War in Ukraine

We want to share with you the official MitOst statement on the situation of war in Ukraine. We will continue reaching out to a lot of you inside and outside Ukraine – we stay together.

“Today is a dark day. Although the signs have been there for days, weeks, months, or even years, no one was fully prepared for the war that the Russian government escalated into Ukrainian territories this morning. It’s first and foremost an attack on Ukraine, and it’s also an attack on everything that we believe in and work for throughout the MitOst cosmos.

We express support to our colleagues and friends and to all Ukrainians and everyone affected by the war.

We oppose the Russian military presence on Ukrainian territories and Belarus’ involvement in the military conflict as well as Russia’s recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. We call to stop the threat of a full-scale war in Europe. Active invasion of an independent European country and the language of war are unacceptable.

Nobody knows what will happen next and most of the developments and decisions are outside our power. So we need to focus on the things we can influence, stay together and fight in the ways that we know how:

– Follow and share the developments through reliable media, e.g. on social media via #StandWithUkraine

– Reach out to your Ukrainian friends, for solidarity and for offering support. Better call one time too many, than one time too less

– Sign petitions and join local protests wherever you are

– Share emergency toolkits for families and communications (in Ukrainian)

– Offer room for (temporary) relocation within Ukraine or in neighbouring countries at a later stage. Write to Sarah (herke@mitost.org) to share your offers or need

– Partner up with MitOst to support any collective efforts: get in touch with Annegret (wulff@mitost.org) or Jotham (sietsma@mitost.org)

– Join the MitOst Community call to share and exchange what is on your mind, and heart, and to co-organise support tomorrow (Friday 25 Feb) at 17:00 CET/Berlin time via this link (passcode: mitost).