THE MAYOR

🎞️ Watch the Trailer of ‘Think Freedom: The Mayor’. The full documentary is COMING up. https://www.freiheit.org/de/ost-und-suedosteuropa/think-freedom-mayor 💪 The job of Mayor of a Ukrainian town in the middle of an incomprehensible war is impossible. Yet every day people wake up, wash their faces, look in the mirror and go do it. 👏 Volodymyr Petrovych Shmatko has been the mayor of Chortkiv since 2015. In the last 10 years, he had made the journey from the streets of the Maidan Revolution of Dignity to the trenches of Donbas as infantry unit commander – to the flooded streets of his small yet proud town that needs constant repair on all fronts. But this doesn’t discourage him - on the contrary, he is determined to make it work, and the challenges of the full-scale war have only put more fire in his engine. 💙💛 For ten years, Ukrainians have been fighting for their freedom and independence. On February 20, 2014, Putin's Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine, followed by the brutal full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. 🇺🇦 Much has changed since 2022. Yet one thing remains the same - Ukrainians have not much choice but to fight. The fight is not just at the front, but in every attempt to live a normal life under the constant threat of bombardment and heartbreak. 👏Today, on the grim second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, you may come across numerous posts about Ukraine in your news feed, including personal stories. We decided to share one of these stories – a story of life in a small Ukrainian town during the war and the efforts of its mayor. 🇺🇦 Слава Україні! Ukraine has our full solidarity and respect! To honor the heroism of Ukrainians, we premiere in February the trailer for the short documentary portrait of a man who to us, embodies the indomitable Ukrainian spirit. 🎞️The film is part of the #ThinkFreedom series of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, featuring documentary portraits of inspiring and free-minded people from East Europe. 👏 Our gratitude goes to everybody who contributed to the film and to the creative team: 🎬 Directed by: David Djambazov 🎬 Director of Photography: Ivan Nikolov 🎬 Produced by: tanuki films , David Djambazov, Anna Stoeva In cooperation with FNF Ukraine . #StandWithUkraine #SlavaUkraini #SupportUkraine #СлаваУкраїні #westandwithukraine #fnfesee