Today, a public presentation of a manga about the resistance of Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied Crimea took place at the “Sens” bookstore on Khreshchatyk.

The presentation was attended by designers, illustrators, and representatives of the publishing industry and bookstores.

Speakers at the event included Nelia Hrynyshyn, Head of the Crimea Platform Department; Liliia Omelianenko, co-founder of the publishing house “Vydavnytstvo”; Oleksandra Barkova, Bohdan Ziza’s sister; Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group; as well as the manga’s author, Mariana Sachyk, and illustrators Dmytro Kolodych and Rostyslav Sushko.

They shared their experience of creating the manga — from the script and storyboarding to working on the visual and narrative components. All of this helped to tell the story of Bohdan Ziza and the events of 2014, and to convey the main message: the resistance to the temporary occupation of Crimea continues.

The manga “A Butterfly’s Wingbeat” tells the true story of Crimean artist and activist Bohdan Ziza, whom the occupiers illegally sentenced to 15 years in prison for his pro-Ukrainian stance.

This project is part of the systemic work of the Crimea Platform Office: it draws the international community’s attention to the crimes of the occupiers and serves as a reminder that the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014 is a violation of international law, and that Crimeans have been resisting for 12 years.

The publication is already available in Ukrainian, English, and Japanese — in bookstores and on the publisher’s website: https://vydavnytstvo.com/.