Kherson Artist Yulia Bondarenko Uses Embroidery to Support Defenders and Preserve Ukrainian Culture

A hobby that helps bring victory closer, saves the soul from homesickness, and at the same time popularizes Ukrainian culture, multiplies and preserves our heritage for future generations. Kherson artist Yulia Bondarenko uses her embroidery to help our defenders and homeless animals in Kherson, to tell Ukraine and the world about the atrocities committed by Russians in her native Kherson region, and to remind everyone that part of the Kherson region is still occupied.

Photo by the interviewee

Do what your heart tells you to do

Before the full-scale invasion, Yulia Bondarenko lived in Kherson, worked as an art teacher at school and helped one of the local animal shelters. The events of February 24, 2022 changed everything. Instead of the usual lessons, the girl now had lessons on survival in the occupied city. But even in such conditions, she thought not about her own safety but about saving those who were completely defenseless.

"I have always believed that in any situation you should act as your heart tells you. At the time, it told me that I had to save the most defenseless - animals. Unlike people, they are pure and absolutely sincere, deserving of attention and care more than people. So whenever possible, I tried to feed them or find them new owners. By doing so, I was also saving myself, because besides art, animals have been my therapy all my life," Yulia notes.

One day, the Kherson woman risked her own life to save the furry animals. To find and evacuate the cat to a safe place, she went to Antonivka, which was already a dangerous area at the time. She says she will remember that "rescue operation" for a long time:

"I found out about a domestic cat that ran away during the evacuation of its owners because of the explosions. They were looking for it, but in vain. I felt sorry for it, so I went with my boyfriend to look for it. We realized that we could have been under fire at any moment, but we decided to take the risk. It turned out that we were right, we found not only the cat but also an abandoned dog. We didn't rejoice for long, because on the way back we met two Russians. They pointed their guns at us and remained silent, while we continued to drive quietly. My heart was beating out of my chest, but fortunately they did not shoot. They just kept us at gunpoint until we drove away."

The Kherson woman says that she managed to find a wonderful family for the dog, while the rescued cat became a furry mascot and another inspiration for the artist while working on her products.

Doing something particularly important and useful at the same time

The artist began to actively engage in embroidery at the end of May 2022, after leaving the then-occupied Kherson. Back then, Yulia recalls, homesickness and the need to be useful combined. So, she decided to try to return to the activity she used to love.

"When you are far away from home, you look for it in the smallest details, and you want to do something especially important and useful for it. So I couldn't sit idly by, I decided to try to give people who are far away a piece of home and at the same time raise funds for the boys' needs with the help of what I can do - embroidery," says Yulia.

The artist started embroidering traditional Ukrainian shirts. At first, she used popular ornaments. That's how the first shirt appeared, which Yulia donated to a charity radio fundraiser.

"My goal was to recreate something related to home, to give these things a special value and a special meaning - not monetary, but emotional. Fortunately, I succeeded, and the first shirt was immediately sold for a generous donation from a German whose wife was a Kherson woman. Then another embroidered shirt went to the Netherlands to remind me of my home. That was just the beginning," the craftswoman recalls.

Later, Yulia began to delve deeper into the topic, studying Ukrainian ornaments, their features and meanings. She turned to the textbooks "Embroidered Ukraine" by O. Hasiuk, "Ukrainian Embroidery" by I. Chmola, and "Ukrainian Embroideries" by L. Bebeshko for help. It was there that she found a number of ornaments characteristic of different regions of the country, and most importantly, the Kherson region. She used them to decorate the following products.

"Ornaments are not just embroidered elements, they can tell much more than we think. For example, embroidered shirts of the Kherson region often feature a rooster, which symbolizes strength and protection, or a diamond, a symbol of fertile land, prosperity, and amulet. That's why my next products have already been created with their own stories," says the Kherson woman.

All of this inspired Yulia to make various corsets and vestments with ornaments from other regions and Kherson's own. Soon she was able to buy walkie-talkies, a maverick, animal feed, and even an FPV drone.

