How does a person feel who wants to celebrate their 31st birthday but has been struggling to survive for six months because of a malignant tumor? The feelings of the 44 million Ukrainians moved in this field of tension on Wednesday.
Many people also expressed their sympathy in Berlin, Europe and other countries. And their sympathy for Ukraine, partly with original actions.
On August 24, 1991, the then Soviet republic declared its independence from the USSR – after the failed putsch in Moscow against Mikhail Gorbachev’s liberalization policy. Six months ago, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine to take back its sovereignty.
Putin denies her her own identity. He calls them a made-up nation. The interests of their citizens are best served when Russia governs them.
The government in Kyiv had warned that Putin would underline his claim to power with increased attacks on Independence Day. People should better stay in their homes so that they can quickly seek refuge in shelters.
Nevertheless, citizens came together in many places to celebrate. Many had wrapped themselves in blue and yellow national flags. Others wore traditional folk costumes of white fabric embroidered with flowers. Women and girls had braided their hair into wreaths. House entrances were colorfully decorated with garlands of flowers.
The scenes seemed like living proof that with the attack Putin created a counter-movement to his goal of national cohesion and made it stronger with each day of the war. Before the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war in settlement areas of the Russian minority in eastern Ukraine, there had been no powerful national movement in Ukraine. Today, the overwhelming majority of society defines its identity in terms of dissociation, yes: opposition to Russia.
Abroad, too, the “double anniversary” of 31 years of independence and six months of war showed that Ukraine has meanwhile conquered an independent place in hearts and on the political world map. The country used to be overshadowed by Russia. Moscow seemed to have a monopoly on the interpretation of the peoples and states that were once part of the Soviet Union – including historical commemoration.
In Berlin, a wide variety of groups showed their solidarity with Ukraine – and thus a sign against Putin’s hope that he could divide Europe. A freedom parade moved from Breitscheidtplatz to the Brandenburg Gate. Cyclists and skaters demonstrated on Tempelhofer Feld. Believers prayed for peace in the Memorial Church.
Musicians congratulated with a birthday concert, including members of the diplomatic corps. Artists presented a vernissage “Peaceful Heaven for Ukraine” in Kreuzberg. A chain of candles stretched from Pariser Platz to the Embassy of Ukraine.
Similar solidarity actions took place all over Europe. In Brussels, the political center of the EU, the day began with a service for Ukraine in the cathedral. In the evening, the facades of the EU buildings shone in Ukrainian colors.
The Grande Place was also bathed in a sea of blue and yellow lights. The tourist attraction Manneken Pis wore Ukrainian folk costumes that day – which was difficult to photograph, since the view of the relatively small fountain figure was mostly blocked by demonstrators with large blue and yellow flags.
In the Czech capital of Prague, a new sculpture on a green area within sight of the Russian Embassy attracted particular attention. It shows a hand with fingernails painted in blue and yellow. The middle and index fingers are spread out in a V, the “Victory” sign.
In the period between 1989 and 1991, when the communist regimes in Eastern Europe were gradually falling and the Soviet empire was falling apart, the V was internationally popular as a symbol of victory over dictatorships. In Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, people celebrated Ukraine’s independence with a rave night featuring DJs from Kyiv.
Pope Francis denounced the “madness of war” at the general audience in Rome. He commemorated the sufferings of “the beloved Ukrainian people”.
US President Joe Biden announced more military aid worth three billion dollars so that Ukraine could defend itself in the long term. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already pledged arms deliveries worth 500 million euros on Tuesday and reiterated on Wednesday that Germany “stands firmly on the side of the threatened Ukraine, today and for as long as Ukraine needs our support”.
