About 900 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s Independence Day serves as a powerful reminder of the generations of Ukrainians who have fought for their freedom. It is a struggle that resonates with South Africa’s struggle for freedom.
On 24 August 1991, Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union, reclaiming its right to be a sovereign democratic state. In the 20th century, Ukrainians declared the independence of the country multiple times – the independence lasted from three years to a few days in 1918, 1938 and 1941.
In a 1991 referendum, 90.3% of Ukrainians voted for independence. Since then, democracy has become a core value, with more than 80% of the population committed to it by 2023. The Act of Ukrainian Independence, approved by Parliament, was drafted by dissidents like Levko Lukyanenko, who spent 27 years in Soviet prisons for his political views – a struggle that resonates with South Africa’s own fight for freedom.
Russian violence on Ukraine
About 900 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s Independence Day serves as a powerful reminder of the generations of Ukrainians who have fought for their freedom. Russia’s invasion in 2014 and the subsequent full-scale war in February 2022 echo the numerous military conflicts the Russian Empire has waged to achieve the status of one of the largest countries in the world and to maintain its colonies.
Since February 2024, Russia has launched 9,600 missiles and nearly 14,000 drones, damaging or destroying 6,203 civilian buildings, including more than 2,000 schools, 742 hospitals and 500 churches. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy system, attempting to force the country into submission. More than 50% of the targets for Russian missiles and drones have been civilian infrastructure.
The humanitarian consequences are severe, with more than 10 million Ukrainians displaced, thousands killed and those in Russian-occupied territories facing daily repression, religious persecution and physical torture. The devastation in cities like Bakhmut and Mariupol, and the stories from Bucha and Irpin, make it hard to comprehend that the Russian army could commit such brutality. However, for those acquainted with Ukrainian history, this is not surprising.
For example, on 2 November 1708 the Ukrainian city of Baturyn was destroyed by Moscow’s army – killing 15,000 civilians, including women and children. This was a response to Ukrainian leader Ivan Mazepa’s attempt to regain independence from Moscow’s Tsar. This leader has never travelled to South Africa, and yet his name did so on a ship. That is how Mazeppa Bay, a place of serene beauty on the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast, earned its name.
The roots of Ukrainian democracy
Ivan Mazepa was one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Cossack Republic, a viable political entity with its own territory, state authority, local administration, military, financial, tax and legal systems that existed from the mid-17th to the late 18th century. The Cossack Republic, a military-political organisation founded on principles of personal freedom and elected leadership, was established by the Cossacks, drawing on ancient Rus’ military and knightly traditions.
The political pinnacle of the Cossack Republic was the 1710 “Treaty and Establishment of the Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhian Host and All the Free People of Little Russia”, drafted by Pylyp Orlyk. This document, considered one of Europe’s earliest constitutions, outlined the principles of elections, separation of powers and the protection of freedoms, including religious freedom. This governance system stood in stark contrast to the Moscow Tsardom, where slavery was abolished only in 1861. Though the Cossack Republic fell to Russian imperial control, the Ukrainian spirit of freedom has been continuously reborn from generation to generation.
Suppression of Ukrainian culture
The military defeat of the Cossack Republic led to the systematic destruction of Ukrainian culture. In 1709, Moscow imposed censorship on Ukrainian printed books, which had been published since the 16th century. By 1720, the printing of new literature in Ukrainian was banned. In 1729, Peter II ordered all Ukrainian legislation to be translated into Russian. The Ukrainian language was banned at universities in 1784. By 1874, printing Ukrainian books was entirely prohibited and the use of the Ukrainian language was banned in education, theatre and music. These actions were based on the Russian Empire’s belief, expressed in the Valuev Decree, that there was no distinct Ukrainian language, dismissing it as a corrupted dialect.
The history of the Russian Empire and its persecution of Ukrainian culture and identity leaves no doubt as to the roots of Putin’s modern-day assertion that Ukrainians do not exist.
It also explains why Russia has been abducting Ukrainian children since 2014, aiming to turn them into Russians. Since 2022, Russia has unlawfully and forcibly deported 19,546 Ukrainian children. In May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing changes to the citizenship, names and birthdates of Ukrainian children without parental consent. Ukrainian children have been sent to 57 regions of Russia, with some already adopted into Russian families.
During the Africa Peace Mission, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa personally asked Putin to return the Ukrainian children, but he dismissed the plea. Despite support from the UN and the International Red Cross, only 388 children have been returned in nearly three years.
At the same time, Ukrainian parents in occupied territories continue to disappear. For example, the mother of 12-year-old Sashko from Mariupol, Snizhana, was separated from her son during the so-called filtration process of Russian military checks on any people in the occupied area showing signs of Ukrainian identity. Sashko was sent for adoption, while his mother was detained. There is no information on her whereabouts or whether she is still alive.
Russia’s ideological threat
The military-political leadership of the Russian Federation openly denies Ukraine’s right to exist as a sovereign, independent state. The Russian ideology of “Rashism”, widely professed by the Russian political class, denies the existence of Ukrainians as a separate nation. The mandatory study of Putin’s anti-academic essay “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” has been introduced in Russian schools and universities to reinforce the propaganda.
Russia’s long-term goals are to dismantle the rules-based international order by sowing chaos, undermining democratic unity and reviving imperialism. For Russia, the latter is the only alternative. Aligning with authoritarian states, such as Belarus, Iran and North Korea, which become the leading suppliers of weapons, Russia seeks to erase Ukrainian identity and commit genocide. The South African Constitution, upholding the rules-based order, stands in opposition to such imperial ambitions.
The call to South Africans
In South Africa, apartheid was dismantled through the weakening of the government via international sanctions, much like the pressure needed today to curb Russian aggression.
In 1963, OR Tambo wrote a thank you letter to the Foreign Ministry of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic expressing his gratitude on behalf of millions of South Africans for supporting the resolution that called for sanctions implemented by the UN General Assembly in 1962. Tambo, the deputy head of the ANC, expressed his appreciation for this support of justice and human rights and believed that, if the resolution were implemented, the politics of apartheid would be impossible.
There is no lack of UN resolutions demanding Russia to stop the invasion, return Ukrainian children or to stop the occupation of the sovereign territory, but in most of them South Africa chose to abstain. However, the UN Security Council is blocked by the Russian veto right.
In the 1980s, international sanctions forced the South African government into negotiations. It did not happen overnight, but the pressure was crucial. In the case of violent aggression, peace agreements do not depend on the victim; the aggressor must be weakened. And this is only possible if all countries are working together.
In 2024, it is not enough for the European Union and the US to enforce sanctions on Russia. Chinese and Indian markets have grown strong enough to allow Russia to continue its aggression, and countries that continue collaboration or “neutrality” with the aggressor simply support such aggression. Or, in the words of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
There are simple steps that South Africa can take today to support the rules-based order:
- Joining the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.
- Signing the Global Peace Summit Communiqué.
- Ceasing economic cooperation with Russia until all Russian forces withdraw and Ukrainian borders are restored.
A journey of understanding
Just like South Africans, Ukrainians are celebrating and fighting for their democracy.
By removing the barriers that prevent South Africa from standing with Ukraine, South Africans would be supporting the global fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
The washed-out road to Mazeppa Bay today may be rough, but it symbolises the journey that many South African leaders could undertake to truly understand Ukraine’s struggle. DM