Ukraine must win: Resolution of the VII Regional Meeting of PEN Centres

We, the participants of the VII Regional Meeting of PEN Centers, gathered in Kyiv in late October 2023, to reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine and the struggle of the Ukrainian people against the brutal Russian invasion.

Representatives of PEN Sweden, PEN Norway, PEN Denmark, PEN Finland, PEN Berlin, PEN Bosnia and Herzegovina, and PEN Montenegro came to Ukraine despite Russian bombardments by missiles, bombs, and attack drones on the Ukrainian cities and villages, to reaffirm that solidarity is not only about the right words but also about presence and actions.

We condemn the brutal and inhumane Russian invasion of Ukraine, and its genocidal intent to erase the Ukrainian national identity and deny Ukraine’s right to independent existence.

Destruction of the Ukrainian cultural institutions is part of this horrific war. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Russia damaged or destroyed over 600 Ukrainian libraries; it damaged over 1700 cultural infrastructure objects.

We praise the bravery of the Ukrainian people for their determined resistance. We admire those Ukrainian cultural figures, in particular writers, who stood strong to defend their country or are active as volunteers to help the Ukrainian resistance.

We mourn all the victims of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainians who died as soldiers on the frontline or as civilians in their homes.

We mourn our colleagues, Ukrainian writers, journalists, and cultural figures, who were killed by the Russians in this war: 68 Ukrainian and foreign journalists; at least 71 Ukrainian artists - writers, musicians, translators, photographers, directors, cultural managers, painters, scriptwriters, scientists.

We remember that many Ukrainians are still in Russian captivity, and the destiny of many is still not known. We demand their immediate release.

We keep our commitment to the PEN Charter, in particular the values of freedom, protection of cultural patrimony, and unhampered transmission of thought. But we also remind that maintaining these values is only possible when the lives of people, including those who create, are defended.

We believe that Russia is waging its war not only against Ukraine but also against the values cherished by free and democratic societies, primarily the value of human dignity. Ukraine’s victory will be the victory against the new totalitarian evil that tries to overthrow these values.

As all people of goodwill, we want peace. But this peace should be just, not a "peace" of Russian occupation, which brings lawlessness, torture, kidnapping, and killing. We give our full and firm support to a just peace that returns to Ukraine all the territories Russia occupies by force and against international law.

Ukraine must win.