Independence… More Than a Date

On Ukraine's 35th Independence Day, Matthew Sampson stood on Independence Square in Kyiv and watched regular life carry on while ballistic missile alerts sounded across the country.

Families walked through Maidan, talking and taking pictures. Some people he spoke with expected a large Russian attack to mark the date — and as he wrote the post, the alerts came in. Nobody panicked. Nobody showed fear.

He draws a sharp parallel: on this same date in 1814, an invading British force marched into Washington, D.C. and set the capital ablaze — including the White House. For Americans, that's history. For Ukrainians standing on the square today, the threat to their independence is tonight. It is now.

But this is also bigger than a 35th anniversary. Ukraine is not 35 years old — 1991 was a reclamation of independence that had been fought for, lost, and fought for again. Friends of his who stood in this same square in 2014 during the Maidan protests are still in the fight today.

Walking through the square, you cannot separate the ideas. Independence, protest, war, sacrifice, and normal life all occupy the same few hundred meters — and the nation keeps living, keeps fighting, keeps pursuing peace as an independent people.