The Beauty of the Ukrainian Collective Spirit

Mother and child in Borodyanka

Something has been happening in Ukraine since the beginning of the war that we’re not talking enough about. Something remarkable, powerful and quite beautiful. I witnessed it daily in the six weeks, in total, I’ve spent in the country since the full invasion began: The Collective Spirit of Ukrainians.

Citizens rallying around each other during times of crisis or war is, luckily, nothing new. Such situations often define us as humans and countless stories have been told from so many wars and disasters. We rise above the destruction and free ourselves from the shackles of selfishness.

It would have been a fair bet that the response of the Ukrainian people to this most brutal Russian invasion would have involved going above and beyond to help one another. Personally, however, I am constantly amazed and inspired by the sheer scale of it. Yes, there is the heavy-lifting of western countries sending military hardware and humanitarian aid but there is a fantastic spider’s web of quick and nimble assistance in play, twenty-four hours a day.

Virtually everyone I have met in my time in Ukraine is doing something. There have been countless fundraising events for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) or the army. It feels like everyone has smaller scale initiatives on the go constantly. Raising money for friends on the front…