Reflecting on One Year of Luxembourgish Solidarity with Ukraine

In the early hours of 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in the largest attack by one country against another in Europe since the Second World War; one year on, Chronicle.lu looks back at Luxembourg's solidarity with Ukraine during this time.

In the face of Russian aggression, millions of people have fled Ukraine, leaving their normal lives behind to seek refuge elsewhere. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as of 21 February 2023, 8,087,952 Ukrainian refugees had arrived in other European countries in the past twelve months. In March 2022, in response to this influx of displaced persons, the European Union (EU) activated its temporary protection mechanism to offer Ukrainian refugees immediate, temporary protection; this mechanism has been extended until March 2024. Last year, Luxembourg received more than 5,000 applications for temporary protection from Ukrainian nationals having fled the war.

Right from the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, Luxembourg and its people have shown solidarity (for the most part) with the people of Ukraine.

Luxembourg Government & municipalities

Luxembourg has been providing Ukraine with humanitarian and military assistance since the start of the war. In 2022, the country spent €75 million, i.e. 16% of its defence budget, on military aid for Ukraine - a first for Luxembourg, which had not previously directly provided another country with military equipment. In 2023, this will increase to almost €90 million, i.e. 17% of Luxembourg's defence budget. This is in addition to humanitarian assistance: in December 2022, Luxembourg announced that it would grant a new tranche of €4 million to United Nations (UN) agencies as well as Luxembourg NGOs active in Ukraine. Moreover, the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (GDIS) donated several emergency vehicles to the Ukraine last year.

In addition to directly supporting Ukraine, the Grand Duchy has taken in more than 5,000 Ukrainian refugees in the past twelve months. Some are housed in private accommodation with host families or in rented accommodation, whilst others are in refugee shelters (where there have been some complaints recently about the living conditions).

Earlier on Friday 24 February 2023, the Luxembourg Government issued a statement in which it reiterated its support for Ukraine one year on.

At the local level, Luxembourg's municipalities have also shown solidarity with Ukraine, by providing accommodation (e.g. Ukrainescht Haus in Strassen) and launching support initiatives such as donation drives or (re)naming streets, for example the City of Luxembourg named the new N3 / N40 national road "Boulevard de Kyiv" (after criticism over the initial choice of spelling: "Boulevard de Kiev") as an act of solidarity. 

Civil society & cultural sector

Similarly, the people of Luxembourg have shown solidarity with Ukraine over the past year by offering to host Ukrainian refugees, collecting financial and in-kind donations and, particularly at the beginning of Russia's war of aggression, transporting people from Ukraine to Luxembourg or elsewhere in Europe. Local NGOs such as Red Cross Luxembourg, Caritas Luxembourg and UNICEF Luxembourg, among others, were also quick to launch emergency appeals for Ukraine when the war began.

Moreover, over the past twelve months, the non-profit organisations LUkraine asbl, the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club (ULBC) and Slava Ukrayini have mobilised support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in Luxembourg. LUkraine asbl has been organising regular protests and other awareness-raising events as well as offering refugees in the Grand Duchy direct professional, psychological and linguistic support and helping them find housing. The non-profit also offers direct support to Ukraine: in October 2022, it launched an ambitious fundraising campaign called "Ukraine is calling" with the aim of raising enough money to purchase 112 (symbolic number) emergency vehicles for Ukraine; at the time of writing, the campaign had raised over €551,000. At the end of December 2022, LUkraine asbl sent off a first convoy of sixteen emergency vehicles.

Earlier this week, the non-profit launched its "365 Days of Bravery" campaign to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's war against Ukraine; a solidarity march is planned for Saturday 25 February 2023, departing from Luxembourg's Gare Centrale at 14:00. Speaking to Chronicle.lu ahead of this demonstration, Nicolas Zharov, President of LUkraine asbl, said: "The main message is to keep up supporting Ukraine within the solidarity we have achieved during the last twelve months and to multiply this solidarity." Inna Yaremenko, Vice-President of LUkraine asbl, added that Ukrainians in Luxembourg would gather to "remind the world about the year of bravery, resistence and support," adding that everyone was invited to join this march and "show that today we are together and united as never before".

For its part, the ULBC has been supporting Ukrainian refugees primarily in their search for employment and other professional opportunities, but also helping Ukraine directly, notably through a business forum dedicated to the "Rapid Recovery of Ukraine" and a charity gala dinner (raising money for the Olena Zelenska Foundation) at the end of January 2023.

Slava Ukrayini, created in February 2022 in response to the war, won the European Parliament’s European Citizen Prize 2022 for its efforts supporting Ukrainian refugees in Luxembourg. The non-profit particularly helps refugees get to and find accommodation in the Grand Duchy.

Luxembourg's cultural sector has also played a part in this solidarity. The CinEast film festival put together a special Ukrainian programme and raised funds for LUkraine asbl as part of its 2022 charity project. Similarly, the British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) organised a "Solidarity with Refugees" event last year, which featured a screening of local photographer and filmmaker Ali Sahib's debut documentary From Iraq to Ukraine: Every Picture Tells a Story.

In addition, various embassies have shown their support through awareness-raising exhibitions and other gestures, and the local media have been quite active in reporting on Ukraine-related news and sharing the stories of Ukrainian refugees in Luxembourg.

Nevertheless, whilst support for Ukraine continues to be strong in Luxembourg, donations and media visibility have decreased with time, notably since summer 2022, and challenges persist one year on for Ukrainian refugees, notably in terms of finding employment (often due to a language barrier) and housing. As the war continues, organisations such as LUkraine asbl have recalled the continued need for solidarity.