22:07 8 March 2022
Oksana Zabuzhko: ‘Ukrainians are fighting to free Europe from the specter of totalitarianism’
On International Women’s Day, Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko addressed the European Parliament on the plight of her fellow citizens under attack by Russia.
Mrs. Zabuzhko, who left Ukraine two weeks ago with only hand luggage, highlighted that she was used, in her writings, to giving a voice to women and to fighting for their rights, but for the first time now, she has to stand up for women’s rights to life itself.
‘‘I cannot but admire my fellow women fighting alongside our men, managing the distribution of supplies across our besieged cities and giving birth in bomb shelters, supervised by doctors online. The problem is Putin’s bombs will not be stopped by the strength of our spirit,” she added.
Warning of Putin’s intentions, she said: ‘‘Many lives could have been saved if the EU and the US had woken up eight years ago when he invaded Crimea. A new Hitler was ready to pick up where the previous one had left off. I am here to tell you, as a writer who knows something about language, that it is already a war, not just a local conflict. Trust Putin when he states his ambitions. Please do not be afraid to protect the sky above those fighting there to free Europe from this specter of a new totalitarianism.’’
(WBJ)
