For better or worse, three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the global attention is once again focused on Ukraine. This is because Ukraine stands at the heart of what is at stake today: the struggle for a democratic order.
Though still early in the year, 2025 has already been defined by major geopolitical changes. Russian disinformation campaigns have left their mark on political discourse across Europe, as far-right movements with pro-Russian and anti-European narratives regain prominence. In the United States, Donald Trump in his second presidency is apparently watering down America’s commitment to its NATO allies while challenging democratic institutions from within. All this has a profound impact on Ukraine, not least because the new US administration has entered negotiations with Russia over the head of Ukraine, potentially compromising its future security. The shift to realpolitik at the expense of post-World War II alliances dominated this year’s Munich Security Conference.
However, the Conference was also shaped by a strong and defiant Ukrainian voice. Kyiv argued that Europe must resist the urge to sit back and passively observe what the “strongmen” in the US and Russia will say and do. Ukraine has been resisting since 2014—and on a scale hard to imagine since 24 February 2022. Ukraine is still here. Ukrainians are still fighting, refusing to surrender their country and freedom to the will of the powerful few. Ukrainian resistance is marked by countless small initiatives but with an outsized impact. The IWM’s Documenting Ukraine program emerged from these acts of resistance. Over the past three years, the program has supported and brought together numerous individuals engaged in creating a record of the war and capturing its human dimension. Documenting the war is in itself an act of resistance—one that contributes to truth, justice, and memory.
Documenting Ukraine remains steadfast in its mission to support scholars, journalists, public intellectuals, artists, and archivists in their efforts to give meaning to the unfolding events, document the realities of war, and preserve Ukraine’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
Photo by Mstyslav Chernov/AP: A resident of Kharkiv stands in front of the ruins of his home in Pivnichna Saltivka, the city’s most devastated district. Once a vibrant neighborhood, it has turned into a symbol of destruction caused by relentless Russian shelling. Kharkiv, Ukraine, July 2022.
