On the 24th of February, the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is marked. The war has awakened the Ukrainian nation more assertively than it was after the start of Russian aggression in 2014. The Ukrainian Army is actively upgrading, taking advantage of NATO’s ammunition provision and training support. The country continues undertaking overdue reforms, particularly addressing corruption. Finally, Ukraine revives its national identity, uniting people from all over the country and resisting the enemy. This article analyses the main changes that have taken place in Ukraine since its Russia’s full-scale invasion.
By Kateryna Anisova
Street musicians continue performing well-known Ukrainian folk and pop songs, people enjoy coffee, students attend classes, and theatre actors rehearse before the evening's performance. You might think that everything is over. However, musicians and actors are fundraising for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), students study in the shelters during the air raid alert, and those drinking coffee are simultaneously ordering equipment from Poland for those who are now on the frontline. Life in Ukraine has changed, Ukrainians have changed, and Ukraine has changed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi giving a 2023 New Year's greeting to the Ukrainian nation
Source: Official website of President of Ukraine
"This year began on February 24th. Without prefaces and preludes. Sharply. Early. At 4 o'clock" [1]. With these words, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyi introduced his 2023 New Year's message to the Ukrainian nation. It was the 24th of February 2022 when the Russian Federation started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to the war Ukrainians have been subconsciously expecting since 2014, but have continuously refused to believe in any possibility of it. On that morning, Telegram news notifications became an alarm clock, as well as an instant awakening of the entire nation and a call for unity and decisive actions to defeat the enemy.
Ukrainian Army and Defence Sector
Since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the Ukrainian Army has been an overdue Achilles' heel of all of Ukraine's administrations. The country, despite the ongoing war in its Eastern region dating back to 2014, a high level of corruption, economic instability, and institutional weakness, managed to upgrade its army according to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) standards [2]. Indeed, this has allowed Ukraine to successfully resist a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian military. Illustrative photo. Source: Facebook/General Staff
Ukrainian military personnel has distinguished itself with a high level of flexibility and fast learning capabilities, mastering new weapons and conducting operations across the land, air, maritime, and cyberspace. Additionally, the civilians that have formed and joined the Territorial Defence Forces (the UAF’s volunteer formation of a territorial community) have demonstrated an extremely quick ability to learn the basics of military affairs, being driven by a genuine commitment to Ukraine's resistance.
While Ukraine's defence capabilities depend on NATO allies' arm provision, Ukraine has boosted its own defence industry. The production of Ukraine's kamikaze drones (loitering munition) was announced in October 2022 [3] and successfully tested earlier in January 2023 [4]. Ukrainian militaries have also become famous for their innovativeness - from attaching weapons to vehicles to improve maneuverability, to converting sensors to make American equipment compatible with former Soviet jets [5]. Indeed, an established collaboration between the Ukrainian tech industry, troops, and technocrats has become a relevant example of how the agile bureaucracy of the country gives positive results on the battlefield [6].
Ukrainian Resistance and Nation’s Courage
One of the Russian failures in this war was a complete reliance on its politicised intelligence about Ukraine's internal splits and a strong pro-Russian sentiment in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Many factors increase the confidence that Ukrainians will fight until victory. Some of these are: the high number of military volunteers, the resistance and partisan movements, the endurance of rescuers and power engineers, the steadfastness and resilience despite the energy disruption, the shrinking economy, the psychological pressure of information wars, and the revealing of Russia's war crimes.
People with Ukrainian flags walk toward Russian army trucks during a rally against the Russian occupation in Kherson, March 20, 2022: AP/Alexander Chorny
Since the first days following the full-scale invasion, Ukrainians self-organised the entire network of voluntary organisations, working with internally displaced people, managing the humanitarian aid coming from abroad, and sending military support to the front line. Still today, one year after the full-scale invasion, an active voluntary movement remains to be paramount for Ukraine's survival and, indeed, an integral part of Ukraine's culture.
"Donate the price of your coffee for Ukrainian Army" or "6 hryvnias"
Despite financial hardships, 72% of Ukrainians donate to support the resistance [7]. On Instagram and Telegram, civilians keep organising small donation initiatives, like fundraising for a single drone, warm clothes, and medicaments or vehicles for a particular military unit. However, a real furor is caused by the large-scale fundraising campaigns, namely through two famous voluntary funds - "Come Back Alive" ("Povernys zhyvym") and the Charity Foundation of Serhiy Prytula.
