Popular writers and YouTube bloggers with hundreds of thousands of subscribers have mobilized to the Armed Forces and the National Guard.

Recently, writer Serhiy Zhadan joined the National Guard to defend Ukraine.

“I joined the 13th ‘Khartia’ Brigade of the National Guard. I am undergoing training,” the writer said.

Before joining the National Guard, Serhiy Zhadan held one of the largest poetry evenings in Kyiv’s Palace of Sports, presenting his collection “All the Poems.”

It contains about 700 poetic texts on 1400 pages, all of which were written over 30 years, between 1993 and 2023.

According to the organizers, about four thousand people attended the event.

Zhadan noted at the time that all the proceeds from the concert would be donated to the Defense Forces, particularly to the needs of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Geek Journal

In April, movie review video blogger Oleksiy Shkrobinets, better known by his pseudonym Tyler Anderson, joined the Armed Forces.

He has a YouTube channel called Geek Journal with 365,000 subscribers.

Oleksiy said that he devoted his latest issue to personal responsibility, and therefore wants to show by example that everyone should take it.

“I believe that if you do not work for the Ukrainian victory in any form, then you directly help the enemy. So thank you to everyone who does at least something. If you are not ready to join the military, then help it,” the blogger wrote.

ArmorSmith

In 2023, a popular blacksmith, Viacheslav Perepelytsia, joined the ranks of the Air Assault Forces.

The Ukrainian blacksmith has a YouTube channel World of armor. ArmorSmith (239 thousand subscribers) and How to make armor. ArmorySmith (111 thousand subscribers).

On his channels, the master demonstrated how to make medieval and fantasy armor from various popular video games.

Despite everything, Vyacheslav finds ways to send gifts to his wife and daughter in the United States, which he hand-makes from metal.

ROZETKA

In May, the “Holy Agnostic” host, who had popular blogs on the YouTube channel of the online store ROZETKA (170 thousand subscribers), mobilized to the Defense Forces.

Agnostic is known for his deep understanding of technology and its impact on our daily lives.

In recent months, the blogger has also hosted “Military News” on the ROZETKA YouTube channel.

“I accepted Tyler Anderson’s challenge and am joining the ranks of the Defense Forces. I wasn’t caught on the street, I wasn’t packed up, I went to the military recruitment center on my own in April,” the blogger said.

Pidpilna Humanitarka

Ostap Ukrainets, Ukrainian writer, translator, and founder of the YouTube channel “Tvoya Pidpilna Humanitarka” (Your Underground Humanitarian – ed.) (173 thousand subscribers) has mobilized into the Armed Forces.

“I have finally mobilized, I am already in the training center. This means that the entire male part of the Humanitarka is now in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, there will be no video in the near future,” Ostap said.

He made his debut as a writer in 2017 with the short story “Malanka”, which was published in “Fantasy World” magazine.

The writer noted that the books will continue to be published, albeit slower.

Librarius

In May, Anton Martynov, a Ukrainian publisher and founder of the Laboratory publishing house and the Librarium book distributor, mobilized into the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“I received a summons, and I would have been very ashamed of myself and in front of my son if I hadn’t gone,” Anton Martynov said.

Anton Martynov noted that this year he will miss the Book Arsenal and all the planned presentations of books to be published by the publishing house. He added that the Laboratory and Librarius team will continue to work as usual.

“Now your support will be even more important – buying a book for yourself or as a gift will enable us to continue our activities in turbulent times. And then I will return from the war, and we will accelerate even more,” he added.

Stanislav Aseyev

This year, Stanislav Aseyev, journalist, writer, and former prisoner of the invaders, also joined the Armed Forces.

The writer went to serve in an infantry company on the first line of defense. In May, he was wounded while defending the most difficult area near the village of Ocheretyne in the Donetsk region.

Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, and blogger, a member of PEN Ukraine, and the founder of the Justice Initiative Fund (JIF), which pays rewards for information about war criminals.

In November 2022, Stanislav Aseyev’s book about Russian crimes, Light Way: The Story of One Concentration Camp, was published in English.

Yevhen Lir

Earlier, Yevhen Lir, a writer and co-author of Pidpilna Humanitarka, also joined the Defense Forces.

Yevhen Lir made his literary debut with the short story “Steppe” in the collection of horror stories “Touch of Creepy Horror”.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Lir has been engaged in volunteer activities. In 2024, he decided to join the military.

“In winter, I received an invitation to join a unit, thought about it for a few hours, and agreed. From now on, I serve the people of Ukraine in the ranks of the Defense Forces,” the writer said.

The Ministry of Defense has recently started testing a new service in Ukraine: an electronic queue for territorial recruitment and social support centers.