In various Italian cities, activists will take to the streets in support of the residents of Oleshky
In Rimini, Piacenza, Ancona, Modena and other cities, solidarity initiatives are taking place in support of the residents of the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region. Ukrainian communities and civil society organisations in Italy are joining forces to draw attention to the humanitarian disaster and remind the international community of the plight of the town’s civilian population. The initiative, supported by NAU — a network of Ukrainian associations in Italy — aims to break the media silence surrounding the tragedy in Oleshky and urge society not to stand idly by. One of the events is being organised by the Mriya ODV association, with the support of local Ukrainian civil society organisations Leleka ODV and Magica Pysanka. On 10 October at 5.00 pm in Modena, in Piazza Muratori, a public gathering will take place under the slogan ‘Insieme per Oleshky: in piazza contro l’indifferenza’ — ‘Together for Oleshky: in the square against indifference’. “In Oleshky, people are using their last reserves of strength to survive in the darkness and abandonment,” emphasises Olena Kim, president of the Mriya ODV association. She draws parallels between the current situation in the town and the Holodomor of 1932–1933, highlighting the danger of the population’s isolation and the indifference of the international community. Rimini, Piacenza and Ancona are also joining the initiative. In various cities, Ukrainians are striving to make the voices of the residents of occupied Oleshky heard and to draw the attention of Italian society to the situation in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. In Piacenza, support for the appeal was expressed by municipal councillor Claudia Gnocchi (Gruppo Misto) and the CISL trade union, which presented the appeal to the city council and called on politicians to respond to the situation. The organisers are calling on residents of Italian cities, representatives of civil society organisations, political and social groups, as well as journalists, to join the initiatives in support of Oleshky.
