The Ukrainian national anthem rung through the Cox Arboretum in the early afternoon Monday, marking three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Around 15 local Ukrainians and friends gathered around the Arthur Metz Bicentennial Grand Carillon — the bell tower — to hear traditional Ukrainian music and commemorate the anniversary.
By invitation from the National Bell Festival, carillonists across the globe echoed similar melodies as an expression of support for Ukraine and to highlight how Ukrainians continue to fight against the invasion.
Amy Hamburg, a carillon associate at the Jacobs School of Music, opened by performing the Ukrainian national anthem. Immediately after, she played a selection of folk songs and pieces by Ukrainian composers.
Since the war began Feb. 24, 2022, Hamburg said she has made an effort to incorporate Ukrainian pieces into her repertoire –– it seemed fitting for her to also perform on the war’s three-year anniversary.
“I wanted to do something,” Hamburg said. “I’m just a musician, but at least I can do this.”
As Hamburg began playing the national anthem, some members in the audience held Ukrainian flags, others held their friends tightly. Students walking by on a warmer day than usual stopped to listen.
Laikin Dantchenko, a Ukrainian music librarian on campus, and Anastasia Batisko, a Ukrainian freshman at IU, sat close together throughout the performance.
“I was just thinking about the strength of these people that have given up their lives for freedom,” Dantchenko said through tears, “and the fact that we’re still in a world where we have to fight for freedom.”
Batisko said Hamburg’s program was particularly hard-hitting; such musical expressions of Ukrainian identity have been banned or suppressed at different points in time.
The fourth piece Hamburg performed, “The Mighty Dnieper Roars and Bellows" by Danilo Kryzhanivsky, is one example. The three verses in the song were taken from the famous Ukrainian poem “Prychyna” by Taras Shevchenko, who was a poet and political figure in the 19th century. Advocating for Ukrainian identity, authorities of the Russian Empire eventually arrested and exiled Shevchenko for his politically charged poems.
“The fact that we can still have this music today, and that we're still using it as a message to bring awareness to the war and the strength of the Ukrainian people is really meaningful,” Batisko said.
Svitlana Melnyk, a local Ukrainian and senior lecturer in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, said the recital brought a piece of her homeland to the IU campus.
The event comes at a time when the future of Ukraine is especially uncertain. On Feb. 12, President Trump spoke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin over the phone without coordinating with Ukraine, reversing the Biden administration’s policy of discussing “nothing anything Ukraine without Ukraine.” Following the phone call, Trump said that “it’s unlikely” Ukraine will return to its pre-2014 borders. He also said that NATO membership for Ukraine is unlikely. On Monday, the United States opposed a UN resolution that would call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
Although estimates are questionable, 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed thus far in the war, according to the most publicly available data. The fighting has led to over 40,000 civilian casualties.
"We are kind of losing hope, especially at this time.” Batisko said. “A little bit of support is all we need to know that Americans stand with Ukraine and that hopefully it will get better.”
Though some Ukrainians feel their hope dwindling, others are finding strength from the three-year mark.
“You know, they said that they would take Kyiv in three days,” Dantchenko said. “It’s been three years.”
Back in Ukraine, over 400,000 Russians are facing around 250,000 Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, and the disparity in numbers only continues to grow. Still, Russia has made incremental gains, occupying around 20 percent of Ukraine after gaining 4000km of territory in 2024.
"I just hope that Americans can kind of see that it's not weapons and it's not money that wins a war,” Dantchenko said. “It's the heart of people and it's their spirit.”
