by Kyiv
The sun shines on Piazza Indipendenza, the heart of Kyiv, in this morning in late February, melt the snow on the edges of the buildings and on the streets. The glacial cold, some say, has arrived in recent weeks. “I remember that on the morning of three years ago, when the Russian invasion began, it was not so cold at all,” says Dmytro, walking in the Volodymyr Hill (the Volodymyr hill) snowy park where, years ago, the Kyiv town hall He erected a statue of Dante Alighieri, as part of a sort of twinning with the city of Florence.
It is February 24, the third anniversary of the start of the war on a large scale, in Ukraine. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of thirteen western countries gathered in Kyiv to demonstrate their closeness to the president Zelensky and the country. For Ukrainians it is the day of memory, reflection, pain, tribute to the fallen of the conflict.
At the foot of the triumphal column, an imposing monument of independence, the square, renamed Euromaidan in 2014 at the time of the dignity revolution, turned into a place of memory. People pass slowly, with a lot of composure, in front of the great memorial that, in the course of the war, came to form on the side of the square, in front of the National Academy of Ukraine music, grown more and more, spontaneously , over the years. A thick tappet of thousands of yellow-blue flags, each planted for each dead soldier. A crowd of photographs of all sizes of men – also some women – who have lost their lives in war. Mostly young people, many boys, but also older men. Smiling, proud, carefree faces. And then candles, flowers, posters, drawings, slogans. And flags of the different battalions, of Ukraine, also of other countries: here and there they wave the flags of the European Union. Passers focus on looking at the photos, turning on a light, dedicating a prayer, taking a few selfies. People of all ages, couples who are held by hand walking along the paths among the photographs, parents with their children, soldiers, many young people.
At the Orthodox monastery of San Michele with the golden domes, a group of soldiers is welcomed by a Pope for a religious function within the church. Outside the monastery, a squad of soldiers and some civilians lay flowers in front of the so-called wall of memory for the fallen of the Russian-Ukraine war. Many kneel in front of the photos of the fallen. «They are soldiers who arrived for today’s commemoration in Kyiv from all over Ukraine, Lviv, Odessa, other cities. After this celebration they will all return to the front where they fight “. To explain is Alex, 37 years old, the jovial face that makes him seem much younger than his age. He comes from the Donetsk region but now lives in Kyiv. He is also a soldier. “I’m going to the front but I don’t fight, I don’t kill anyone,” he underlines by mentioning a smile. «I take care of the search for the disappeared soldiers and those who died at the front of which families are waiting to get back up the corpses. It is important to give them answers “. As a question about when the war ends, he remains silent for a moment, widens his arms and says: “We don’t know, but the hope is that it is within this year”. And adds: «It will not be now, we will surely have to wait. But the hope is that, really, this is the last anniversary of the war “. The group of soldiers moves away. Alex has to go away with them. A warm handshake. And he moves away.
February 24 is also the day dedicated to prayer for all religious confessions, as decreed by the Ukrainian Parliament. The Ukrainian bishops have asked that moments of prayer, adoration, meditation in the various parishes are held on this day. To Fastiv, to the mass in the parish of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, Father Mykhailo Romaniv, director of the Dominican center San Martino De Porres, in the homily recalls his many missions to bring humanitarian aid to the Ast, in the lands of the front. It tells in particular of a country in the Zaporizhzia region, which is constantly affected by missiles. «But when I went there I was not attacking aid. And then the locals began to tell me: “Please, remains more time with us, your presence is cpme a light for us” ». It is a very difficult moment for Ukraine, but the needs of the population are enormous And urgent, solidarity must not fail.
