Stand with Ukrainian Women

February 24, 2024, marks the second anniversary of the Russian invasion and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Today, it is more important than ever to continue supporting Ukraine with every means at our disposal. An article by EAF Senior Advisor Dr. Helga Lukoschat.

It has been two years since Russia, under Putin, invaded Ukraine. On February 23, 2022, as part of our project “Together for Democracy”, we held a Zoom meeting with politically active women from Eastern Ukraine and our project partners at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Even one day before the invasion, none of us could have imagined the force and brutality with which the Russian attack would unfold. One of the Ukrainian women filmed the sky over Kharkiv for us with her phone. It was still completely peaceful—save for the chirping of birds. I will never forget that scene. “The next day we woke up, and the world was different,” as Annalena Baerbock so rightly put it.

Ukraine remains in a critical situation

Russia continues to wage war with undiminished severity and brutality. Ukraine is putting up an admirable defense, yet the country is currently in an extremely critical situation. This makes it all the more important that the war against our EU neighbor remains in the public eye. Impressive documentaries are being shown, whether at the Berlinale or on ARD. Thousands of people flocked to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s major culture and politics congress, “Cafe Kyiv.” It was wonderful to be there—and it was encouraging!

And yet, in Germany, we have somehow “gotten used” to this war. Many would prefer to tune it out, perceiving the situation as too distressing, too difficult, or even hopeless. Emotionally, this attitude is certainly understandable.

But that doesn’t help. We must use our heads and recognize that giving in and looking away will not change anything for the better. The nightmare will not end if Ukraine simply gives up; on the contrary. Putin will not stop; he will keep going as long as he sees an opportunity. His imperialist mindset is aimed primarily at Ukraine, but it is also aimed at Europe. Sooner or later, he intends to annex Ukraine and turn it back into a subjugated and, in the worst sense of the word, colonized country. The EU, in turn, is to be further destabilized and “neutralized” by any means necessary, and the upcoming European elections are coming at just the right time for that. The rise of right-wing extremist movements and parties is no coincidence. Feminists, in particular, should recognize that the rights of women and LGBTQI individuals would inevitably be massively attacked and dismantled across Europe.

Supporting Ukraine with all available means

Today, it is more important than ever to support Ukraine with every means at our disposal: with ammunition and effective weapons, with financial aid and robust security guarantees, but also through compassion, empathy, and the building of relationships—areas where it is not politics or the military, but we as civil society who are called upon. Whether it involves town twinning, as in our project “She Can” (in partnership with the organization Austausch), or the (financial) support of women’s rights organizations, or the development of diverse networks. From many meetings and visits to Ukraine, I can report on the achievements women are making on literally every front, while simultaneously defending women’s rights, demanding equal participation in a democratic state, or calling out sexualized violence—the list goes on. One does not need to idealize Ukraine; there are countless problems, but it is precisely the vigilant representatives of civil society who identify them.

It is in our own best interest; strengthening Ukraine—and above all its courageous civil society—and defending the country is the best protection for us as well.