The book ‘The City Where the War Began’ about the occupation of Sloviansk in 2014 was presented in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. The event brought together representatives of local civil society organisations, diplomats, and representatives of the Ukrainian expatriats.

 ‘The book we are presenting today, ’The City Where the War Began’, is an initiative of the Civil Peace Service, funded by the German Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation and implemented by Kurve Wustrow and our Ukrainian partners from the Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiative.’ The book was first published in 2020 and translated into English in 2021, but it is still relevant. The crimes described in it — illegal prisons, persecution of civilians due to religious reasons, forced labour, human trafficking, shelling and mining of civilian infrastructure, as well as Russian disinformation and propaganda — are still key elements of Russia’s war against Ukraine,’ said Steffen Halling, Kurve Wustrow representative.

He emphasised that understanding what happened in Donbas at the beginning of the war helps to make sense of the events that followed and those of today, since this is still insufficiently recognised, especially outside Ukraine.

‘We realised that the events of 2014 are directly linked to what is happening now in Kherson, Mariupol or Berdiansk. Russia is following the same scenario,’ said Volodymyr Shcherbachenko, head of the EUCCI.

During the presentation, Kapitalina Pasikova, a resident of Sloviansk, shared her memories of 2014:

‘After the city was captured by pro-Russian separatists, I simply did not recognise it: every intersection was blocked with tyres and concrete blocks, and there were people standing there with weapons. It didn’t scare me, but it made me extremely mad. Why are strangers deciding how we should live?’ she said.

Together with her friends, the girl organised acts of resistance: she painted Ukrainian flags on poles and left symbols to show that Sloviansk was Ukrainian.

Another event participant, Halyna Tyshchenko, having witnessed the horrors of war in 2014, moved from her native Donbas to live near Kyiv. However, in February 2022, she found herself back in the midst of war.

‘On 19 March, a Russian soldier stepped into my house. He was about 20 years old. He was armed and forced me to undress. I begged him, but he shouted that he would kill me...,’ the woman shared.

When Kyiv Oblast was de-occupied, Halyna decided not to remain silent and joined SEMA Ukraine, which helps women who have suffered sexual violence during the war.

Maryna Suprun from the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast described life in an overcrowded basement where the occupiers held in captivity 367 people in March 2022.

‘There was half a square metre per person. People started to suffocate. Eleven died of suffocation. The youngest child was one and a half months old...’ she recalls.

Russian soldiers forced villagers to sing the Russian national anthem, ‘played’ Russian roulette with prisoners, and took women away at night. Maryna calls this experience ‘genocide of the Ukrainian people.’

The presentation of the book was not only a commemoration, but a global reminder of the systemic character of Russian crimes.

‘We are not one people. Ukrainians create life, while Russians kill it,’ emphasised one of the Ukrainians living in this Balkan country who attended the event.

Maksym Dmytruk, First Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of North Macedonia, stressed that the voices of the survivors must be heard not only in Ukraine but also beyond its borders, so that truth can overcome propaganda.

After what they had heard, many of those present expressed the expressed their opinion that there is no place for reconciliation at any cost and that criminals must be punished.