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Our mission

The Ultimate Ukrainian is an American magazine founded by Spilna Mova. On the pages of our publication, we unfold stories about ordinary people, Ukrainian citizens with big hearts, about the resilience and bravery of the Ukrainian defenders, who yesterday lived ordinary civilian lives in the comfort of their homes, and today they stood up to defend their homeland from Russian aggression.

Along with exclusive interviews and interesting stories, our readers receive information and analyses by well-known Ukrainian experts on countering Russian Federation propaganda, and “firsthand” frontline reports.

Our goals

1

The goal of Ultimate Ukrainian is to deliver colorful and meaningful pro-Ukrainian content for the English-speaking audience while countering Russian propaganda narratives: “Ukraine is not a state…Ukrainians are not a capable nation… don’t spend your funds and time on Ukraine, it isn’t worth it…the Ukrainian army are Nazis…Ukraine should negotiate and give up lands instead of continuing to fight”…

2

In the center of each story is a person, a citizen, who is willing to scarify their life to preserve the country’s independence, the bright future of the Ukrainian people, a free nation, and a democratic state. These are future officers, today’s cadets, students, soldiers, and volunteers, serving at the front line, and veterans re-integrating into civilian life. Capable, innovative, and focused on the future, not the past, a population of 40 million in the middle of Europe that shares the same values with Americans – freedom and the right to pursue individual happiness. Ukraine does deserve the American people’s support!

3

We use colorful, energetic page designs. Despite the horror of war and everyday loss of lives, Ukrainians are moving forward to their goal – to win this war, to kick the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, out of Ukraine. Their belief in good overcoming bad is the background for our magazine’s design and composition. Ukrainians fight not for the sake of fighting, but to preserve democracy in their country, to be able to rebuild their cities, businesses, and schools, create beautiful art and innovative products. They fight for the future of their nation just like Americans did when they joined George Washington’s army in the War of Independence.

“It took me quite a long time to develop
a voice, and now when I have it.
I am not going to be silent.”

Madelein Albright
4

Ultimate Ukrainian magazine is an annual publication. So far, we have printed four issues (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). The magazine is done in Ukraine by Ukrainian professionals: reporters, translators, designers, and publishing houses. These people worked through the hardships of wartime, limited electricity, and unstable internet to deliver the message, “We will not give up, and we will win. Please support us!” The 2020 issue was dedicated to veterans’ reintegration into civilian life, 2021 to women in the army, and 2022 is about the Ukrainian people united against the enemy. Starting on February 24, 2022, the frontline became the size of the entire country, so everyone is a soldier.

5

We follow some of our heroes through the years, celebrating their achievements and mourning their loss. The majority of articles are interviews, and the one question we always ask is, “What would you say to Americans?” The most popular answer is, “We wish them peace, and thank you for supporting Ukraine.” We don’t include direct descriptions of violence and keep the context 12+ appropriate. We provide copies of our issues to the Library of Congress, where our magazine is registered as a printed periodical.

6

We work on making our context engaging and easy to understand. Our American editor provides proofreading as well as advice on the best way to communicate to an American audience. For example, we adopted “info boxes” for additional information or to explain some Ukrainian terms, events, and names. We also include small maps for the reader’s convenience. Not all materials make it to print, all texts are carefully reviewed for relevance. Only information which promotes positive, pro-Ukrainian content is included.

7

Printed magazines are shipped to the United States to be distributed free of charge to educational organizations, think tanks, military schools, universities, Ukrainian cultural centers, libraries, Ukrainian diaspora communities, embassies of friendly nations, and the Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. We also mail internationally to our friends in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

8

Works by our favorite artists Nikita Titov and Andriy Yermolenko can be found in all issues. Some of them were created exclusively for Ultimate Ukrainian. Nikita is a very well-known artist in Ukraine who works in posters, and his work has been accepted by the Government of Ukraine for medals and stamps. Andriy is a Ukrainian artist, illustrator, designer, and art director of the Ukrainian Weekly.

9

Every magazine has a poster included in the printed issue. The posters feature the heroes of the issues: a Ukrainian National Guard soldier, Ukrainian army women, and the mine-detecting dog Patron. Our posters are framed and hung on the wall in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Our magazines are also appreciated by the Administration of the President of Ukraine. We are working now on the 2023 issue and will print and distribute this year’s Ultimate Ukrainian 2024 Calendar.

Our team

  • Tatyana Makunina
    Editor in chief

    Tatyana Makunina is Ukrainian-American. She is President of the international development company Spilna Mova, and Editor-in-Chief of The Ultimate Ukrainian Magazine. She is an active member of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States and develops social and business initiatives between the two countries.

  • Oleksandr Demchuk
    Project manager
  • Anna Madunova
    Designer

    Anna Madunova is a designer, illustrator, and journalist. She collaborates with the Kyiv-based publishing house Summit Book, and is also involved in creative projects for USAID, Convictus, and Stop TB. Ukraine”.

  • Ann Merill
    Contributing Editor

    Ann Merrill is a long-time resident of Ukraine, originally from Ohio, USA. She is a professional editor and translator. She has translated several books, including “Interesting Kyiv”, “Interesting Chernobyl”, and “Chernivtsi: Then and Now.”

  • Oksana Chushkina
    Editor

    Oksana Chushkina is a Ukrainian journalist, author of articles and stories, editor of the Khmelnytsky regional TV channel TV 7+. During her 21-year career in journalism, she has worked on the development of regional journalism in print and electronic media, as well as on television.

  • Kateryna Flekman
    Editor 2023

    Kateryna Flekman  is writer, journalist, co-founder of the Journalist news agency. She is a member of the Forum of Military Writers.

  • Larysa Kuzmenko
    Editor 2022

    Larysa Kuzmenko is a Philologist, critical thinking development coach, instructor of the Humanities Technologies course, editor.

  • Yana Motytska
    Designer 2020

    Yana Motytska is an illustrator and designer. She was the winner of Ukrainian Design the Very Best of 2019 in the category of book design. She has created designs for charitable projects such as Hyundai and AirFrance. Yana was also part of the artist community during the Maidan revolution of dignity. Currently, she continues to create illustrations for Ukrainian volunteer initiatives, including the “Military Women” volunteer group.