Ukraine Youth Ambassadors: "All changed in one day"

A delegation of “Ukraine Youth Ambassadors” are travelling onboard Peace Boat's 117th Global Voyage, sharing their perspectives on the current situation in Ukraine, giving testimony of their first-hand experiences and sharing Ukrainian culture and traditions with participants onboard.

A special series of events are now taking place onboard, wherein the Youth Ambassadors introduce their programme and peace mission on the voyage, as well as their personal stories from war and how their families and hometowns have been affected by the Russian full-scale invasion, which started on February 24, 2022.

The lives of all of the Ukrainian Youth Ambassadors entirely changed from that day. Natalia Makohon from the Donetsk region described the first day of war: "It was 4:30 a.m. I could hear loud bangs in the distance, then car alarms - one, two, three, all these sounds were too loud, too out of the ordinary. Another explosion, and I felt my house tremble heavily. And then the first words from my mom that I will remember forever: 'Dear, the war has started'".

Yuliia Chekhovska, who comes from Zdolbuniv, a small town in western Ukraine, talked about the role of Russian state propaganda in persuading Russian citizens to accept the invasion and justify war against Ukraine, through the example of her own family. The Russian part of her family believed that Nazis exist in Ukraine and would take over the whole country, endangering the Russian population in Ukraine and Russia itself. "I see the brutal violence Russian soldiers are committing every day in Ukraine, but my own family in Russia doesn't believe it, because the news they are given doesn't depict all those events," said Yuliia.

Antonina Korotenko and Adelina Lysenko were both engaged in organizing humanitarian aid from the very early days of the invasion. "We turned the premises of our theater into a warehouse for humanitarian aid and the basement into a bomb shelter", said Antonina, who was a professional theater actress before the war. She and her colleagues collected food, medical supplies, warm clothes and blankets, and helped elderly people to find shelter during the bombing.

Adelina, who lives with her family in Japan, asked herself, "What can I do to help my country?" Together with her mother and grandmother, she organized humanitarian aid and transport of ambulance vehicles and medical prosthesis to Ukraine, as well as many cultural events to raise awareness in Japan of the reality of the Russian invasion and its devastating destruction on Ukraine and its people.

Three Ukrainian Youth Ambassadors come from the city of Kharkiv. The second largest city and main educational center in Ukraine, Kharkiv is located in eastern Ukraine close to the border with Russia. Sofiia Demydenko, who had many hobbies and sporting interests, with many friends and a happy family, said: "All changed in one day. We tried to understand what was happening to our city. Every night the horizon burned with fire. Everything was so strange and difficult to comprehend."

Tetiana Vazhynska, a graphic designer, shared her experience and activities in cultural resistance. "We organized many art and poster exhibitions with engaged anti-war messages. Art supports us in times of sorrow, it gives us power to keep fighting and hope to keep living." She showed the audience a screenshot she took when she talked to her parents over the phone, "in fear that it could be the last conversation with my parents."

Maria Borzykh talked about life before and during the war in Kharkiv through her personal videos and photos. As a law student, she emphasized the international laws that Russia has violated in its military invasion of Ukraine, and the range of war crimes that its army has committed on Ukrainian territory. She pointed out that Ukraine is the first country in history which is investigating crimes committed by occupation forces against the natural environment as war crimes.

At the end of her presentation, Natalia Makohon shared the message of all the Ukrainian Youth Ambassadors: "We all started our lives from scratch in another country, learning another language and a new culture. But our hearts are still beating in Ukraine, our home. And we hope to return."