“We Are Documenting Human Pain”. In London, Oleksandra Matviichuk Spoke about Ukraine’s Current Fight

Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, delivered an address at the discussion panel “Ukraine’s Fight for a Just Peace” specially organized by Chatham House and the U.S. Embassy in the United Kingdom. She shared her thoughts about how the ongoing war affected Ukrainian society and what support Ukraine needed from allies to continue to resist Russia and work towards a just and lasting peace.

Russia’s war of aggression is taking a heavy toll on Ukraine’s armed forces, population, economy and infrastructure. This notwithstanding, the fight continues, both by the strength of the Ukrainian people and the support of allies in Europe and beyond. This event was instrumental in helping its participants better understand what the real situation in Ukraine looked like, what our people truly needed and why the support of our partners was of utmost importance.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was also a special guest at the event. He stressed: “For over ten years, Ukraine has been fighting to survive and be free”. 

Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, tackled the following questions in her speech:

– What is the effect of the “total war” Russia wages in Ukraine?

– What is the updated information on what’s going on in Ukraine?

– Where does the Ukrainian society draw its strength from and what outcome does it expect?

– In what ways can Ukraine’s Western allies support resilience and peace after hostilities have ceased?

“In fact, we do not document violations of the Geneva Conventions. It is something more tangible – we document human pain. This war turns human beings into numbers. What we are indeed doing is returning their names to them”, Oleksandra started her speech with these words. Also, the event in Chatham House was followed by the opening of the War Diaries: Unheard Voices of Ukrainian Children exhibition of the War Diaries project by Khrystyna Khranovska. It presented drawings, personal items and diary entries of 14 Ukrainian children from Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions. These artefacts form a history which can never be erased. The exhibition was created to raise awareness of the mental impact of war on contemporary youth. Previously, it was on display in Kyiv, Washington, Amsterdam, New York, Berlin and Strasbourg.