A number of military books would draw on the author's personal experiences of those turbulent times, which subsequently served as the inspiration for the novella Lights in the Night (1959).

His works Heart and Stone (1962) and Drop of Blood (1964) effectively depict human situations, raising serious moral issues when lofty ideals expressed in words do not match reality.

[2][5] Through his works White Shadow (1977), Pain (1978), Position (1979), and Rubezh (1984), he attained depth on a psychological and philosophical level by bringing up the real, universal, timeless issue of humanity and the planet.

[4] Novels and stories from the 1970s and 1980s marked a new phase in his development: Cruel Mercy (1973), Death of Socrates, The Court of Seneca (1978), Return to Your Home (1981), Vikhola (1982), The Collapse, Yellow Flower of the Dandelion and The Tear of Ophelia (1985).

[2][5] The pages of Yasa (1987) are devoted to the notion of unifying the Ukrainian people and the valiant battle of the masses against foreign invaders; in 1990, Borys Shylenko developed the screenplay and directed the film Black Valley, which was based on the novel.

[2] He was married to Lina Serhiivna, and together have two daughters, the eldest being Lesya, a folklorist and leading researcher at the Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology.