Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the site of a heavily damaged building following Russian strikes in Kyiv on May 24, 2026. [AFP]
Today, Ukraine marks 35 years since the restoration of its independence. 1991 did not create Ukraine. It restored sovereignty to a nation whose history, culture, and identity long predated the previous version of the Russian Empire–the Soviet Union.
Independence meant far more than replacing one flag with another. It meant ending the claim of an imperial centre to define who Ukrainians were, to absorb our history, to suppress our language, traditions and institutions, and to decide our future from afar.
This pattern is familiar far beyond Ukraine. Nations that have emerged from colonial rule know that independence means more than formal sovereignty.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is an attempt to reverse history. Moscow expected Ukraine to collapse in three days. It expected our institutions to fail, our society to fracture, and our people to surrender. It failed. Ukraine stands.
The cost was terrible. Lives have been lost, families torn apart and entire communities scared. Yet our institutions keep working. Businesses operate. Farmers cultivate their land. Teachers do their work, doctors save lives and communities rebuild what Russian missiles and drones destroy. Ukrainians continue not only to defend their country, but to create, invest, and plan the future.
Ukraine has not disappeared. Our identity has not been erased. Our independence has not been surrendered.
We no longer wait for the next missile to arrive. We have built our own long-range capabilities and are increasingly taking the war back to the backbone of Russian economy that makes it possible, refineries, fuel networks and military-industrial facilities that supply and finance the Russian war machine. The country that was expected merely to survive has learned how to impose a cost of its own.