The first thing I want to ask you is: Do you believe in democracy as a value? If so, how do you practice it?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nI believe that after 12 years of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, no one needs an explanation anymore: this is not just a war for Ukraine\u2019s independence and freedom \u2014 it\u2019s a war for the entire free world. It\u2019s a war of democracy against dictatorship. And that means it\u2019s your war, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This war continues, even if you don\u2019t see it. Shelling of cities that are \u201cconventionally\u201d in the rear continues. Casualties of shelling in frontline areas don\u2019t even make the news. Any peace treaty, if one is signed, will be temporary \u2014 because Russia is not interested in peace. The war will continue as long as Russia exists in its current form. War is its very essence. It\u2019s a country that has waged war across the world: Chechnya, Georgia, Moldova, Syria\u2026 It has committed war crimes in Mali and Libya. It is a country that believes it can act with impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, the body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was returned to Ukraine. She was taken prisoner by Russia in October 2023. She was tortured with electric shocks, had her ribs broken and was fed rotten food. By summer 2024, Viktoriia weighed just 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and could not stand from exhaustion and illness. In the fall of that year, she died in captivity, never making it to the scheduled prisoner exchange. When her body was delivered to Ukraine, pathologists discovered that her brain, eyes, and part of her trachea had been removed. Doctors suspect this was done to conceal the cause of death \u2014 likely asphyxiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this is hard for you to listen to, imagine how hard it is to live through. Today, up to 16,000 Ukrainians are being held in Russian captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right now, at this very moment, they are being tortured. The same tortures I\u2019ve described \u2014 or worse. And that\u2019s not all. I haven\u2019t yet spoken about life under occupation \u2014 a daily, exhausting ordeal. About the abduction and forced \u201cre-education\u201d of Ukrainian children. About the executions of our POWs right on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is only part of the inhuman crimes Russia is committing. And it\u2019s still doing it. Right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat can I do?\u201d you will ask. I have a few suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First:<\/strong> Don\u2019t limit your imagination. The only real limit to what\u2019s possible is the boundary of our imagination. The history of Ukraine is a history of being doubted \u2014 and proving people wrong. I\u2019m not just talking about the \u201cUkraine will fall in three days\u201d mantra Western media repeated before the full-scale invasion. Receiving Patriot air defense systems, ATACMS missiles, F-16s, the halt of Nord Stream 2, the freezing of Russian assets and EU candidate status \u2014 just a few years ago, all of this seemed impossible. Forty years ago, even the idea of an independent Ukraine seemed like a pipe dream. Only a handful of dreamers abroad believed in it. I invite you to believe that Ukraine\u2019s de-occupation, Russia\u2019s de-imperialization and disarmament, justice for Russia\u2019s war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide \u2014 are all possible. And where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI can also assure you that Ukraine will keep fighting and defending itself, even if the United States stops supporting us entirely. But if we do it with our partners \u2014 even just the \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d \u2014 we\u2019ll be unstoppable.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nSecond: <\/strong>If you feel you\u2019re not doing enough \u2014 do more. I don\u2019t necessarily mean going to the front \u2014 though for many, even those who aren\u2019t Ukrainian citizens, that may be the right path. I\u2019ve met many foreigners fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian army, deeply committed to our cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m speaking primarily about your conscience. It doesn\u2019t lie. You can do enough within the bounds of your abilities and circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your conscience will tell you when the moment comes when you can honestly say, \u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ll quote here the journalist Kateryna Kobernyk who once wrote: \u201cFull-scale war has shown that all that talk of \u2018put yourself first,\u2019 \u2018choose yourself\u2019 \u2014 is bullshit. No, the choice still exists. Millions did take care of themselves and their loved ones first. But others took care of the well-being of those people, their future, their lives, their property and their health \u2014 those who put the oxygen mask on someone else first. Thanks to their sacrifice, the physical war is still where it is, and thousands or tens of thousands have been able to remain home or flee. Their homes still have value, they are even getting sold. Their aging parents are not in occupation.\u201d Or, as my dear friend, writer Sasha Dovzhyk, put it: \u201cBy choosing yourself, you won\u2019t save the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you live abroad, there\u2019s still so much you can do. It’s not just about supporting Ukraine in the known ways \u2014 volunteering, donating and participating in demonstrations \u2014 but also, and most importantly, influencing the politics in your country. Vote for leaders who support democracy and the rule of law \u2014 not the law of power. Talk to your relatives and neighbors. Explain to them why Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine affects them personally, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third: <\/strong>If there\u2019s something you don\u2019t know how to do \u2014 learn it. At the very least, basic combat training is something every citizen of Ukraine and European democracies should go through. Millions of Ukrainians had never made camouflage nets, soldered drones, or understood electronic warfare or radios before. Most of our army consists of former civilians who learned from scratch. If someone had told me a few years ago that I\u2019d be able to give injections, work with blood, or that I wouldn\u2019t fear amputated limbs \u2014 I\u2019d never have believed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPeople often tell me, \u201cI could never do that.