BRUSSELS: Thirty-five years after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union, the nation continues to be combating to protect its sovereignty.
Ukraine’s Independence Day on Monday (Aug 24) falls precisely four-and-a-half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
For the thousands and thousands of Ukrainians displaced by the struggle, the anniversary is each a celebration of the nation they left behind and a reminder of what’s nonetheless at stake.
“It’s a day the place we perceive that we keep in struggle,” mentioned Misha Dzivitskyi, president of the Brussels-based Ukrainian Voices Refugee Committee (UVRC), which helps Ukrainians in Belgium.
“We proceed to be robust. It’s tough, but it surely’s a second the place we perceive that we’ve got independence.”
BUILDING LIVES AWAY FROM HOME
In Belgium, some 70,000 displaced Ukrainians are nonetheless dwelling beneath the European Union’s short-term safety scheme, which permits them to reside and work within the bloc and has been repeatedly prolonged because the struggle drags on.
