Poignant Athlone rally marks four years of war in Ukraine

Members of the Ukrainian community in Athlone – many clutching portraits of their dead or missing relatives – came together for a poignant rally in the town last week to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion of their country by Russian Armed Forces.

The event, which was organised by the community themselves, took place in the Civic Square on Tuesday night, March 3, which marked the exact date on which Russian military forces entered Ukraine four years ago.

One of the organisers, Tanya Donchenko, said the rally was organised as a reminder that “the war with the Russian aggressor is not over and that people continue to die in Ukraine every day”. She added that members of the Ukrainian community who are living locally were anxious to come together to continue to remind everyone that the suffering of the Ukrainian people is still continuing.

Many of those who attended the rally took the opportunity to tell their stories of the war, to sing some well-chosen songs and to read poems. Present among the sombre gathering also were families whose loved ones have died in the four-year war or who are currently in Russian captivity where the are being subjected to “inhuman torture”, according to Ms. Donchenko.

Among the many flags that were proudly held aloft at last week's rally was a regional flag from the once-bustling city of Mariupol in the south east of Ukraine, on the Sea of Azov, which was once home to over 540,000 people, but now lies in ruins.

Mariupol was one of the first Ukrainian cities to be subjected to a large-scale invasion by Russia at the start of the war on February 24, 2022. Russia took control of the city in May of that year after a two-month siege during which over 90% of residential buildings were destroyed and the civilian population was forced to flee.

Tanya Donchenko said atrocities are continuing to take place on a daily basis in Ukraine, including the disappearance of many Ukrainian men who have decided to remain in their homeland and fight to defend their country.

She added that “a special commission” was allowed into Ukrainian territory which has been occupied by Russia in recent weeks to search for the remains of fallen soldiers. As a result, the bodies of more that “1,000 Ukrainian soldier-defenders” had been located and were returned to Ukraine to be “buried with dignity”.