March on Defender’s Day in Helsinki

Our rally was joined by Vitaliy Mizin, a lieutenant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces who was seriously injured and is currently undergoing rehabilitation in Finland, Alöna Kavardakova, the mother of a Ukrainian defender who is currently fighting at the front, and Svitlana Lavreniuk, the sister of a hero who died defending Ukraine.

We thank them for their strength and courage to speak out, for trying to convey with their stories the price of freedom and peaceful days in Europe. It is earned at the cost of lives, at the cost of the health of Ukrainian defenders, at the cost of gray hair and sleepless nights of their mothers and close ones.

Sincere thanks to the choir Perespiv and Sofiia Yakovyshyna for their incredibly moving musical performances. Kasper Kannosto, thank you for your frank words about the realities faced by those who seek to support Ukraine’s defenders.

And the most sincere gratitude to our defenders

Olga Ansut, Maiju Harila, Nadiia Fedorova