As celebrations to honor veterans take place around the country, Ukrainian soldiers have a message for Americans on this Veterans Day: that their war is not over.
A group of professional musicians became soldiers when they were called to the front lines after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now they are putting down their weapons and picking up their instruments once again to share their message.
Seven artists are performing a Music Tour of Gratitude to America, organized by Cultural Forces, the cultural arm of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They are hoping to show thanks to the U.S. for its support throughout the war.
“We chose freedom over not freedom, and justice over injustice,” Valery Shyrokov, one of the artists, told ABC15. “We want to live our own life and be independent, and we strongly rely on the U.S. as our ally to assist us in this. The core message of the tour is to say thank you from the bottom of our heart, thank you for everything that the U.S. has been doing to Ukraine.”
Part of the two-month tour includes concerts in Arizona, with the group performing last week in Tucson and Scottsdale.
The artists are all active-duty military, but many only joined the armed forces on the first day of the war, when the country was put in danger.
“Musicians were making music professionally before the war, and nobody on our team had prior military experience, so we were trained on the go,” Shyrokov said. “In the U.S., it's very difficult to explain this transition from civilian life to the military life; of a regular citizen who was having his regular or her regular life before the war.”
Some of Ukraine’s brightest talents took part in the fiercest battles of the war. Several were wounded, but they returned to active duty after recovery.
The tour across the U.S. has taken the group at VA houses, veterans’ hospitals, churches, and they have also performed for first responders. Cultural Forces is producing a documentary about the trip that will showcase reactions from the American public.
“I am very excited of how American people are just loving this instrument after our events, and everybody are very happy to hear, and I am very happy to play here,” Taras Stoliar, one of the musicians, said.
The artists say once the tour concludes, they will return to the war.
