Return, "Karmel," from the roads of war!

The military pseudonym of the writer, artist, Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Boris Humeniuk is “Karmelyuk.” Fellow soldiers and friends remember the defender of Kyiv

At the end of December 2022, he went on a combat mission with a group of fighters near Klishchiyivka in Donetsk Oblast. He did not return. He is considered missing in action, possibly a prisoner. His family, comrades, and friends firmly believe that he will come back.

Recently, the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine warmly celebrated Boris Humeniuk’s 60th birthday with a “Evening of Hope.” The meeting was moderated by poet, public figure, and scholar Tetiana Sheptytska.

It was, in fact, a long, warm, and sincere conversation with the poet and warrior, filled with the hope that he hears the memories and stories shared, which would give him both moral and physical strength. They read Boris’s poetry, performed songs based on his verses, and reminisced about unforgettable moments, whether during the Revolution of Dignity, the defense of Kyiv from Russian invaders, or at the artistic residence “Vytyvka.” By the way, the picturesque village of Voitove in Kyiv Oblast, where Humeniuk has a summer house, is called the literary residence “Vytyvka” by his friends in the writing community. Here, they read their poetry and sing...

At the “Evening of Hope,” artists Serhiy Pantiuk, Dmytro Linartovych, Vasyl Zhivosylyutyi, as well as Viktor Nesteruk and Ihor Dvyhalo dedicated their performances to their comrade – Boris Humeniuk. The memories shared by renowned poet, editor, and publisher Ivan Andriyiak, Honored Artist of Ukraine, theater and film actor Oleksandr Ihnatusha, journalist Pavlo Volvach, and others were deeply moving. Ivan Andriyiak announced the publication of Boris Humeniuk's latest book, which will contain texts from the “fourth wave” of wartime poetry.

When Dmytro Linartovych read Boris Humeniuk’s “Testament” emotionally and profoundly, tears welled up in the eyes of Ukrainians in the audience. Perhaps they imagined soldiers digging their trenches?

Listen to this:

“...Today we still dig the earth

This Ukrainian land

This sweet, gentle land

We write together with sapper shovels

On its body

The last poem of Ukrainian literature.”

Still alive.”

And read how Boris Borysovych describes such a simple soldier's attribute as a sapper shovel with incredible love:

“...The sharpened sapper shovel, blue like the May sky in Berdyansk at dawn. Beautiful, like a word in a forgotten language, written with water on a heated stone, sharp, like the silence before the cannonade, which eternally stands with its mouth open, dangerous like a surgical knife in the hands of a paramedic. Your mirror, the only one of all mirrors that reflects your true face, and your razor in moments of leisure…”.

Incidentally, even before the full-scale war, Humeniuk gifted his unique sapper shovel, crafted by a skilled artisan, to the National Museum of Literature of Ukraine during a book presentation, where some of his manuscripts, including the poem “Testament,” are kept. The museum also has two of Boris’s paintings, gifted shortly before he went to Donbas – “Sunflowers” and “The Tower of Donetsk Airport.”

In December 2022, in the field near Klishchiyivka, where Boris Humeniuk went missing, sunflowers were blooming in the summer. He loved painting sunflowers, our Ukrainian ones. He smiled at them so brightly, as if he held all that unique beauty in the palms of a warrior, a poet.

During the “Evening of Hope,” heartfelt words were shared by literary scholars and journalists, including Nina Holovchenko and Oleksandr Khomenko, who highlighted the writer's contribution to contemporary military literature, noting that his “texts embody national archetypes, truthfully depicting realistic images of the bloody struggle for freedom.”

“The poetry and prose of Boris Humeniuk is a special line in Ukrainian literature, particularly in combat literature. His extraordinarily powerful works are profound and will be studied by literary scholars for many years to come. Humeniuk writes as if he passes each word through his heart,” said literary scholar Nina Holovchenko.

The poet considered it essential to always be where Ukraine was in difficulty. From the first days of the full-scale war, he was among the volunteers, alongside comrades, including well-known artists such as poet Serhiy Pantiuk, actor and bard Dmytro Linartovych, bandurist, rock musician, and composer Vasyl Zhivosylyutyi, and other notable Ukrainians. This artistic combat group, along with other brave knights of Ukraine, stood to defend Kyiv, and later, the war sent them to various military units.

Dmytro Linartovych recalled how Boris Humeniuk, in the spring of 2022, managed to find an excavator on the outskirts of Bortnychi over the phone to dig trenches. He persistently called someone about this, insisted, raising his voice, promising to “reach out” to the highest officials of Kyiv if earth-moving equipment did not arrive immediately. Shortly thereafter, the defensive line was ready...

“Boris was like the wind; he always exuded bubbling energy,” said Linartovych.

Comrade Vasyl Zhivosylyutyi highlighted a typical trait in the poet's character:

“Boris was very life-affirming; he was like a motor, the engine of everything that arose before us. We always felt Boris’s strong shoulder in any situation during the war. Sometimes, he was asked why he, a poet and artist, left everything to go to war. He would shrug it off. It was simply a man’s act. An act of a Ukrainian with a capital letter.”

“Difficult times have come. Now is the time of warriors. The time of poets has not yet come…” – this is from Boris Humeniuk's book “100 Stories about War.”

Some friends advised him not to go to the great war anymore, considering his age and how long he had already fought. Did he heed their advice? No.

“No one could convince Boris Humeniuk not to go to war in 2022 (for the second time, after 2014). My wife and I told him: ‘You’re already of age, Boris; you’ve already fought, no one will ever reproach you for not being in the trenches. Your health is not what it used to be…’ But these pleas turned out to be in vain. He saw himself in the war. He considered himself more of a warrior, and only then a poet,” said the head of the OUN, Bohdan Chervak.

He passed on to Boris Humeniuk’s daughters a distinguished award – a commemorative cross for the liberation of Kyiv Oblast.

Oksana, the writer’s daughter, also addressed those present at the “Evening of Hope,” sharing stories about her caring and kind father, who always believed in people.

Humeniuk authored several prose books, including the novel “Lukyanivka” about the Kyiv pre-trial detention center, and one of the well-known poetry collections about war, “Poems from the War.” A play titled “Checkpoint ‘Ukraine’” was staged in the capital based on his wartime poetry.

According to Tetiana Sheptytska, only a nature like Humeniuk's could unite different people around him. He himself was from Ternopil Oblast, lived in the capital, and had friends all over the world. His call for help to the front was immediately met with responses from everywhere, not only from Ukraine but from many corners of the world.

His biography reveals that he defended Donetsk Airport and was a volunteer. Since 2014, he served as the deputy commander of the OUN volunteer battalion, and from 2015, he became the head of the Ukrainian Military Organization, later joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A Maidan activist in the past, he defended EuroMaidan in clashes with the Berkut riot police.

In June 2014, he joined the special battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine “Azov” and went to the combat zone in eastern Ukraine.