On the occasion of the 33rd Independence Day Celebration of Ukraine, JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba engaged the Chargé d'Affaires of the Ukraine Embassy on a wide range of issues.  

Here is a full transcript of the Interview with Ivan Lukachuk

1. Give us a brief history of Ukraine’s independence—the journey to independence.

On August 24, Ukraine celebrated the 33rd anniversary of its declaration of independence. This milestone, achieved in 1991, was legally grounded following the adoption of several key documents asserting state sovereignty. The legitimacy of these actions by the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) was solidified through the All-Ukrainian referendum on December 1, 1991, where the population overwhelmingly endorsed independence. About 84 percent of eligible voters participated, with nearly 90 percent voting in favor of independence.

Contrary to Russian propaganda that dismisses Ukraine's independence as an "accident," this historic achievement is the culmination of efforts by many generations. Ukraine’s statehood is rooted in a thousand-year tradition, tracing its lineage back to the era of Kyivan Rus’, a powerful medieval state that laid the foundations for the nation.

In the Early Middle Ages, present-day Ukraine was a hub of early Slavic expansion. It entered the annals of written history with the establishment of Kyivan Rus', a medieval state that flourished but later disintegrated during the High Middle Ages due to the Mongol Empire's occupation, which also enveloped territories of the present-day Russian Federation.

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the lands that now constitute Ukraine were ruled by various external powers: the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which later merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Ottoman Empire also emerged as a significant regional force around the Black Sea, exerting influence through protectorates like the Crimean Khanate, as well as through directly administered territories.

The centuries that followed saw numerous national liberation uprisings and Cossack wars, led by Ukrainian hetmans who negotiated complex and often contradictory agreements with the Tsardom of Muscovy and Poland. After the combined forces of Hetman Ivan Mazepa and Swedish King Charles XII were defeated at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the power of the Ukrainian Hetmanate gradually waned. The destruction of the Zaporizhzhya Sich by the Kremlin in 1770 marked a significant blow to Ukrainian autonomy.

The proclamation by Peter I in 1721 of Moscow’s Tsardom as the "Russian Empire" and the subsequent renaming of Muscovites to "Russians", and in fact the theft of the name of a neighboring state and people and their history, further complicated the aspirations of Ukrainians for sovereignty.

Following the partitions of Poland (1772–1795) and the Russian conquest of the Crimean Khanate, the territories that now make up Ukraine fell under the control of the so-called Russian Empire and Habsburg Austria for over a century.

In the 20th century, Ukraine proclaimed its independence for the first time on January 22, 1918, during the brief existence of the Ukrainian People's Republic. This period saw the adoption of significant state symbols, including the trident as the coat of arms, the anthem "Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished" by Pavlo Chubynsky with music by Mykhailo Verbytsky, and the blue-yellow flag—all of which remain Ukraine’s national symbols today.

By December 1918, the Ukrainian People's Republic had enacted several laws aimed at national development, establishing Ukrainian as the state language, founding the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and introducing the hryvnia as the national currency. On January 22, 1919, the Act of Unification was proclaimed, uniting the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic, which had been declared in territories previously under Austro-Hungarian control. This event marked a significant step in the unification of Ukraine at legislative, territorial, and psychological levels, laying the groundwork for modern Ukraine. However, the fledgling state lasted only three years, defending itself against continuous aggression from both Russian Bolsheviks and "White" Russian imperialists.

The armed aggression of Bolshevik Russia led to the establishment of a communist regime on the lands of the Ukrainian People's Republic, characterized by a powerful repressive apparatus controlled directly from Moscow. Meanwhile, Ukraine's western territories were divided among neighboring countries—Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia—where they were incorporated as integral parts without any special status.

The Ukrainian revolution sparked such a strong impetus for statehood and national revival that even the Russian Bolsheviks were forced to acknowledge it. The creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was a reluctant concession by the Russian communist government to the Ukrainian national movement. However, despite formal state attributes such as borders, authorities, and symbols, the Ukrainian SSR lacked genuine sovereignty, with no independence in either internal or external affairs.

As the communist totalitarian regime consolidated its power, resistance grew, manifesting in both armed (1920-1950s) and non-violent (1960-1980s) struggles aimed at restoring independence. By the late 1980s, this resistance, combined with national democratic movements across Eastern Europe, played a crucial role in the collapse of communist regimes and led to the restoration of Ukraine’s independence.

2. What are the key challenges and achievements Ukraine has faced since gaining independence?

In an election held concurrently with the referendum in December 1991, Leonid Kravchuk was elected as the first president of Ukraine. By this time, several significant developments had taken place in Ukraine, including the dissolution of the Communist Party and the establishment of infrastructure for the Ukrainian armed forces. Ukraine also successfully resisted political pressure from Moscow to reconsider its path toward independence and join a restructured Soviet Union.

