This year we officially celebrate the 24^th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence. However, this anniversary could be much older or much younger.

1000 years ago the Kyivan Rus was a big state in Europe stretching from Poland to Kuban and from the Black Sea to Finland.

In 16-18^th century, the Ukrainian Cossacks had their bright moments in history defending our independence from all sides, sometimes even helping the Serbs to become independent.

In early 20^th century Ukraine had glimpses of independence after the end of the Romanov dynasty and before being engulfed by the Soviet Union.

During World War II Ukrainians paid a dear price for the common victory over Nazi Germany, having lost about 15 million people. Nonetheless, we have survived, helping other nations to regain their independence too. As you may know, the Third Ukrainian Front that liberated Serbia consisted mostly of Ukrainians.

Throughout 70 years of the Soviet rule Ukraine lost even more people, due to artificially imposed famine and numerous reprisals. That is why the communist totalitarian ideology is now officially banned in Ukraine as equal to Nazism. The last bulwark of this ideology, though calling itself different names, is posing today the biggest threat to all of us.

And yet, despite so many grievances, Ukrainians have managed to produce first the phenomenon of the Orange revolution and then the EuroMaidan.

The Orange revolution ended peacefully, because there was no direct military interference from the outside.

The EuroMaidan was unique, because Ukrainians were dying not for better economic conditions or personal prosperity, but for abstract European democratic values. We have lost over 100 people on the Maidan killed by covert Russian snipers who burned Ukrainian flags in the streets of Kyiv. When this did not help to intimidate the people and the former president left the country, Russia started an open war – first in Crimea and later in Eastern Ukraine.

So, in a sense, the real independence came to us not in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed more or less peacefully, but in 2014 when the entire nation suddenly realized that this is our land and it is worth fighting for.

We are fighting for our freedom, but for your freedom as well. Aggression does not mean only territorial expansion. It means also financing terrorism, promoting extremist parties, exporting corruption and organized crime, sowing inter-ethnic hatred or racial intolerance, engaging in energy blackmail, fostering religious fanaticism veiled by patriotism, lying from TV screens. If you like all of that – welcome to “Russky Mir”.

In fact, we – Ukrainians, Serbs, all other Europeans – do not need to invent a bicycle. We all subscribed ourselves to the fundamental democratic European values – as Members of the Council of Europe and the Participating States to the OSCE. When it comes to these rights and freedoms – neutrality is not an option. This value system has been very successful for the last 70 years in promoting peace and prosperity in Europe. If we stick to these values, all other benefits will be there as well, including our national sovereignties and independencies. If we fail to honor those values, in the long run there will be nothing left for anyone.

So, let me raise this toast to our common democratic values which are the basis of our independence.

Hvala Serbiji!

Slava Ukrajini!