On 24 February, the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine will be commemorated in the capital and throughout Latvia. Riga will host the "Together to Victory!" campaign, as well as the opening of exhibitions dedicated to the war anniversary at the Freedom Monument and Town Hall Square.
"Together to Victory!" will take place on Tuesday, 24 February at 7.30 a.m.-8.00 a.m. at the Freedom Monument. Participants will gather at the Freedom Monument in a specially cordoned-off area, forming the shape of the Ukrainian state from a higher vantage point, and will be invited to sing the anthem and songs in support of Ukraine with choirs and other musicians. The event will be hosted by New Riga Theatre actress Guna Zariņa.
The programme of the event includes a moment of silence, the Latvian national anthem "Dievs, svētī Latviju!", the Ukrainian national anthem "Ще не вмерла України", the songs "Taisnība", "Dziesma, ar ko tu sāksies?", "Не твоя війна" and "Zaļā dziesma" (Green Song), sung under guidance of conductor Matīss Tučs. Soloists: Aija Vītoliņa, Daumants Kalniņš, Artems Basovs.
Participants are encouraged to bring the flags of Ukraine and Latvia and to wear the colours of the Ukrainian flag. The organisers also invite you to bring yellow and blue flowers and candles to place at the Freedom Monument.
The event is organised by the Civic Alliance of Latvia and the European Movement in Latvia with the support of the Riga City Council, the State Chancellery, the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation (LAPAS), the Open Society Foundation DOTS and the National Guard.
From 24 February to 25 March, the Town Hall Square will host an outdoor photo exhibition "The Daily Reality of Freedom". It will showcase the work of Ukrainian photographers, who tell the story of the devastation of war in Ukrainian cities, the everyday life of soldiers, the experiences of Ukrainian people and their tireless resistance to the aggressor. The exhibition will be complemented by works by students of the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School.
Four years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – a phase of war that began in 2014 and is another chapter in the centuries-long Ukrainian struggle for freedom. Each of these days of war is a new struggle: for people, home and land; for a clear sky over their heads, for a dignified life, for the unquestionable right to live, act, speak and dream freely. These Ukrainian stories, captured by Ukrainian photographers, offer a glimpse into the country's complex and contradictory reality – the love that persists despite loss, the perseverance of struggle and life in the midst of adversity.
The photo exhibition will be opened on 24 February at 10.30 a.m. in Town Hall Square and will be attended by Yurii Zakharchuk, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine in Latvia, Mayor of Riga Viesturs Kleinbergs and students from the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School.
By the end of 2025, Russian military aggression has caused devastating damage to Ukraine's cultural heritage. According to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, 1,630 cultural heritage monuments and 2,437 buildings and cultural infrastructure objects have been destroyed and damaged across the country. The exhibition features photographs of Ukrainian cultural heritage monuments before and after their destruction. They document the extent of the damage and, at the same time, highlight the vulnerability of cultural heritage in situations of armed conflict.
This exhibition invites people to see, remember and share responsibility for the protection and restoration of cultural heritage. Ukraine's cultural heritage is part of the European and world heritage, an important resource for national security and for the future.
The organisers of the exhibition are Riga Local Government Agency "Riga Monuments Agency", Kyiv City Council Executive Bodies – Department of Cultural Heritage Protection,
Scientific and Methodological Centre for the Protection, Restoration and Use of Monuments of History, Culture and Protected Areas of Kyiv. The exhibition will be open until 22 March.
On 24 February, Ziedot.lv invites you to join the "Unbreakable Point" at the Freedom Monument and help provide warmth to Ukraine with your donation, while the association "Tavi draugi", in memory of the victims of war, is organising a symbolic march "Light the Way for Ukraine" on 24 February from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. The campaign will start with a gathering in Doma Square and end with a joint march to the Freedom Monument. Everyone in Latvia is invited to take part in the march, bringing their own light sources – smartphones, pocket torches, candles, torches and others. Read more: kopalidzuzvarai.lv
Information was prepared by Ineta Miglāne, project coordinator, External Communication Division of the Communications Department of the Riga City Council, email: ineta.miglane@riga.lv