Today, the Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day. How fitting that it comes just over a week after that meeting in Alaska between Trump and Putin and the subsequent meeting at the White House between Trump and European Leaders – where the independence of this heroic nation was the main topic for discussion.
I am sure that many Lib Dems will have joined in the celebrations this weekend – a reflection of the strong friendships that have been formed with the Ukrainians living in the UK. As liberals we recognised early on that the Ukrainians were fighting our war against the forces seeking to destroy the very basis of our liberal democracies – forces also determined to undermine our liberal values. That bond is also reflected in the strong relationship that the Liberal Democrats have formed in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ALDE and Liberal International with our Ukrainian sister parties – President Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party and the opposition party Golos, led by our dear friend Kira Rudik. Many personal friendships have developed, with Kira a well known face and frequent visitor to our party Conferences and Yevheniia Kravchuk, the Vice President of ALDE, attending last year’s Autumn Conference in Brighton. The Lib Dems have stood steadfastly behind our Ukrainian partners during this time of war, but also in helping to rebuild their country and society when they at last enjoy peace.
But not peace at any cost. The Ukrainians have fought and lost too many of their people – soldiers on the battlefield and civilians in the attacks on their homes – to just give it all up, as if those that have given their lives were worth nothing.
I was invited to visit Ukraine at the end of May to attend the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa, and I was in the country when Ukraine carried out one its most daring acts of the war – Operation Spiders Web – involving multiple drone attacks from within side Russia on its military airfields, which saw a third of its bomber fleet destroyed. A truly historic day for Ukraine.
All one’s everyday concerns were reduced to insignificance as we heard of the bravery and tenacity of Ukrainians under the most harrowing conditions. Their belief in the survival and eventual flourishing of their country, their incredible solidarity, is absolutely awesome.
Kira Rudik is the leader of Holos, the first Liberal Party to be elected to the Ukrainian Parliament. She is also Vice President of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – the political grouping that brings together like-minded political parties within Europe. She is a proud European and has campaigned for many years for Ukraine to join the EU.
She was welcomed on to the stage by Layla Moran, who was dressed in the blue and yellow of Ukraine. Kira started with some thank yous – and it was clear she knew a number of our senior members well.
She then told us about the day the invasion happened, starting at 5am. Kira and nearly two thirds of the MPs made their way to the Parliament Building – a highly dangerous act as the building was an obvious target. They were allowed 10 minutes together in the chamber during which time they hit buttons furiously so they could pass all the necessary legislation. All the political parties vowed to work together until the war was over – a pledge that has been challenging but still holds.
Last night the Lib Dem European Group hosted an event with the leader of Ukraine’s Holos Party, Kira Rudik. Holos is one of five parties now in ALDE and was the first liberal party to gain seats in the Ukrainian Parliament.
If you haven’t got time to watch it now, here are some of the highlights of Kira’s conversation with former Lib Dem President and vice President of ALDE, Sal Brinton. But do go back and watch it when you can.
Kira first appeared at Lib Dem Spring Conference last year, just 18 days after the invasion. She talked then about how she would never have expected to be learning how to fire a rifle and described her 2 hour daily Kalashnikov training as “a hell of a workout.” At that point she was wanting the international community to give Ukraine a chance against the Russian invaders.
Almost a year later, she talked about what life was like in Ukraine. Certainly they had held off the Russians and had even taken ground back off them, but they had lost 50 % of their energy infrastructure.
They can produce enough energy but can’t distribute it. They make sure that critical infrastructure like hospitals have what they need – the rest, she says, they figure it out as the go along. They have electricity outages which have impact on water supplies and heating. In Ukraine’s freezing Winter, the priority is heating, then running water then electricity. She said that when you wake up, you check if your phone is charged, if you have heat, it’s 50/50 if you have running water. You need water stored everywhere at home as you may not have it for 2-3 days at a time.
Matt Wardman Iain
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