The Slovak platform Ambrela, bringing together humanitarian and development organisations helping vulnerable people to the east of our borders, organized on Tuesday evening in Bratislava an event called ‘Commemoration 2026 – Four Years of War, Four Years of Support for Ukraine’. Its programme included presentations of aid stories, an expert discussion on the future of the recovery and stabilization of Ukraine, and the recognition of personalities and organisations from the humanitarian community.

On the occasion of the sad fourth anniversary of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Platform of development organisations – Ambrela on Tuesday (3 March) held an event in the Mirror Hall of the Primatial Palace in Bratislava called ‘Four Years of War, Four Years of Support for Ukraine’. At this Commemoration event, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Slovak Republic, Myroslav Kastran, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Bratislava, Bilal Zahid, and the head of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia, Peter Stano, addressed the audience in person. The programme was sensitively complemented by a thematic musical performance by Mily Medvedovska and Daniel Špiner, as well as an exhibition of works by the Ukrainian artist Svitlana Dudenko.

A key part of the event were presentations of aid stories from the field by Ambrela’s humanitarian organisations. Experts invited to the panel—Andrea Najvirtová, director of Človek v ohrození; Jana Kobzová, co-director of the European security programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR); and the Slovak reporter for Aktuality, Stanislava Harkotová—presented views on the future of Ukraine’s recovery in a panel discussion on the topic ‘Acting in Hope: Why a Stronger Ukraine Means a Stronger Slovakia’. The discussion was moderated by Ambrela’s secretary-general, Daniel Kaba.

Among the highlights of the event on four years of war and four years of support for Ukraine were awards for humanitarian personalities and organisations in four categories. “Unlike last year, this time we gave awards to whole teams. In recent months in Slovakia, we have seen exceptional solidarity from the public and entire organisational teams with our eastern neighbour, which deserves to be highlighted and encouraged in times of trial,” Daniel Kaba from Ambrela explains. The organisers of the awards were the Ambrela platform itself, while the awards were also presented this year by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Slovak Republic.

In the category Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, the award was accepted from the hands of the Ukrainian Ambassador in the Slovak Republic, Myroslav Kastran, by reporter Stanislava Harkotová. She has actively monitored the situation with our eastern neighbour for more than a decade and documents the war there. Since summer 2023, as a correspondent from Kyiv for the portal Aktuality (in fact the only correspondent of Slovak media living in Ukraine), she has regularly provided testimonies of Russian aggression against the Ukrainian population. She has already written three reportage books about the war in Ukraine.

In the category Civil Servants’ Solidarity, the customs department of the Slovak Financial Administration was collectively awarded. It actively helps Ukraine through expedited customs procedures for humanitarian aid distribution, the establishment of a Humanitarian Corridor, and the publication of data on goods transported through the Vyšne Nemecké and Ubľa border crossings. This award recognizes the efforts of all Slovak customs officers, officials, and civil servants who, under unprecedented strain, chose to follow the path of maximum responsibility and effective help to neighbouring Ukraine.

The award in the category Good Company went to Accenture Slovakia, whose approach is an example of how technological know-how, professionalism, and humanity can together bring concrete, measurable impact in times of crisis. The contribution consisted especially of digital solutions developed directly by employees of the company, specifically: the multilingual digital guide Chatbot Xenia for refugees and displaced people, the interactive Help Map, and the Harvester app to improve the management and distribution of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

In the Humanitarian Deed category, the fundraiser campaign Teplo Ukrajine was awarded, which was announced at the end of January by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the Non-Investment Fund Donio, the Ambrela platform, and other civil society partner organisations (Nadácia Integra, Post Bellum SK, Mier Ukrajine, Človek v ohrození, Nadácia Pontis, All4Ukraine, ADRA Slovakia, Srdcom s Ukrajinou and the Open Society Foundation). Within just under two weeks, it managed to raise more than one million euros, which was an exceptional milestone of the campaign and a sign of solidarity. To date, the number of donors participating in the collection is almost 27,000 and the amount collected is 1.46 million euros. Thanks to this, so far 85 generators and 16 charging stations have been sent from Slovakia to communities in our eastern neighbour, which have to face severe cold.

The Teplo for Ukraine collection ends, aid continues

“On Tuesday evening the Teplo for Ukraine collection ended, and the campaign concluded with dignity through the collective award at our event. But public solidarity and the help of our humanitarian organisations do not stop. At our Commemoration event, it was said that ‘Ukrainians do not need to hear about how resilient they are; they need our support.’ Slovak civil society clearly demonstrates this with its stories of aid and actions on the ground,” concludes Ambrela’s secretary-general, Daniel Kaba.

The event organiser was the Platform of development organisations – Ambrela, which oversees three dozen mainly non-governmental organisations in Slovakia engaged in humanitarian aid, development cooperation, global education, and sustainable development—at home and abroad. More than half of them are actively involved in either humanitarian assistance for internally displaced and vulnerable people directly in Ukraine or integration and educational activities for Ukrainian refugees in the Slovak Republic.

The Commemoration 2026 – Four Years of War, Four Years of Support for Ukraine event was carried out by Ambrela with the support of the British Embassy in Bratislava, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Slovak Republic, the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia, the initiative Kto pomôže Ukrajine, the city of Bratislava, the Czech Republic through CzechAid, as well as Slovakia and the EU through the Programme Slovakia. For more information about Ambrela activities, see www.ambrela.org

Text: Ambrela.org, Foto: Nikola Kováčová, Ambrela archive