[AUGUST 24, 2025 SOLIDARITY ACTIONS]—Ukraine National Day coverage

PARIS

WARSAW

MÄLMO

Speech of Ukrainian university student Oleksandr Kyselov at Mälmo gathering

When the invasion began, I was a student here in Malmö. I still remember the shock of those first hours: the news coming in, the disbelief, the disorientation. It all felt unreal, like a nightmare you hope to wake up from.

But I also remember something else — how the very same evening, people gathered at Möllevångstorget, right in the heart of this town. To express their solidarity with a country thousands of kilometres away. They were not many. Maybe just a couple hundred people, but in that moment, it meant everything. It was cold and dark. But suddenly, we weren’t alone.

And only a few days later, thousands filled that square to show support. Friends, fellow students, and party comrades, all showed up. It felt like hela Malmö [in Swedish, the whole city of Mälmo]— this city that became my second home — showed up for Ukraine. That memory will stay with me forever.

I was born and raised in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. Russia pretends to care about people like me — but in reality it destroys our cities, seizes our homes, separates families, kidnaps our children, and forces us to accept their passports at gunpoint. That is not protection. That is occupation.

To be honest, in the past, Independence Day did not mean much. Another holiday, another day off, maybe a concert or perhaps fireworks. But everything changed once independence came under threat. Today, independence means survival. It means freedom to decide our future. Something old and new empires are trying to take away. Dividing our lands and resources. Striking deals from which only they will benefit.

We all hope for peace. Yet I don’t expect much. It is important to say clearly: Ukraine has never refused peace. Ukraine called for a ceasefire. Ukraine asked for direct negotiations. For God’s sake Ukraine is ready to discuss “compromises”. But there is only one man who holds the key to peace, and he is not in Ukraine. And not in America. All our hopes end with Putin’s “no.” Because for him, peace means surrender. Revival of the empire. Putting Ukraine — and its proud people — back in his pocket. And he doesn’t want to settle for anything less. He believes he is strong enough.

I was born and raised in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. It is occupied now. These are my keys to the apartment I grew up in. I still carry them with me. And I believe the day will come when I will be able to use them again, the day when the city is free.

But I am not naive. I understand that Ukraine may be forced to accept a bitter, unfair, unthinkable scenario. Our allies often lack the will or capacity to put real pressure on Russia. They send us arms, but they don’t have enough. And unlike the last time fascism rose in Europe, they are not ready to fight side by side. Our people are exhausted. Many are withdrawing, giving up. Many have fallen and will never stand with us again. Alas, justice does not always win. I learned that moral claims mean little without the power to enforce them.

I do not believe in miracles. I cannot imagine this Russian tsar suddenly becoming a peacemaker, even if he got what he demanded. Any deal with Moscow is not worth the paper it is written on. That is why we must learn the lesson: we cannot afford illusions. We need to understand what makes us weak, so we are never caught unprepared again.

That means no blind trust in the United States or in other great powers. Especially when it comes to security. We know already what paper “guarantees” look like; their reminder is written in Ukrainian blood. That means recognising that austerity — dismantling social systems, weakening schools, hospitals, selling off public institutions and infrastructure— makes every society more fragile if war or crisis comes. That means understanding that ordinary people, пересічні українці [ordinary Ukrainians] are the true backbone and Atlases of any society. And when elites disregard them, they also undermine the capacity and will to defend our collective political project. When people feel abandoned, any fortress is easy to capture.

Security will not be granted from above. It will not come as a gift from abroad. It will only grow from below — from our own capacity to organise, to hold those in power accountable, and to fight for our rights. This is true in Ukraine. It is true here in Sweden. It is true everywhere.

And I cannot underline enough: Ukraine’s greatest strength lies in its people. In our diversity, in our stubbornness, in our solidarity. And also in the millions of friends we have found in these difficult years — here in Malmö, across Sweden, and around the world. Do not forget this, and do not let enemies pit us against each other.

Long live free Ukraine, ruled by its people and for its people! Хай живе вільна, самостійна, соціальна Україна! [Long live a free, independent, social Ukraine! Länge leve internationell solidaritet!

MEXICO CITY

BERLIN

NICE

BILBAO

KYIV

NANTES

LYON

OSLO

BUDAPEST

BARCELONA

GHENT

STOCKHOLM