Just over a week ago, on August 24, Ukraine celebrated Independence Day. My compatriots all over the world celebrated, as did the thousands of Ukrainians in Bavaria, of course. But we haven’t forgotten the war: a demo at the Stachus was perhaps one of the largest protest events in Bavaria against the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Well-known guests also took part, including Minister of Education Michael Piazolo, Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich and the Consul General of Ukraine in Munich, Juriy Yarmilko. The consuls-general of the partner countries, the USA, Poland, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Lithuania, have pledged their continued support for Ukraine.
The leitmotif of the demo was to say thank you in Germany and Bavaria for the solidarity with Ukraine, both from the politicians and from the people who live here. Of course, there was also the hope of receiving further support so that my people survived the attack. At the event we wished each other victory and peace.
I saw a lot of familiar faces at the demo. Friends, colleagues, activists, students and their parents, acquaintances from the hiking team. Not only Ukrainians came from Munich, but also from other cities and communities in Bavaria such as Pullach, Augsburg or Nuremberg. I had the feeling that I probably know every tenth person. That also made it clear to me how long I’ve been living here in Bavaria, how long the war has been going on – and how long it can go on.
Although Independence Day is supposed to be a celebration, I found it difficult to get into a celebration mood, because the day has long had a bitter aftertaste. For decades Russia, like the Soviet Republic before it, has been trying to take away my country’s independence. So these days I think a lot about the price that my people are paying for this independence.
There are now thousands of cemeteries with fresh graves in Ukraine. Photos from these cemeteries can be seen very often on social media. They look very beautiful in the photos. Every grave of soldiers who died in the war for Ukraine is decorated with the Ukrainian flag. Entire cemeteries are now covered with flags. These are images of both poignant and dramatic beauty.
For my good friend Anastasiia, the price of independence is something else: her husband’s captivity. He is a former colleague of mine, we worked together for Ukrainian media for a long time. Always cheerful and positive, he volunteered to go to the front lines to defend our country. Now he is a prisoner of war. All soldiers say that the worst thing that can happen to them is being taken prisoner by the Russians, which is worse than death. Anastasiia has had almost no information from or about her husband for more than 15 months. This is their price for our independence.
Emiliia Dieniezhna, 35, fled from Kiev with her then four-year-old daughter Ewa Pullach near Munich. She works voluntarily for the non-governmental organization NAKO, which aims to fight corruption in Ukraine. She also teaches German to Ukrainian refugee children. Once a week she writes a column for the SZ about her view from Munich on the events in her home country.