At the beginning of the ceremony, Ambassador of Ukraine to Denmark Mykhailo Vydoinyk addressed the guests with a welcoming speech, outlining the main milestones of Ukrainian statehood, the long and difficult path to independence and the modern struggle for territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
The Ambassador paid special attention to the development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Denmark. He thanked the Danish partners for their active support of internal changes in Ukraine, for Copenhagen’s solidarity in Ukraine’s struggle against the Russian Federation, for Denmark’s non-recognition of Russia′s illegal occupation of Crimea and for condemnation of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. He gave examples of recent joint achievements of two countries in intensifying political dialogue, trade and economic cooperation, strengthening people-to-people contacts. He thanked the Danish Government for providing significant assistance to Ukraine in overcoming the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also noted the contribution of the Ukrainian community in Denmark to the promotion of national culture, language and traditions abroad.
During the event, guests had the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful performance of Ukrainian opera stars – Stanislav Kuflyuk and Ruslana Koval who performed classical opera arias and Ukrainian folk songs.
The guests also got acquainted with elegant works of the master of Petrykivka painting from Dnipropetrovsk region Halyna Nazarenko and works of Lviv graphic artist, illustrator, designer and writer Victoria Kovalchuk.
During the diplomatic reception, the English language edition of Stanislav Aseyev’s book “The torture camp on paradise street” was presented which raises international awareness of the facts of human rights violation and illegal activities of Russia on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.