Video clips of young Ukrainians  appealing to the world for help have become YouTube hits. The popularity of the amateur videos owes a lot to their sincerity and amateur status.

“It was a spontaneous idea. When we decided to create the video, we did not have any camera equipment,” says Khrystyna Hladka, journalist and director of the video “Stop Putin Now.”

In a couple of days, Hladka managed to find everything needed to do the video as many people offered their help for free.

“The next day we (Hladka and the film’s producer Ivan Primachenko) wrote the text and asked our friends to declare their position and to appeal to the world for help,” the film director says.
Many young people wanted to be featured in the video.

Hladka filmed some 18 young people, most of which are students and graduates of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University. All youngsters were eager to tell foreigners about the tough situation in Ukraine.

It took the producers a day to shoot the video and the editing took two more days. First Hladka posted the video on her Facebook profile and asked her friends to share it. And on March 7, the filmmakers posted the video on YouTube. Since then the clip has generated almost 30,000 views.

“We did it in English to tell foreigners the truth about the situation in Ukraine,” Hladka said. “I cannot go to Crimea and fight there, but the movie is my support for a better future of my country,” she added.
Besides asking the world for help, young Ukrainians are grateful to all the people who support their country in this tough time. A short film called “Thank you, Dear World” featured Ukrainians thanking the world for support.

It took five people to do the two-minute video in three days. The filmmakers did not spend any money on making the movie as their friends invested all their time and skills to help do it.

After the video was posted on YouTube channel earlier this week, the producers received feedback from all over the world. “We receive supportive calls and text messages from Europe, Asia and even from Australia,” Nataliya Chihina, a lawyer and co-author of the video said.

Chihina adds that the support of people throughout the world give Ukrainians the strength to struggle for their future.

“In our video we thanked every person who supported Ukraine,” adds Dariya Ustymenko who also co-authored the film. “We did not thank any concrete parliament, politician or country, but common people who were not indifferent. When you are in despair, every word of support makes you understand that not everything is lost yet,” she added.

Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected]