In a small squared notebook, children’s author Volodymyr Vakoulenko recounted the start of the Russian offensive in his country, two years ago now. With simplicity and poetry, he recounts his daily life with his young autistic son in their village in eastern Ukraine, while the war fell on them. He then buried his manuscript underground, just before being kidnapped by Russian soldiers at the end of March 2022. The poet, who was found dead a few months later, had however taken care to tell his father where he had hid his diary. The leaflets could therefore be found, then published under the title First days of occupation. Last days of Volodymyr. In the preface to the book, Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina states that “as long as a writer is read, he remains alive”. “And, if today you hold this book in your hands, it means that Volodymyr Vakulenko has won. »
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