When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, we saw tonnes of misconceptions about Ukraine spread online. Too many people had trouble making sense of this war and, quite frankly, of Ukraine in general.

That’s why we (Hi! We’re Stas and Maria – a couple of Ukrainians working in tech and cultural comms) decided that we’ve seen enough bad Ukrainian takes online and started producing explanatory cards on Ukraine and the Russian invasion. Our content got millions of views on social media – and that’s how we realized there was a need for clear, shareable, and fact-checked content on Ukraine delivered by real Ukrainians.

We now create biweekly articles and 10-card explainers about Ukraine’s history, identity, and politics – trying to undo decades of colonial myths and poor coverage of Ukraine.

We are: Stas is a writer and storyteller for digital products. He’s also a paleontology nerd and an advocate for bicycle-friendly cities. He tweets about identity, languages, and politics in Ukraine and comments (aggressively) on the Russian invasion here.

Marichka is an ex-journalist, writer, communications expert, and project manager of Ukraine War Archive. Maria is also a plant mama and amateur nutritionist.

Raya is a UX designer, nature and art lover. Raya is our dear friend who created the design of our cards and put together our website.

Dozens of absolutely amazing volunteers from all around the world translated our issues into Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Japanese. You can check the translated cards here.

Ukraine Explainers is an independent volunteer initiative that we do outside our daytime jobs. By supporting the project, you join the fight against Russia-centered narratives and misconceptions about Ukraine. You also become a member of a welcoming and safe community of Ukraine supporters!

Thank you!
Maria & Stas