NewsNews30 March 2022

Save Ukraine — #StopWar: how the international charity telethon in support of Ukraine went

On Sunday, March 27, on the basis of the Polish television channel TVP, more than 30 television channels from all over the world simultaneously broadcast the international charity telethon Save Ukraine #StopWar. During the two-hour broadcast, political leaders, musicians, artists, public activists, actors, artists, athletes, and volunteers from all over the world came out in support of Ukraine and called for an end to the brutal Russian war.

Plot: h ttps://youtu.be/vwIBIQ6rKz w  

Thus, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi addressed the audience of one million, who emphasized that "...we, Ukrainians, are fighting a war that we did not ask for. Armed and bare-handed. The people rose up to win peace. So that millions of people can come back and live. Live as before. To live free with you. With all those who are for Ukraine, for peace."

Ukraine was also supported by the political leaders of many countries of the world, among them Emmanuel Macron , the president of the French Republic, who during the direct turn-on called to stop the bloodshed and liberate the martyred city of Mariupol from the Russian occupiers.

"Our peoples love freedom, and we will not let anyone take it away from us. We have been together, fighting side by side since time immemorial. Now we have an opportunity to help you in your heroic struggle for your freedom and inviolability against the Russian occupier ," said Andrzej Duda , President of the Republic of Poland, in the video.

The following also addressed the audience: US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Iraklii Garibashvili, President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša, Prime Prime Minister of Ireland Michal Martin, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra, Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Carl Neghammer, President of the Republic of Albania Ilir Meta, Prime Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, President of Estonia Alar Karis, President of Malta George Vella, President of the Republic of Latvia Egils Levits, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov, President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausieda, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain Pedro Sanchez, President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, President of the Republic of Guatemala Alejandro Yamatei, President of Slovakia of the Republic Zuzana Chaputova, Prime Minister of the Greek Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metzola, Mayor of Chicago Laurie Lightfoot.

First and foremost, the task of the Save Ukraine marathon — #StopWar — is to further consolidate the international community in its opposition to Russian expansion. The Ukrainian people feel and deeply appreciate the support provided by our partners and ordinary citizens of foreign countries: from basic necessities to powerful military assistance. But the war must end as soon as possible, and for this we need even more support for Ukraine and total pressure on the aggressor.

So, with the messages #StopWarInUkraine, #stoprussia, #NoFlyZoneUA, #CloseTheSky, #StandWithUkraine, on March 27, residents of more than 50 major cities and capitals of the world took to the streets of major cities of all continents, including Berlin, London, Rome, Milan, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Amsterdam, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Cluj, Stockholm, Tallinn, Skopje, Vilnius, Klaipeda, Sofia, Riga, Tirana, Ljubljana, Lisbon, Dublin, Bern, Buenos Aires, Athens, Denpasar, Ankara, Antalya, Cluj -Napoca, Bucharest, Budapest, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Lima, Paris, Washington, Chicago, Curitiba, Luxembourg, Nicosia, Havana, Hamburg, New York, Yonkers, Cascais, Canberra, Beirut. People en masse watched the telethon in the central squares and called to help Ukraine.

"Over 30 TV channels, 50 cities. All this is the Save Ukraine — #StopWar telethon. He united hundreds of thousands of people in the squares and millions in front of television screens in order to send a clear signal to the Russian Federation: Ukraine is not alone. The world with Ukraine. Ukraine will definitely win," commented Dmytro Kuleba , Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The line-up of the telethon is world-famous artists Sting, Fatboy Slim, Within Temptation, Bastille, BrainStorm, Beissoul & Einius, Salvador Sobral, Idina Menzel, Nino Katamadze, Ukrainian stars Monatik, Tina Karol, The HARDKISS, Okean Elzy, Jamala, Go_A, DakhaBrakha , One in a canoe, alyona alyona, Antitila, Pianoboy, Melovin, Artem Pyvovarov, Alina Pash, Kadnay, Latexfauna, Ruslana, Dakh Daughters, TVORCHI, NK and others. The presenters of the event were Masha Efrosinina and Timur Miroshnychenko.

On YouTube channel 1+ 1 there are performances by all participants of the telethon and appeals by those who, due to the limited timing of the telecast, did not get into the TV version of the project.

"On March 27, a unique event took place both for Ukraine and the whole world. This is an unprecedented marathon of unity of the civilized world with Ukraine. With Ukraine, which stands on the guard of peace in the whole world, continuing the war with the Russian occupiers. The world should have seen our artists, and the address of our president, and the pain that Mariupol and other cities under fire are experiencing today. In order to move from words of support to concrete actions, " added Oleksandr Tkachenko , Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.

Before, during and after the telethon, funds were collected to solve the biggest humanitarian problems caused by the military invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. In general, as of March 30, more than 40 million hryvnias were collected at the expense of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine within the marathon. Of these, almost 1.5 million hryvnias were transferred to humanitarian needs by the national mobile operator Kyivstar, which acted as a partner of the telethon.

In total, the live broadcast of the telethon was watched by about 80 million people around the world. TV channels of some countries showed the telethon in a repeat with their own subtitles, accordingly, fundraising is still ongoing. The communication campaign in social networks and media united more than 17 million people.

"Actually, in a week, we and our partners implemented a charity telethon that united the whole world and all continents. We want Ukraine to always be on the agenda in every corner of the country and at every meeting of the governments of all civilized states. We will continue in the same direction and use all possible methods to reach a mass audience. It is nice that broadcasters from many countries of the world are contacting us with requests to rebroadcast the marathon already after the broadcast we appreciate such support ," said Yaroslav Pakholchuk , general director of 1+1 media and co-owner of the Atlas festival.

The Save Ukraine #StopWar telethon was implemented by the teams of 1+1 media, the Atlas festival, Suspilne, the Polish television channel TVP and with the support of Kyivstar, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Social Policy. The ideological inspirations of the project are the Atlas festival and Kyivstar.

"Every day, Kyivstar unites tens of millions of Ukrainians so that they can stay in touch with their relatives. Therefore, organizing together with 1+1 media and Atlas the largest charity telethon in the history of Ukraine to collect funds was also Kyivstar's duty to support Ukrainians. Solidarity and joint efforts during this week are another example of the unity of our people and the whole world. Kyivstar, like other Ukrainian companies, will continue to support customers, the state, the army and volunteers. We have already provided charitable assistance to defenders, hospitals, and allocated an additional almost 1.5 million hryvnias for humanitarian needs within the framework of the marathon. But we will increase our efforts to bring victory over the occupiers closer, " commented Oleksandr Komarov , CEO of Kyivstar.

Read also