{
  "id": 6770398,
  "title": "Not “Russo,” But Ukrainians: Yulia Bin Spoke About SE “IBMPU” Documentary Project “Time to Gather Stones”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/not-russo-but-ukrainians-yulia-bin-spoke-about-se-ibmpu-documentary",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-11T12:56:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "UATV English",
    "slug": "uatv-english",
    "url": "https://uatv.ua/en/not-russo-but-ukrainians-yulia-bin-spoke-about-se-ibmpu-documentary-project-time-to-gather-stones/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The World War II memory has been distorted by Russia as a tool for propaganda and aggression. For years, the Kremlin has misappropriated the contributions of Ukrainians and other peoples from the former Soviet Union in the fight against Nazism. SE International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine has finished the documentary film \"Time to Gather Stones,\" titled Ukrainians on the Battlefields of World War II. The film showcases the stories of Ukrainians who fought against Nazism on various fronts, but Russia has long misrepresented their contributions.\n\nYulia Bin, the general director of SE IBMPU and creative producer of the film, explained in an interview on the Yedyni Novyny telethon why it is crucial to restore their true identities. The documentary film highlights the idea that a state's position in the world still depends on how its role and the role of its people are perceived during World War II. The absence of a Ukrainian voice in the European memory of the war negatively impacts Ukraine today, as Russia is again declaring itself a fighter against Nazism. It was Russia who took away memory not only from their people but also from other nations whose countries were part of the Soviet Union.\n\nDuring her work in Italy and France, where the film was shot, Bin witnessed the deep penetration of Russia's myth about the \"people-liberators\" in people's minds, local museums, and archives. In France, for example, people honor the memory of those who died fighting Nazism on specific days in May. However, even when individuals wanted to honor Ukrainians specifically, they were directed to Russia's former ambassador to France, Orlov, instead. This demonstrates that the myth of the \"great Russian people, the people-liberators\" still exists in Europe. In Italy and France, Ukrainian names and surnames were displayed on monuments, memorial plaques, or bas-reliefs, but it was labeled as \"russo\" rather than Ukrainian.\n\nThe project's goal is to research this topic thoroughly and return Ukrainians their true names. For instance, Yuriy Klimchuk, a teacher from Khmelnytsky region and a hero of the film, realized that Russians were stealing memory. He discovered that Ukrainians fought in European resistance movements and were often called \"russo\" even if they had no connection to the Soviet Union. Yuriy Klimchuk's story is just one of many examples showcased in the documentary. The film will continue with practical documentation, as SE IBMPU aims to recover the stories of Ukrainians who fought under various flags, including the American, Polish, Canadian, and Norwegian flags. To achieve this, they submitted their project to a competition within the President of Ukraine's Thousand Springs initiative, aiming to produce ten more such stories.",
  "summary": "Memory of World War II has been transformed by Russia into one of the instruments of propaganda and current aggression. For decades, the Kremlin appropriates the contribution of Ukrainians and other peoples of the former Soviet Union to the victory over Nazism. SE \"International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine\" has completed production of the documentary film \"Time to Gather Stones.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}