\u201d Yes, you could \u2014 if you believed it was necessary.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s only one thing I cannot get used to and never want to: human suffering. It\u2019s within our power to stop it, in Ukraine and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourth: <\/strong>As a writer, I have to mention literature. My advice is both simple and difficult: read. Read long texts. In an age of information overload, bots and AI, mass manipulation becomes even easier, especially through short content that stirs up emotions and distracts from analysis. Train your focus. People used to following a narrative are more likely to recognize the lies, manipulation, and inconsistencies that dishonest people exploit.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor us Ukrainians, reading during the war has become an act of resistance. In occupied areas, Ukrainian children secretly study from Ukrainian textbooks.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nRecently, the story of a Ukrainian teenager, let\u2019s call her Sofiia, shocked many. After spending 10 years under occupation in Donetsk, she escaped as soon as she turned 18 and could legally travel without an adult. Alongside attending the local school, she secretly studied remotely at a Ukrainian school in Sloviansk. Can you imagine how much mettle it takes for a child to resist in secret for years \u2014 under fear, propaganda and repression \u2014 without being able to tell anyone, even the closest people? British journalists also recently reported on the world\u2019s most dangerous book club \u2014 teens secretly reading Ukrainian literature together in occupied Mariupol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russians understand the power of the Ukrainian word. That\u2019s why they deliberately and systematically destroy Ukrainian libraries. As of last year, they had damaged or destroyed nearly 1,000 libraries holding more than 200 million books. That means that the voice of Ukrainian literature must sound even louder. It would be wonderful if each of you left Lviv with a Ukrainian book or bought one in translation. Tell your friends and colleagues about Ukrainian authors or writers from other nations whom Russia tried to silence when they ask you what to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifth: <\/strong>Be humane and hold on to your empathy \u2014 for others and for yourself. Personally, I find this the hardest advice to follow because the temptation to hide in your own bubble is strong. But only the strong in spirit can tell the difference between enemies and opponents. And do be caring.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEvil is possible not just because of those who commit it, but because of the silence and inaction of those who witness it. Good is not an emotion. It\u2019s an action.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe motto of the Hospitallers is \u201cFor Every Life.\u201d To me, those are not empty words. It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s a civilian or soldier, young or old, strong or weak \u2014 every life matters. And that\u2019s something we often forget when, in the context of peace, we talk about territories, minerals, Zelenskyy\u2019s suit \u2014 anything but human life, security and dignity, whether on the free territory of Ukraine, under occupation or in captivity. And this is what should be at the center of any negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me end with a story shared by my fellow Hospitaller, callsign Rudi. In the spring of 2022, when a Russian strike hit a residential building, everyone ran outside \u2014 everyone except a nine-year-old boy. Remembering that the neighbor\u2019s dog was still locked inside, he ran back, grabbed the keys from under the doormat, got the dog and brought it with him to the shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My friend, children\u2019s author Iryna Ozymok, says, \u201cNo one is too small to change the world for the better,\u201d and I agree with her to no end. That phrase may have many versions. For instance: \u201cNo one lives too far away or is too busy to care.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nAnd I want to wrap it up with the words of Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian human rights advocate and Nobel laureate: \u201cTo support Ukraine, you don\u2019t have to be Ukrainian. You just have to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kateryna Zarembo expresses her gratitude to Alona Hetmanchuk, Serhii Solodkyi, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Sasha Dovzhyk, Tetiana \u201cRudi\u201d Romaniuk and the soldier with the callsign Grinch for their conversations, comments and ideas during the preparation of this speech.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The history of Ukraine is a continuous story of how no one believed in us \u2014 yet we prevailed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5239,"featured_media":121656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2220],"tags":[2264,2541,2235,2542],"class_list":["post-124596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-en","tag-kul-tura-en","tag-lmf2025-en","tag-suspil-stvo-en","tag-hospiltaliery-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124596"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125189,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124596\/revisions\/125189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.theukrainians.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}