“East SOS” at LTSNU

24.7.2025

On July 22 and 23, representatives of the Charity Foundation “East SOS”, which has been uniting those who care about the future of Ukraine since 2014, visited our university.

The guests of the university were the coordinator of the documentation direction Natalia Kaplun and the documenter of war crimes Maria Biliakova.

For two days, they worked on collecting testimonies of teachers and employees of LTSNU, who, together with the university, were forced to leave the temporarily occupied territories. Each story is a living story in which pain, loss, strength of spirit and love for Ukraine are closely intertwined. The interviews recorded moments of displacement, challenges that had to be overcome, as well as the experiences, experience and hope with which our educators continue to serve knowledge and truth in the free territories.

The Charity Foundation “East SOS” team documents war crimes in Ukraine in order to ensure the right to the truth, achieve the restoration of justice and bring to the world the voice of everyone who suffered from Russian aggression. As of February 24, 2022, the foundation has already collected over 800 personal stories and documented over 1,500 alleged war crimes committed by representatives of the Russian Federation against the civilian population of Ukraine. These stories are published on the foundation’s official website and in partner media to remain in the public and international consciousness.

During the visit, Natalia Kaplun and Maria Biliakova presented the university with a number of their unique publications in Ukrainian and English, which tell about crimes against humanity — collected from the first-hand accounts of witnesses, victims, and their families.

As Ms. Natalia Kaplun emphasized: “We are trying to tell the stories of ordinary people who will never come into the field of view of journalists. We want to convey what a person experienced. To remind us of the importance of events. This should be talked about and reminded about. Documenting stories is another dimension of the perception of war.”

Such meetings are extremely important. After all, documentation is not only the preservation of historical memory, but also proof in future international courts that crimes are not forgotten and will not go unpunished. It is also the voice of every Ukrainian, which must be heard.

We sincerely thank the representatives of the Charity Foundation “East SOS” for their great work – for their sensitivity, endurance, professionalism and ability to listen. Thank you for choosing the truth, recording it and doing everything not to remain silent where the truth should be heard.

We look forward to our next meetings at LNU.

Marketing Department of LTSNU