Independence is defended by citizens every day

This year, Ukraine marks 35 years of independence. The United States marks 250. The dates are separated by more than two centuries, and the historical trajectories are profoundly different. Yet both anniversaries are connected by a powerful truth: people are citizens with the power to shape their own future, not subjects to be ruled by someone else's will.

America put that idea into words in 1776, declaring that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Ukrainians put it to a national vote in 1991, when more than 90 percent of voters chose independence, with majorities in every region—including Crimea.

Yet every declaration of independence marks a beginning.

The harder work comes afterward: building institutions that protect rights and withstand pressure, and persuading future generations that self-government is worth the effort. Today, Ukraine's armed forces defend the country's independence on the battlefield, while its citizens sustain that independence every day—strengthening institutions, demanding accountability, and exercising their democratic freedoms even in wartime. That defense has exacted an incalculable price from Ukrainian service members, families, and communities.

This summer, NED's Board traveled to Ukraine. We came to stand with our partners, but also to listen and to see firsthand how Ukrainians are living their independence in the midst of war.

In Bucha, we saw what that means through the story of Yulia. When Russian forces occupied her city, she escaped with her children in the first days of the occupation. When she returned in May 2022, Yulia found her home looted by Russian soldiers and her community profoundly traumatized by mass killings and torture.

Yet Yulia turned the trauma and outrage of occupation into action. She joined a volunteer air defense unit and now, after completing the demands of her day job, patrols the night sky with her unit and helps defend her community against Russian drones. She also founded an initiative to preserve the work and memory of a local artist who did not survive the occupation. Yulia refused to let Russian aggression define her as a victim. She chose instead to step up, protect her community, and claim her place in shaping Ukraine's future.

Her story reminded me of a conviction shared across Ukrainian and American history: freedom endures when citizens are willing to defend it.

Throughout our trip, we encountered that same instinct to act among many of our partners. Whether keeping communities connected near the front, demanding accountability, or advancing reforms, Ukrainians continue to claim an active role in their country's life.

What we heard and saw reinforced our conviction that one of Ukraine's greatest assets is its engaged society—and the strength it brings to the state itself. But this civic capacity did not emerge overnight, nor can it be taken for granted.

From NED's decades of work with Ukrainian partners, one lesson is clear: civil society is a vital part of Ukraine's democratic infrastructure.

NED has had the privilege of standing with Ukrainians in this work since 1989, before the restoration of Ukrainian independence itself. That long view matters: the civic strength revealed after February 2022 was accumulated over decades, rooted in Ukrainians' determination to live as free citizens and defend their democratic aspirations, first against Soviet repression and now against Russia's brutal aggression.

After the Revolution of Dignity, civic energy increasingly moved from protest into policymaking, public service, and institutional reform.

These years built the civic reflexes that proved indispensable when the full-scale invasion came. Millions of Ukrainians already knew how to organize across communities, establish trust, check information, challenge officials, and act together without waiting for instructions from above. Ukraine withstood the opening shock of the full-scale invasion not only because people took up arms, but because decades of public life had taught people to take responsibility for their country.

Democratic resilience is not a luxury to be deferred until after the war. Even amid extraordinary security demands, an engaged society that can scrutinize those in power and demand better from its institutions strengthens national defense. It exposes failures, enables correction, and sustains public trust when the pressure is greatest. Authoritarian systems suppress this capacity because accountability threatens control. Ukraine draws strength from the opposite tradition: citizens who retain their voice and agency, even in wartime.

That agency is not something to restore after victory. It is part of the resilience that makes victory possible.

Americans may recognize this principle. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence grounded a powerful idea that the people, not their rulers, are the ultimate source of political power. That promise was not fulfilled immediately in 1776. Its power comes from generations of Americans continuing to give it fuller expression.

Ukraine's Constitution carries the same principle forward: the people are the source of power. During our visit, we saw that this source is neither passive nor still. It is continually renewed by citizens who bring fresh energy into public life, take responsibility for their communities, and push their institutions to do better. Keeping that source strong and free-flowing is essential to safeguarding Ukraine's independence—and ensuring that it endures.

Damon Wilson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Endowment for Democracy in the United States.