PREVIEW

Ukraine’s famous Soledar salt mines have been recreated in the computer game Minecraft - just over a year on from their occupation by Russian forces. French developers Endorah, alongside UNITED24, have created Minesalt, a Minecraft-based game that aims to raise funds to rebuild a school destroyed in a Russian attack. In real life, Soledar was not only the largest salt producer in Europe but also a tourist spot but became a frontline in the war following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The goal of the Minesalt project is to remind the world about the war in Ukraine and rebuild the Velyka Kostromka school in Dnipropetrovsk which was destroyed by a Russian misile. A host of famous names are also involved in the game, as UNITED24 ambassadors are its characters. These include; Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, actor Misha Collins, world heavyweight champion boxer Oleksandr Usyk, astronaut Scott Kelly, and footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko. They will be joined by Stepan Bandrivskyi, a real-life person who has been working at the salt mine for ten years and helped recreate its maze-like caverns. Among the prizes is an Xbox Series X and packs of salt signed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.