Photo provided by the interviewee

"Silence of the Steppe"

All the items created by the craftswoman, in addition to reminding us of home and helping the army, have a number of other important tasks. One of them is to preserve our culture and traditions. So last fall, she combined everything she had created into one single project with a special name - "The Silence of the Steppe".

"This is not just a name. It's a tribute to our southern region - a land of steppes, warm sunshine, and strong people who are going through difficult times. For me, the South is not just watermelons, the sea and fertile land. It is a place where every breath is filled with history and freedom. Part of the Kherson region is still under Russian occupation, and the silence of the steppe has taken on a new meaning - it is a pause before returning to your home, a moment of strength and expectation of freedom. This is what I put into this project. It is also my struggle for freedom and my key to preserving the traditions and culture of my native land," explains Yulia.

The project also helps her not to give up. Embroidery allows her not only to multiply and popularize our cultural heritage, but also to tell Ukraine and the world about the atrocities of the occupiers in the Kherson region.

"It is very important that the world sees all the crimes of the Russians. We need to talk about them. And I tried to do this with the help of embroidery on the belt pockets (ladunky). They are my special love, my way of sharing what hurts, reminding, telling and helping. I use them to tell the stories of those who were killed by Russia," the craftswoman says.

During the occupation of the Kherson region, the Russian military committed and continues to commit numerous crimes not only against the local population, but also against nature. One of the most tragic cases was the massacre of deer that lived in nature reserves and protected areas of the region. The occupiers shot defenseless animals for fun, ignoring laws and moral standards. Now the Askania Nova reserve, where Russians organize safaris from time to time, continues to suffer from this. Yulia managed to find out many such stories and embroidered them on her pockets.

Photo provided by the interviewee

"The dead animals will now live forever on my pockets as symbols of grief and our memory of the innocent victims of war. And they will also help others, because the proceeds from the sale of the products go to feed stray animals. Every time I buy food, I see how many kind and responsible people there are," says Yulia.

Photo provided by the interviewee

The Kherson craftswoman's pockets were even sold at charity auctions in Canada during the candlelight tour of the Ukrainian indie rock band Vivienne Mort, which uses the proceeds to help our defenders. Yulia makes sure to attach special cards to the pockets, in which she talks about the embroidery. So now the stories of the dead animals will be known on another continent.

My little treasure

Yulia decided not to stop there, and last year she took a course in assembling a charter shirt. She admits that she could not have imagined that fabrics and threads would fascinate her so much. Thanks to her new knowledge and skills, she now has the opportunity to recreate something special for the left bank of the Kherson region - a charter shirt from the collection of Yulia's teacher, the prominent Kherson ethnographer Viktor Kysil.

Photo provided by the interviewee

"The recreated embroidery from the left bank of the Kherson region based on Viktor Kysil's materials is my little treasure. Thanks to his many years of work, we are able to preserve unique examples of folk clothing. Viktor Ivanovych has explored the peculiarities of the Kherson region, bringing back to life the beauty that could have been lost forever. His work is an invaluable contribution to the preservation of our history. And I am glad that now I am also making my own small contribution," the craftswoman shares.

During his research, the ethnographer received this shirt from an old woman from Hola Prystan, and Yulia got it from his wife. Unfortunately, neither the original owner of the shirt nor the information about the embroidered ornament has been preserved. However, from now on it has become another reminder of the left bank of the Kherson region, which has always been and will remain Ukrainian.

"I believe that now more than ever we need to preserve things that connect us with the past. After all, as history proves, everything can turn upside down at any moment, and the most valuable things can be stolen. That is why the shirt is a symbol of Ukrainian culture, which must be reproduced and reborn. If we don't preserve our heritage from the past, there will be no future," the craftswoman concludes.

Photo by the interviewee

Yulia recently finished working on a unique embroidery scheme for this shirt. So now, on the page of the "Silence of the Steppe" project, it can be purchased for a donation to help the Armed Forces. According to the artist, this is not only an opportunity to strengthen our soldiers, but also to make our own contribution to bringing victory closer.

Анна Шаповал