Ukrainian writer pays tribute to resilience of her country's women on International Women's Day

Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko addresses MEPs on International Women's Day
Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko addresses MEPs on International Women's Day Copyright https://www.europarl.europa.eu/
By Sandor Zsiros
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The acclaimed novelist with a doctorate in aesthetics addressed MEPs in Strasbourg on International Women's Day.

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Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko paid tribute to the resilience of her country's women during an address to the European Parliament on International Women's Day.

The novelist and poet, who, through her writings, always gave a voice to women and victims of violence, took the floor on Tuesday in Strasbourg to defend her country.

"[Women] are just fighting, fighting against the darkness of totalitarianism that is about to devour their country because Putin has claimed that there will be no Ukraine, there should be no Ukraine, and it means we all are denied our existence," Zabuzhko said.

"So they protect their country, they protect their cities, they protect their homes, their families and their loved ones. And by this, they protect Europe without any special premeditation."

Zabuzhko told Euronews that every moment of hesitation by Western nations costs lives.

"Wake up and help us fight before they come for you. Right now, when the war is already here, the war is in Europe and European cities, the cities of Ukraine have been [subjected to] carpet bombing," Zabuzhko said.

"It is time to think about your own security -- and your own security includes not only strengthening your defence but uniting against these neo-Nazis. This 'neo-Hitler' embodied now in the person of Vladimir Putin," she stated.

The writer who has taught at Harvard and the University of Pittsburg and now works at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine left the country two weeks ago. Zabuzhko told Euronews that she does not know when she will be able to return home.

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