Conference “Ukraine, Year of Heroism” Held in Skopje

One year since the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the bloody conflict that caused a humanitarian, economic, energy and security crisis, a conference entitled “Ukraine, year of heroism” was held in Skopje. Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bojan Maricic said that 24 February 2022 showed that the European continent can be united strong, stable, resistant, only through unification and alliance. Now both the region and Europe, he added, are facing a big test. “A test to which we should jointly answer and ensure the stability and security of the European continent,” Maricic pointed out. The President of the State, Stevo Pendarovski, was determined that no aggression can be justified. Pendarovski was adamant that legitimizing aggression as a means to achieve any goal is not only illegal, but also immoral, in a world where human life is the basic value. The Speaker of Parliament, Talat Xhaferi, said that he was the first Speaker of Parliament from the region, who went to Ukraine, to personally and institutionally express his support for the Ukrainian people and institutions. He emphasized that there is only one way to achieve peace, and for that one should sit down at the table, face to face, in a conversation without gloves, on an equal basis. The Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska, among other things, indicated that 365 days of resistance, defiance, courage, perseverance to defend one’s own territory are being commemorated. She said that she returned from Ukraine yesterday and brought with her mixed feelings of horror, anger and sadness about what she saw. At the event organized by the Non-Governmental Organization for Human Rights and Freedoms, CIVIL – Centre for Freedom and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of North Macedonia, there was a screening of a short film, a photo exhibition and the promotion of a book about the heroic struggle of Ukraine.