Exhibition of photographs by Volodymyr (John) Myroniuk

Tomorrow, November 21, at 6:00 p.m., the Ukrainian House on the 5th floor will host the opening of the exhibition of the famous volunteer and photographer Volodymyr (John) Myroniuk, who died in the battle near Kurdyumivka on September 25, 2023.

He helped Ukrainian soldiers to the last, filmed to the last, and impressive footage of his latest report will be presented along with many other outstanding photographs. Everyone who knew "John" was invited.

Volodymyr Myroniuk was born in 1963 in the Lviv region, his maternal and paternal grandfathers were fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, his parents met and married in exile in the Komi Republic. He had known the traditions of the liberation fight since childhood. In 2001, in search of work, Myroniuk left with his family for the United States and became a US citizen.

But in 2013, when the Maidan began, Myroniuk returned to Ukraine and took an active part in the Revolution of Dignity in the ranks of the Self-Defense, and then in the Right Sector volunteer detachment, where he made friends with outstanding heroes Dmytro Kotsiubailo (Da Vinci) and Roman Kosenko (Yashka Tsyhankov).

On the Maidan, he began to take photographs – and he found his inspiration in photographing people where fate is decided, in moments of the greatest tension and feat.

After the beginning of the Russian aggression, Myroniuk came to the Right Sector detachment, drove a car for "Yashka" there, volunteers booked the car, and photos of this "people's armored vehicle" went around the world. And "John" became the first mechanic-driver of this armored vehicle, which constantly performed combat missions near the village of Pisky.

Since then, Myroniuk's photos have been shared on the Internet. He didn't sell the photos, didn't organize exhibitions, but posted them on his social media pages, and from there they were shared from the VM Blood page (the name comes from the first letters of his first and last name and the name of the famous literary hero Captain Blood, whom "John" admired as a child).

Volodymyr came to Ukraine many times for a long time.

And when the full-scale invasion began, at the age of 58, he left everything and came to defend Ukraine. All the men of his family in Ukraine went to war with him – his brother fought and was wounded as part of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade. Volodymyr, as a volunteer in one reconnaissance group, took part in the battles for Irpin. He filmed in Donbas, Kherson region, and Zaporizhzhia. He tried to get to where the hottest fighting was. We were with him in the semi-surrounded Severodonetsk, during any shelling, he was looking for an opportunity to take a picture or turn on go-pro.

"John" found acquaintances and friends everywhere, he lived with the fighters, entertained, inspired the inexperienced, helped to fight as a driver, as a soldier. Therefore, the pictures of "John" are always special, with their own story, since this is not a photo of an outside observer, but a photo of a direct participant in the events. He was seen and known in the war by literally thousands of soldiers, whom he photographed during battles and marches and immediately tried to send the best photos as a keepsake. He was happy with this mission. Very often he was searched for in order to get photos of soldiers, including the dead...

There is a thin layer of people who are the underground of war, people who are known for their path and their mission, and their recognition does not depend on statuses, awards, they have authority because for many years they have been creating their path and their world with hard work. "John" was one of them – a wandering knight of war with a camera, who, when necessary, picks up a machine gun, and who is always welcomed by real warriors.

On September 25, Volodymyr Myroniuk with a camera and a go-pro alone, unaccompanied, marched in the morning to the position of Ukrainian fighters near the village of Kurdiumivka. It was one of the hottest spots. The enemy was 100 meters away. It was impossible to equip reliable shelters here, it was impossible to evacuate during the day, there was constant heavy shelling and constant losses. "John" decided to show what a high cost it is to hold this position in an open place. He miraculously got there – and then a very dense shelling and bombing with grenades from drones began. Volodymyr Myroniuk helped to fill the ammunition of the soldiers and took pictures and filmed. He took a lot of amazing pictures in the trench they were fighting for. But fragments of grenades from the drone hit the hero, and he died in that battle.

For three days, due to heavy shelling, his body could not be taken out. And then a group of fighters with his closest friend – the fearless "Vegas" – specially came to pick up "John" in this area: they planned an entry into the position, and at night the body of Volodymyr Myroniuk was taken out by his friends.