Ukraine is showing Europe: Women are not only victims of war, they are architects of recovery

"Ukrainska Pravda" publishes the key points from the speech delivered by Katarina Maternová, the EU Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine, at the Ukrainian Women's Congress in Vinnytsia "How Women's Strength Shapes Community Resilience and the Movement Toward Europe"

Recently, something happened that deeply moved me.

A woman from the United States – someone I have never met – sent me a cheque for 500 dollars.

She heard me speak in a podcast about Ukraine.About this war that has lasted more than four years.About freezing in your own homes without light, water, or heat.About how exhausting it is to keep hearing the word resilience —when you are simply tired.

She sent the money because she felt ashamed.Ashamed that her country and its president are not doing enough for UA.

We should stand together. Solidarity and cooperation are the keys to our successful tomorrow.

Let me tell you about Halyna.

Just two years ago, she had no job. No direction. No stability. No hope.

She found a training programme supported by partners of the European Union for UA women. She applied.

Today, Halyna runs her own business.She pays taxes. She has clients. She has plans.She has a future.

Or Oleksandra.

She lost everything when she fled her home in Kherson region.Her business. Her equipment. Her stability.

But she did not lose her determination.

Through a women's employment programme, she found a new path.She trained. She created. She opened a café.

A café where people can drink coffee, eat pastries… and feel life again.

She says: "This project gave me the desire to live again."

These are not isolated stories.

They are the result of deliberate investment and the EU solidarity.

Since the beginning of the full–scale invasion,the European Union has mobilised over €14 million to support women in Ukraine.

In total, our support now reaches around €14.6 million across programmes focused on:– economic empowerment,– leadership,– protection from gender–based violence,– and participation in decision–making.

And we are not stopping.

Another €8.5 million is being prepared – to strengthen women's role in recovery, safety, and rebuilding Ukraine.

The EU gives, but also receives.

Ukraine is showing Europe something fundamental:

Women are not only victims of war.They are architects of recovery.

Because one day, one day you will be free again. There will be no war. And you will be the backbone of re–building your dear country. And women should stand together in this beautiful and promising project of recovery.

And this brings me back to that cheque.

To that unknown American woman.

To her simple belief that women should stand together.

I added another 500 dollars of my own.

Together, we want to give it to someone who needs it.An organisation. Or a woman.

It is not a large amount.

But it is something more important:

A symbol.

A symbol of solidarity between women —across borders, across oceans, across realities.

Thank you.