by Eugene Czolij
former president of the Ukrainian World Congress
president of the Ukraine-2050 nongovernmental organisation
Source: Kyiv Post
Thirty‑five years ago, on Aug. 24, 1991, Ukraine’s Parliament adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. Undeniably, this was one of the most important geopolitical moments of the 20th century.
The restoration of Ukraine’s Independence unchained the Ukrainian people from Russian colonial shackles and enabled them to enter the circle of free peoples of the world. Indeed, it ended three centuries of merciless Russian domination and exploitation, albeit punctuated by brief periods of Ukraine’s statehood. This grim period of Ukraine’s history included the Holodomor, now recognized by the international community as a genocide that took millions of Ukrainian lives.
Ukraine’s Independence also propelled the dissolution of the Soviet Union into 15 independent states and liberated many other enslaved peoples from what former US President Ronald Reagan correctly coined as an “evil empire.”
Therefore, the declaration of Ukraine’s Independence is a historic event that should be commemorated by Ukrainians and all freedom-loving people.
As for Russia’s current dictator, unsurprisingly, Ukraine’s Independence is fully unacceptable as it directly led to the collapse of the Soviet empire.
Since then, Russia has attempted in numerous ways, including with gas blackmail, to first reconquer Ukraine and, if successful, proceed to reconstitute the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
Realizing, though, that Ukraine was clearly heading in the direction of Europe and shedding its Soviet past, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had the same reaction as Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, when he wrote in 1932 to his henchman, Lazar Kaganovich: “If we do not start rectifying the situation in Ukraine now, we may lose Ukraine.”
That is why Russia invaded Crimea and a part of Donbas in 2014 and then started a genocidal all‑out war against Ukraine in 2022.
For over 12 years now, Ukraine has been heroically defending its independence and protecting the territorial integrity of Europe from Russia’s imperialist plans.
At the outset, NATO member countries condemned Russia’s military aggression. However, their support for Ukraine was cautious and incremental since they did not fully perceive the immediacy of Russia’s threat to their own security and erroneously calculated that restraint would prevent escalation.
Indeed, the CBC recently reported that, during his visit to Canada in May 2026, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, revealed that: “For more than 25 years, we all lived in a reality in which we believed there was no threat. We don’t need to do anything for our own defence.” He also conceded that, although the northern European countries reacted to Russia’s military invasion into Crimea, “Germany and other countries: they didn’t. They heard the alarm clock, but they pushed the snooze button and turned around”. Moreover, he warned that Russia could start a war against a NATO member country as early as three years, namely in 2029.
Then, on June 11, 2026, Politico published the following telling remarks of the Inspector of the German Army, the highest-ranking officer of German ground forces, Christian Freuding: “We have to be prepared […] We must be ready to fight […] All 32 NATO partners agree that Russia might have the capability to invade a NATO partner country in 2029.”
Fortunately, a Russian attack against a NATO member country, and its dramatic consequences on human lives, can still be averted if the West actively supports Ukraine now to ensure that Ukraine succeeds in defending its independence and liberating all its occupied territories.
Ukraine’s daily drone strikes against oil refineries deep into Russia and oil tankers in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov have already shattered the myth that Russia is a military superpower. Major media outlets have correctly noted that the tide has turned. For instance, on May 20, 2026, CNN published an article titled “Russia is losing in Ukraine. Xi has noticed – Trump should too,” which states that: “Thus far, it’s Ukraine – not Russia – that has achieved net territorial gains this year, together with inflicting massive losses on Russia’s invading forces.”
Putin is acutely aware of Russia’s current vulnerability and that is why its army has escalated deadly ballistic missile attacks on the civilian population, including children, and civilian infrastructure of Ukraine.
Under such circumstances, one would logically surmise that the West would supply Ukraine with additional effective air-defense interceptors to nudge the course of history in the right direction.
However, on Aug. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Ukraine has received only a third as many air-defense interceptors in 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. This revelation is bewildering as it exposes the West to a similar treatment in the foreseeable future.
This is a critical time and the perennity of Ukraine’s Independence will heavily impact on global security and stability.
On the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, NATO member countries need to recognize this blatant reality for their own good and immediately provide Ukraine with the necessary tools, starting with effective missile defense ammunition, to ensure that we move towards a better, safer and more secure world.
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