Larisa Galadza

Thanks to some really good questions from Polina Boichuk and Tetiana Gaiduk, watching this Kyiv Not Kiev video will give you an understanding of why Canada and Ukraine are such good friends and what we are trying to achieve through that friendship.

Thanks to BBC News Ukrainian for the chance to remember such a wonderful poem. It has stayed with me in the days since I recorded it.

On the UN's International Day for Persons with Disabilities, I was invited by Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska to visit Kyiv's Museum in the Dark "Three After Midnight". She, my German colleague Ambassador Anka Feldhusen and I spent 90 minutes on an excursion with our guide in total darkness, identifying pieces of art, finding an apartment, mailing a letter, filling a cup with water, walking on the street, buying a drink at the market, strolling in a park. We were blind for 90 minutes. The void was overwhelmingly stimulating, and in the total blindness my eyes were opened just that little bit more.

It is Holodomor Memorial Day today. At 4pm I will light candles in the windows, and reflect on the poignant images I recently viewed at the National Holodomor Museum. I was there to open an exhibit --Maria-- by Canadian artist Lesia Maruschak. The works in this exhibit are based on the stories told by 95 year old Canadian woman who lived through the Holodomor. Here are my remarks from that event (translation follows): Для мене велика честь бути тут з вами напередодн Дня ...Continue reading

Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Maidan Revolution -- the day when the desire for freedom and dignity among the young people of Ukraine reached such a pitch that they came to central Kyiv to say, "Enough." The events on the Maidan lasted months (likely not what those first protestors expected) and took many lives (definitely not what the protestors expected). The young people were joined by older ones, and very soon we saw Ukraine in all its diversity, united.... After many months, truth, goodness, solidarity, independence freedom and dignity -- showed their power. I've been in Ukraine as Canadian Ambassador for one year now, and it is my firm conclusion that the battle for freedom and dignity rages on. The powers of greed and ego -- of figures inside the country and in Moscow -- are working in virulent and insidious way to neutralize the spirit that came to the Maidan and the many gains that Ukrainians have made since. And every single day, I witness amazing people giving their everything in this ongoing fight. It's harder to see them from afar, because they aren't all gathered on the square anymore. Instead they toil, David against Goliath, from their corners of the country. Freedom and dignity vs greed and ego. This is a long-haul fight.

Today was local election day in Ukraine. 29,000 polling stations opened for the most complex vote of Ukraine’s independent history. A new electoral code, new/redrawn levels of administration, COVID, plus plus plus made it tough! Thanks to the fine folks at IFES, I got to see 4 polling stations at work. I met many resilient, determined, committed Ukrainians, both workers and voters. Democracy no matter how old or young in a country is always a process that requires care,... attention, respect, collaboration, and the deep, common vision that democracy is worth the trouble. It was a privilege to witness Ukraine’s democracy in action today. I won’t forget, however, that the voters in 18 communities in the government-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have not yet been given the chance to exercise their democratic right. They must be given the opportunity to elect their local governments as soon as possible. See more

A very worthwhile, thought provoking and relevant lecture from Roman Waschuk. 9 (+1) things Western partners got wrong in political and programmatic support to post-Maidan reforms in Ukraine.

My Ukrainian Independence Day greeting....from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. (With thanks to family, friends and community for their cameos and creativity!)