UK to give Ukraine Storm Shadow production technology – PM Burnham

Every nation cherishes the moment it proclaimed independence. For Ghana, it was March 6, 1957, when they unfurled their national flag adorned with the Black Star and Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed Africa's liberation. This year marks Ukraine's 35th anniversary of independence on August 24, 2026. Thirty-five years constitute the lifespan of a generation, and Ukrainians have grown up never knowing foreign rule.

However, the path to independence was not as swift. Ukraine's statehood traces back over a thousand years to Kyiv, the heart of Rus—a powerful European state with unique political traditions, diplomacy, law, culture, and written language. For centuries, attempts were made to dissolve Ukrainian statehood into foreign empires, suppress its language, rewrite history, and erase its name.

Through the Cossack State, the Hetmanate, and the Soviet era, Ukrainian statehood endured. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, established in 1051, survived the Mongol invasion, Lithuanian-Polish domination, the Russian Empire, revolutions, two world wars, and Soviet totalitarianism. It preserves not only its church buildings and relics but also the memory of generations of Ukrainians who contributed to our chronicles, education, art, science, and spiritual culture.

Russia even targeted the Lavra with a drone attack to destroy it. For Ukraine, 1991 was not the birth of a nation but the restoration of its statehood. This year, Ukraine marks 35 years of freedom and over a thousand years of historical memory that Ukrainians are defending with their state. Ghanaians understand this feeling deeply, as Ghana was the first Sub-Saharan African country to break free from colonial rule, demonstrating that dignity is not given but earned.

Like Ghana, Ukraine asserts the right of any nation to determine its own destiny. This year, Ukraine commemorates the 975th anniversary of the Lavra, one of Europe's oldest spiritual and cultural centers. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's sacred heritage, exemplifying the aggressor's attempt to obliterate history. In 2026, Ukraine reminds the world that its history extends far beyond the 35 years of independence.

The restoration of independence in 1991 did not create the Ukrainian nation but restored Ukrainian statehood.