Serhiy Prytula and one of the “People's Bayraktars”. Source: Facebook/Serhiy Prytula
Among the most potent projects, worth mentioning is the classified project "Black Box" in cooperation with "Come Back Alive", the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, and blogger Igor Lachenkov, aiming to "reduce the offensive potential of the occupying power" and worthing ₴230 million (almost €6 million) [8]. Another famous project is "People's Bayraktars" organised by Serhiy Prytula and Igor Lachenkov. In three days, Ukrainians collected ₴600 million (more than €15 million) to purchase the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. One of the fundraising slogans was the phrase: “every six hryvnias matter” [9]. Notably, an impressed Bayraktar drone manufacturer sent three Bayraktars for free [10], and the donations were used to purchase access to the ICEYE satellite image database for the needs of the Ukrainian defence sector [11].
Nation Awakening and the Role of Leadership
Undoubtedly, Zelenskyi's role in the nation's unity is paramount. Even his opposers during the 2019 elections are now his supporters and trust his decisions. Internal political clashes have been put aside, and everyone contributes to the victory. Amid the ongoing war, the country is undertaking a piecemeal reforming process and gradually solving overdue problems, such as corruption and Russian lobbying in politics and the economy. Ukraine has received candidate status to the European Union (EU) and has already applied for NATO membership. These are achievements that one could have hardly imagined one year ago.
Zelenskyi is visiting unoccupied Kherson. November 2022. Source: Zelenskyi / Official
Telegram Channel.
The country is currently undergoing another critical phase of its statehood formation. The Ukrainian language is more present on the streets (spoken by those who were born in Russian-speaking surrounding). Ukrainians cherish and revive their traditions, and those who fled from the war are manifesting on the squares, reminding the world about the Ukrainian realities.
Conclusion
Donations, volunteering, activated civic engagement, and involvement in local and national politics have become an integral part of Ukrainian life. Within the last year, the nation has become more united, assertive, and persistent. Ukrainians are ready to fight till the end, but Western assistance remains crucial and decisive. Indeed, the country still has a lot of homework to get done to become an EU and NATO member and meet the expectations of its staunch allies. However, the primary task is restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, for which the country’s unity and partners’ solidarity remain paramount.
References
[1] “New Year greetings of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy”. 2022. President of Ukraine: official website. 31 January, 2022. Accessed February 09, 2023. https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/novorichne-privitannya-prezidenta-ukrayini-volodimira-zelens-80197
[2] “Naskilky ukrainska armiia nablyzylasia do standartiv NATO: komentuie zastupnyk Ministra oborony”. 2021. Ukrainian Radio. 7 July, 2021. Accessed February 09, 2023. http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/news.html?newsID=96228
[3] Tarasovskyi Y. 2022. “«Ukroboronprom» anonsuvav zavershennia rozrobky «z dalnistiu polotu v 1000 km”. Ymovirno, ydetsia pro dron (Dopovneno).” Forbes.Ukraine. 17 October, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://forbes.ua/news/ukroboronprom-anonsuvav-zavershennya-rozrobki-drona-kamikadze-z-dalnistyu-polotu-v-1000-km-17102022-9056
[4] “Letyt na 1000 kilometriv: "Ukroboronprom" uspishno vyprobuvav dron-analoh Shahed (video)”. 2023. Focus. 13 January, 2023. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://focus.ua/uk/voennye-novosti/545234-letit-na-1000-kilometrov-ukroboronprom-uspeshno-ispytal-dron-analog-shahed-video
[5] Lutsevych O. 2023. “How Ukraine’s invention and resilience confounds Russia”. Chatham House. February 3, 2023. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-02/how-ukraines-invention-and-resilience-confounds-russia
[6] Murray R. 2023. “NATO can learn from Ukraine’s military innovation”. Chatham House. February 3, 2023. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-02/nato-can-learn-ukraines-military-innovation
[7] Lutsevych O. 2023. “How Ukraine’s invention and resilience confounds Russia”. Chatham House. February 3, 2023. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-02/how-ukraines-invention-and-resilience-confounds-russia
[8] “Black Box”. 2022. Povernys zhyvym. 23 December, 2022. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://savelife.in.ua/projects/military/black-box/
[9] “Kozhni 6 hrn vazhlyvi: v Ukraini startuvav proiekt «Narodnyi Bairaktar»”. 2022. The Sumy Post. June 22, 2022. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://sumypost.com/sumynews/help/kozhni-6-grn-vazhlyvi-v-ukrayini-startuvav-proyekt-narodnyj-bajraktar/
[10] Karlovskyi D. 2022. “V ukraintsiv ne vizmut 600 milioniv hryven na Bairaktary, a viddadut try BPLA bezkoshtovno”. Ukrainska Pravda. June 27, 2022. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/06/27/7355029/
[11] Romanenko V. 2022. “«Bavovny» bude bahato: Prytula na hroshi ukraintsiv kupyv suputnyk”. Ukrainska Pravda. August 18, 2022. Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2022/08/18/7363829/
