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Transcript/Script
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Ukraine Bakhmut Salt – Tverdokhlib
HEAD: How Bakhmut Salt Became Symbol of Ukraine’s Resistance
TEASER: The mineral is mined in the hotly contested region, and its packaging features the Ukrainian trident
DATE: 03/xx/2023 at --:--xm
PUBLISHED AT:
BYLINE: Hanna Tverdokhlib
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Kostiantyn Golubchyk
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Reuters, Oleksandr Voytovych; Artemisil; United24;
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath
PLATFORMS: TV only
TRT: 2:46
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO:))
[[The contested Bakhmut region in Ukraine has been putting salt on the tables of most Ukrainians and many European countries for over 140 years. Today, the manufacturing facilities in the region are practically destroyed, but "Bakhmut Salt" has become a rallying cry. Hanna Tverdokhlib has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NARRATION))
For weeks, Russia has been attempting to push Ukrainian forces from areas in and around the city of Bakhmut.
Moscow wants to occupy the Bakhmut region because it sees its defeat as a step to capturing the entire Donbas region. The town of Soledar, 18 kilometers from Bakhmut, has also been in Russia's crosshairs and is known for its massive salt mines.
For Ukrainians, rock salt
((Mandatory courtesy: Oleksandr Voytovych))
is linked to one of the most recognizable symbols of the country: The design on the packaging of Soledar salt. The product is synonymous with Ukraine and hasn’t changed for decades.
But today – amid the war – the packaging is also a canvas for artist Oleksandr Voytovych.
((End courtesy))
((Oleksandr Voytovych, Artist)) ((UKR)) ((Skype))
“I’ve always associated salt with Ukraine. And I used it as an art object, I would use the concept…
((Mandatory courtesy: Oleksandr Voytovych))
After the war started, it all acquired new meanings.”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
Before the war, Artemsil, the state-owned industrial association for salt production, produced 90%
((Mandatory courtesy: Artemsil))
of Ukraine’s rock salt and exported it to 15
((End courtesy))
other countries.
Salt production started in Soledar in 1881; in April 2022,
((Mandatory courtesy: Artemsil))
it halted because of constant shelling of the plant by Russian forces. Some 2,500 employees were left without a job; Ukraine was left without salt.
((End courtesy))
While the salt was still available, Voytovych drew pictures on the packs.
One of his creations has already made its way to a Washington museum.
((Maura Shelden, Congressional Office for International Leadership)) ((ENG))
“It’s a humble material. But a material that I think most ordinary Ukrainians might have at their home. I lived in Ukraine for three years, and I had this box of salt.”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Oleksandr Voytovych))
Voytovych has been drawn to this unusual canvas since his student years.
((End courtesy))
((Oleksandr Voytovych, Artist)) ((UKR)) ((Skype))
“I was studying in the Academy of the Arts in the early nineties,
((Mandatory courtesy: Oleksandr Voytovych))
and we had a shortage of everything, including paper.
((End courtesy))
And students who needed to draw were on the lookout for any handy material.
((Mandatory courtesy: Oleksandr Voytovych))
We experimented with charcoal as well.”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
To mark the end of the first year of the war, the last boxes of Artemsil salt were recently packaged and sold
((Mandatory courtesy: United24))
under the name Solidarity: Soledarity: Ukrainian Rock-Solid Strength. All
((End courtesy))
proceeds go to help buy drones for the Ukrainian military.
((For Hanna Tverdokhlib in Washington,
Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington
BylineHanna Tverdokhlib
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
