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Ukrainian Artist on Creating Art During Wartime and Drawings That Are Seen With the Heart
When words fail him, he picks up a pencil — and depicts painful realities in ways that etch themselves into memory.
Oleksii Kustovskyi is the artist whose works shine through our darkness. He doesn’t shy away from touching the most delicate heartstrings — because he himself is like an exposed nerve of this war.
You’ve definitely seen his work. Unforgettable, charismatic, vibrant Cossacks — our defenders, armed not with sabers but with HIMARS and Javelins.
Poignant drawings — moving you to tears — that simultaneously scream with pain while embracing you.
Sharp and incisive satire.
His pictures laugh at the enemy and cry alongside us. Because these aren’t just drawings. They are the memory, voice, and heartbeat of a nation fighting for its life.
His artwork is a way to avoid breaking down, a way to remember, a way to triumph.
And it’s thanks to people like him that the world learns the truth about what’s happening in Ukraine.
We asked Oleksii about war, humor, finding light in darkness, and how he’ll illustrate victory. What follows is an honest, lively, sometimes painful, but always luminous conversation.
Read on. And look not just with your eyes — but with your heart.
How an Agronomist... Became a Caricaturist!
We ask Mr. Oleksii how he — an agronomist from a long line of agronomists — “retrained” as an artist…
“I’ve been drawing since childhood. I even still have a notebook covered with circles,” the man recalls. “These were attempts to depict people’s faces: heads, eyes, nose, ears, mouth — just deformed circles and little round shapes everywhere. Agronomy was hereditary for me. But I created my first caricature as a grown man. In 1998, it was published in one of Kyiv’s well-known newspapers. And I thought: I can draw reasonably well, I can come up with ideas too. Wow, I’ve become a caricaturist! Back then, I didn’t realize what a long road I’d have to travel to professional recognition.”
His works often “speak” more than any text could. Oleksii Kustovskyi names a drawing with the working title “Cemetery of Books” as his most personal work — a profound allegory for losses we haven’t had time to process. There’s silence there, memory, and the possibility of turning back the pages of life.
“I love philosophical caricature — deep, with subtext,” says the artist.
“Not necessarily tragic, but always multi-layered. Without tears, with shades of a smile,” he says.
We can’t help but ask the artist: where does he find light when the world around grows darker?
“I turn on the flashlight of humor,” Mr. Oleksii smiles.
“It’s small, delicate, LED-powered. Family and loved ones support me. My wife, my children. And I think my father too. Somewhere from heaven — he died early at 57 years old.”
Humor During War Is Not Just Defense. It's an Attack
Humor, according to the artist, is not just protection. It’s an attack.
“Humor during a plague” encourages, prevents breakdown. I think humor during war should be like an FPV drone for the enemy. It should reach them, pierce right through them.
But there are topics that are difficult even to think about…
“All drawings related to the destruction and demolition of Ukrainian cities are very hard to create,” our interviewee admits. “Very often I look at intact buildings and see or imagine them destroyed.
In Kherson, Russians drop explosives from drones onto civilian cars and defenseless people. That’s how they entertain themselves.”
“I can’t bring myself to start drawing about this. But it needs to be done, this moment needs to be documented.”
His works often support charitable initiatives.
“In 2022, there were two personal exhibitions about the war in Ukraine held in the Czech Republic and Poland,” Oleksii Kustovskyi explains.
“In the Czech Republic, they collected money from print sales and sent it to Ukraine. In Poland in 2022, famous Polish singer Joanna Kondrat organized a fundraiser to buy shoes for Ukrainian children.
Bags with my original drawing, which depicted children’s toys stopping Russian missiles, and the inscription — “Stop the Evil” — were sold at the concert for a symbolic fee. This year, a charity event was held in Vilnius. Among the lots from Ukrainian artists were T-shirts with my drawings, postcards, and stamps.”
How the Cossacks... Fired a 'Javelin'
His heroic depictions of Ukrainian warriors are especially impressive—modern-day “kharakterniks” (mystical Cossack warriors) armed not with sabers, but with HIMARS and Javelins.
“Their features appeared spontaneously,” says the artist.
“I really love Serhii Yakutovych’s illustrations of Cossacks. I modernized the images a bit. Some turned out quite successful. They’ve even been printed on postcards and T-shirts,” adds Mr. Oleksii.
For him, the true heroes are all those who stood up to defend Ukraine. The border guard and defender of Ukraine from Snake Island who told the Russian warship where to go, Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Matsiyevskyi, whom Russian occupiers shot after he said “Glory to Ukraine.”
“All the guys, men, girls, women who stood up to defend the Homeland are Heroes to me,” says Oleksii Kustovskyi.
His works have won many awards at European festivals, and have been published by the famous French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Last year, Oleksii Kustovskyi’s work “Shot Christmas” won third place at the International Festival in Knokke-Heist (Belgium).
About the main idea of his works that he would like to convey to viewers 100 years from now, the artist speaks simply:
“I want everyone who looks at my drawings in a hundred years to see not only the horror of war, but also the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian nation, the courage, bravery, and indomitability of Ukrainians.”
In each of his lines — not just a stroke, but a position. In each caricature — not just satire, but memory. Oleksii Kustovskyi doesn’t just draw — he documents our pain and our resilience. His works remind the world: we are fighting. And we will endure. Because when light is nearby — even the densest darkness loses its power.
