Mykola spricht über den Ukraine-Konflikt

Während der Veranstaltung im Rathaussaal in Vaduz berichtete der ukrainische Erasmus-Student Mykola Subtelny, was der Ukraine-Konflikt für ihn, seine Familie und die Jugendlichen bedeutet. Er stellte uns seine Rede auf Englisch zur Verfügung.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to be here with all of you on the Europe-Day. A commemoration that is also important for Ukrainians, who back in 2014 made a decision: We want to be part of Europe!

On 24th of February, russia escalated ongoing war and invaded my country from south, east and north. This situation got me here, in Vaduz, where I started my Master Programme last fall. This is the day when plans, ambitions and expectations of Ukrainians are postponed, vanished. For some they are totally destroyed. Everything that we considered to be usual or given became insecure. Safety and peace got a new meaning.

My day begun with words from my sister «war started». This is a cold shower that shakes you immediately. After you open Telegram, texting your closest with a simple question: «How are you?». In Ukrainian that is only 4 letters: Ти як? 4 letters, but so important and so meaningful. I am fortunate that I do not know what it is like to hide in the basement and live in the cities, where air alarm has become normal, where every day is a lottery. I do not know what it is like to run in the forest with 30kg of ammunition to protect your land. Where every step is a lottery. I do not know what it is to make a hard decision to leave your home or even lose it.

I can only guess the feeling of my compatriots: from news, photos, videos, or stories. Those are horrible times and horrible scenes. And none should experience such things. But this is the reality for almost 40 million people now in Ukraine. I am proud of people in Mariupol, who stay where they are, but keep being strong and positively thinking. They are the future of my country, that is why it is important to save them.

Actually, they are fighting for the values of the Europe Day: the right to live in peace, liberty, democracy, in a human world, where people and nations show solidarity with each other.

That is why my message today is that everyone of us should be like them: being with a life position, principles, and values. Especially I am addressing to young generations.

Throughout the history of my country students were the initial power for changes: in 1918 300 young students entered in unequal fight with russian bilshovik army, now they are known to us as heroes of Kruty. In 1990 Ukrainian students went for a revolution for insubordination to dictatorship, today it is known as Revolution on Granite. In 2014 students started another revolution to support pro-european development.

Those examples demonstrate that we, the young, have power. And we should use it. We are the builders of our future. Ukrainian youth has shown that we are the part of European youth. We want to live peacefully, travel freely, study abroad, and develop joint projects together with you. We are thankful to the European Union and its Member States, Liechtenstein, the United States and all other nations that are helping us achieving this dream. Thank you for your attention!