How London and UCL Met The One-Year Anniversary of the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

Photo Courtesy: Ekaterina Dudakova

Friday, February 24, marked the one-year anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nine years of war in total, including the invasion of Crimea and Donbas in the winter of 2014. Since February 24 2022, Europe has accepted more than eight million Ukrainian refugees, with 161,400 coming to the UK. 

On the morning of Friday 24, at 10:50 am, UCL students and staff gathered in the main quad of UCL to hold a short ceremony co-organised by the Ukrainian society. Anton Korchagin, the President, gave a speech and spoke of the bravery of the Ukrainian nation, the resistance of the people, both the military and the civilians, against the enemy in the name of freedom, self-determination, and truth. The speech was followed by a minute of silence in honour of all those who fell during this brutal war. 

Among the speakers were UCL’s director and provost Dr Michael Spence, Dr Tomas Cvrcek, who spoke on behalf of Prof Diane Koenker, the director of UCL’s School of Slavonic and East European Studies, and Dr Sasha Dovzhyk, an Associate Lecturer at UCL and Special Projects Curator at Ukrainian Institute. The ceremony ended with the singing of Ukraine’s national anthem.

On the same day, in the late afternoon, thousands of people gathered by the St. Volodymyr’s statue in Holland Park and marched to the Russian embassy. Dozens of Ukrainian flags, anti-war posters, and chanting filled the streets.

The crowd shouted “Slava Ukraini! – Heroyam Slava!”, the Ukrainian chant which literally means “Glory to Ukraine – Glory to the Heroes!”, in front of the embassy. Russian diplomats kept the lights on in the building and people could see them briefly looking out the window a few times. 

A stage was installed in front of the embassy, with Ukrainian protesters, activists, and artists giving speeches, singing songs, and speaking about their personal experiences. Many of the attendees talked about the ways in which Ukrainians experienced oppression and repression of their culture through intergenerational trauma: their grandparents and relatives were displaced and prosecuted by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union in the past.

Many UCL students and staff members attended the rally. Dr Sasha Dovzhyk spoke again, this time in front of thousands of Ukrainian protesters and allies, addressing the Russian embassy and stressing that for Ukraine: “Victory means territorial integrity, the liberation of all occupied territories, including Crimea. It means continued support and supply of arms from the rest of the world. It means the preservation of global peace and democracy. We will make sure that this is the last war of Russia. This is the last war of yours, you bastards!”

After the speech, Sasha told Pi Media she is delighted that the street in front of the Russian embassy was recently renamed “Kyiv Street”. She also said that, while last year the invasion was predicted to not last long and that Ukraine would fall to Russia in three days' time, she is proud to show the world the strength of Ukrainian resistance. 

 Freya Proudman, a UCL student and UK Young European Ambassador for Neighbours East, also attended both the ceremony hosted by the Ukrainian Society in the morning and the rally in the evening. “I’m proud to stand by my friends at UCL Ukrainian Society today and every day. We all need to show up and speak up for Ukraine because we have a responsibility to stand up to injustice and crimes against humanity. We all have a role to play in contributing to the Ukrainian victory. This can include donating either monetarily or by providing physical items, volunteering at donation or community centres, amplifying the voices of Ukrainians, challenging disinformation, educating others about Ukraine, and attending gatherings to visibly show your support”, she added.

The SSEES society regularly runs a donation drive for Ukraine, and donations can be ordered for delivery to the SSEES Society address. Ukrainian Institute London publishes up-to-date appeals, charities and volunteering opportunities on their website.