On 24 February 2024 the Ukrainian flag was flying all over Italy. Once again the diaspora reminded the world of Russia’s full-scale invasion of our land. A rally also took place in Naples. It opened with Sofiia, a nineteen-year-old university student. Her story is like that of thousands of other Ukrainians forced to flee Russian bombing. She thanked the defenders of Ukraine, her father among them, to whom she dedicated a song she had written herself, and shared her own dramatic account of how she, her mother and her younger sister ended up in a foreign land.
The rally continued with the President of the Coordination Centre of Ukrainian Associations, Lara Levchun. She recalled the dramatic moment when it all began, with a phone call to her mother, taking everyone back to that terrible morning of 24 February. She stressed that over the past two years Ukraine has witnessed a genuine genocide, as Russian forces commit war crimes, attack schools, hospitals and civilian facilities, and civilians keep dying.
“Sadly, the war goes on: it is now ten years, not one or two, and the Ukrainian people still need social and humanitarian help from Italians and from Europeans as a whole,” stressed the Consul General of Ukraine in Naples, Maksym Kovalenko.
Words of support at the rally also came from Mattia Alvino, coordinator of “Liberi Oltre le Illusioni”, who noted that Russia is seeking to seize Ukrainian territory by force and is a real threat to the entire democratic world. In his view, the European community as a whole must therefore commit itself to rallying around the Ukrainian people and to helping bring Russian aggression to an end as soon as possible.
Father Volodymyr and Father Vasyl of the Greek Catholic community of Naples supported Ukraine in prayer. Together with those present they sang “Bozhe velykyi, yedynyi” (“O Great and Only God”), creating an atmosphere of unity and hope for victory.
A moving speech by the young Pasquale, born in Italy with Ukrainian roots, reminded the audience of the history of Russia’s wars against other countries.
Besides the organisers, the Coordination Centre of Ukrainian Associations and “Liberi Oltre le Illusioni”, speakers in the square included Ventotene Committee, VOLT, EUMANS, Radicali, Italia Viva, Young European Federalists, Punto Interno, Articolo 21 and a Catholic youth association.
The rally ended with everyone singing “Oi u luzi chervona kalyna” together. Hundreds of lights stood for the wounded hearts of Ukrainians, and the voices joined into a unique image of a united community.
