On the day this issue went to press, Friday, August 24, Ukraine marked the 27th anniversary of its independence – or more precisely the re-establishment of its independence. Annual commemorations of the historic date of August 24, 1991, are always joyous, but this year, once again, they are marred by the reality of Russia’s multi-pronged war on Ukraine and its people.
We know the big numbers, as they’re repeated just about every week: over 10,000 killed in Ukraine’s east, over 24,000 injured, more than 1.5 million displaced. But behind those numbers are individuals deaths, individual tragedies that cannot be forgotten. Meanwhile, the number killed and wounded continues to increase, and Ukraine’s people continue to suffer. On August 23, five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action and seven were wounded near Krymske, Donetsk Oblast.
The humanitarian catastrophe caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affects millions more. Patriarch Sviatoslav of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church recently told the Knights of Columbus: “…there is still another hidden danger of the war in eastern Ukraine: This region is at risk of suffering a dire long-lasting ecological catastrophe due to flooded mines and contaminated drinking water.” Some 4 million people could be left without safe drinking water.
Russia continues to hold Ukrainian political prisoners, at least 70 that we know of. Among them is Oleh Sentsov, the courageous filmmaker whose case is known around the globe. And yet, he remains imprisoned and continues his hunger strike – now past 100 days – to demand the release of all Ukrainian citizens, of various ethnic backgrounds, who are Russia’s political prisoners.
In the Russian-occupied east of Ukraine, a video recently taken by a drone of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission clearly showed convoys of trucks crossing from Russia into Ukraine via a back road that has no border guards. RFE/RL reported that the video may document claims made repeatedly by Kyiv and its allies in the West that Moscow is supplying the Donbas militants with materials – such as weapons, troops and ammunition.
At the same time, militarization of the Crimean peninsula, and the Black and Azov seas, continues, further destabilizing the region and points beyond. The Russian navy has expanded its presence in the Azov Sea, and it is using the Black Sea and Crimea to project its power.
Nor can we forget Moscow’s perpetual attempts to steal Ukraine’s heritage – the most recent example being the Moscow-backed religious march on July 27 through Kyiv to mark the 1,030th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity by Kyivan Rus’, to which Russia has always tried to lay claim. The Russian Orthodox Church’s Ukraine-based arm, known as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate, is considered by many to be an agent of the Kremlin – all the more so since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its invasion of eastern Ukraine.
In Crimea, the history and culture of the autochthonous Crimean Tatar nation are being systematically destroyed by the occupying regime. “The Kremlin by all available means is seeking to show that the Crimean Tatars are a people which does not have its own history or culture” and that they are not in fact “an indigenous people of Crimea,” Crimean Tatar activist Zair Smedlyayev told RFE/RL’s Krym.Realii. Moscow’s line is that Crimea’s Tatars are a “diaspora” of the Kazan Tatars in Tatarstan, part of the Russian Federation. Cultural monuments, such as the khan’s palace in Bakhchysarai, are often subject to “restoration” that in fact destroys them. Moreover, people from Russia have been resettled in Crimea, transforming the composition of the peninsula’s population. Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev estimates the number of people migrating to Crimea from Russia at between 850,000 and 1 million.
There was some good news, however. A nationwide poll conducted by Democratic Initiatives revealed that, overall, 63 percent of respondents are proud to be Ukrainian. A similar poll conducted by three leading sociological agencies found that “the overwhelming majority” of residents of Ukrainian cities with over 1 million residents “consider themselves to be patriots and are proud that they are Ukrainians.” Specifically, 85 percent of Lviv residents, 68 percent of Odesans and 65 percent of Kharkivites said they are proud Ukrainians.
As August 24 drew nearer, it was announced that the greeting “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine) and the response “Heroyam Slava” (Glory to the Heroes) would become the official salutation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In fact, it was to be used for the first time in that capacity during the Ukrainian Independence Day parade in Kyiv. (Yes, this is the same historic greeting, versions of which date back to 1918, that some uninformed, misinformed, or disinformed news media had called an “anti-Russian” slogan or even a “Nazi collaborators’ greeting.” )
Happy Independence Day, Ukraine. And Slava Ukraini!