A week after the independence referendum, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus agreed to establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Shortly thereafter, the U.S.S.R.—often referred to as the "evil empire"—was officially dissolved, an event that the Kremlin dictator Putin later described as the greatest "disaster" of the 20th century.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was widely seen as the former Soviet republic with the best prospects for achieving economic prosperity and integration with Europe. Despite facing various economic, social, and political challenges, Ukraine made several important strides by the end of the 20th century. Ukraine solidified its independence, developed its state structures, rapidly established the infrastructure of a sovereign state, including its armed forces, diplomatic service, state security agencies, and law enforcement bodies. It normalized relations with neighboring countries (despite some contentious issues), made significant progress in democratization, and established itself as a respected member of the international community. From its earliest days the national symbols and anthem of the Ukrainian People's Republic of 1918, which were briefly in use after World War I, were restored. The process of drafting the Constitution and creating a legislative framework based on democratic principles and the rule of law was initiated. This culminated in the adoption of the Constitution on June 28, 1996, which declared Ukraine a sovereign, democratic, and legal state, and established fundamental rights and freedoms for its citizens. Citizenship was granted on an inclusive basis, not limited by ethnicity or language.

Ukraine received broad international recognition and adopted a pro-Western foreign policy, with official statements emphasizing that Ukraine was a "European" rather than a "Eurasian" country. However, as Ukraine acquired the attributes of statehood, it faced several challenges, including its role in the CIS, nuclear disarmament, the status of Crimea, and control over the Black Sea Fleet. While these issues sparked intense debate on both sides of the border, they also played a crucial role in defining Ukraine's new relationship with Russia, which recognized Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within the administrative borders of the former Ukrainian SSR—a state that, unlike the Russian Federation, was a founding member of the United Nations alongside the Soviet Union.

During the first decades of independence, Ukraine went through the difficult path of establishing its political system, which is based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law, free elections (in 33 years, we already have the fifth president of the country). Ukrainians are building a diversified market economy, extensive transport and energy infrastructure. A civil society was formed, which controls the authorities. Ukrainians are actively reviving and popularizing their culture, which the Russian imperialists tried to steal or belittle and marginalize for 300 years.

During the years of independence, we went through a difficult path of Euro-Atlantic integration, including free trade and visa-free travel until the start of negotiations on EU membership this year. Ukraine has an ambitious goal of being fully ready to join the European Union as quickly as possible in the face of a full-scale Russian war.

The dictatorial regime of Russia with an imperial and colonial mindset dislikes intensifying Ukraine's cooperation with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as a generally successful course of democratization processes in Ukraine confirmed by the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity. Russia considered all this as a threat to its dominance in the post-Soviet space and used it as an excuse for aggression against Ukraine on February 20, 2014, unfolded in the form of a hybrid war, which was accompanied by Russia's occupation and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory — the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and armed invasion to the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It was an act of unacceptable violation of norms and principles of international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In February 2015, a package of agreements named "Minsk-I" and "Minsk II" was concluded. However, an undeclared war with artillery and missile strikes and shelling across the demarcation line in Donbas continued for the next 7 years. The hostilities claimed the lives of more than 14,000 Ukrainians but attracted minimal international attention. This phase ended with Russia's official withdrawal from the Minsk agreements and the start of its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The immediate reason for Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is considered to be the Kremlin's desire to revive Russian influence in the post-Soviet space through the proclamation of the modern Russian neo-empire, an interstate union under the auspices of Moscow. Ukraine had to become a mandatory part of it, without control over which Russia does not see its future as a full-fledged state empire.

The goal of Russia's expansionist policy is to expand its own sphere of influence and weaken the positions of other international players as much as possible. Therefore, the Kremlin justifies the main motive of the Russian-Ukrainian war with the need to fight on the territory of Ukraine against the USA and its NATO allies (in other words, a war against the Anglo-Saxons). In fact, it is about satisfying Russia's expansionist imperial ambitions for regional and global dominance. The war against Ukraine is one of the tools for achieving such dominance.

The Russian war in Ukraine demonstrates that Europe and the world have exhausted the "peace dividend" obtained from the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and are entering a new, as yet undefined, era. A new world order is being formed in the flames of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In this situation, every country in the world must defend international law without remaining neutral.

3. How has Ukraine’s relationship with Ghana evolved over the years, and what future collaborations can we expect?

On April 22, 1992, the Republic of Ghana recognized the independence of Ukraine, and on June 17, 1992, diplomatic relations between our countries were established. However, we can confidently talk about the formalization of previously existing diplomatic relations between the two countries. The first president of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, visited Ukraine twice when it was part of the former USSR. Nkrumah first visited Kyiv from July 18-19, 1961, and later, in August 1961, vacationed with his family in Crimea at the invitation of the Soviet leadership.

During 2022-2024, Ukraine and Ghana experienced a real renaissance of bilateral relations as a result of the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba to the Republic of Ghana in October 2022.

With the opening of the Embassy of Ukraine in Ghana at the end of 2023, we have entered a qualitatively new stage in the further development of Ukrainian-Ghanaian relations.

Contacts between the Presidents of the two countries are regular, the last of which took place on the sidelines of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 16, 2024.

President of Ghana His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo's participation in the Global Peace Summit on June 16th, 2024 underscores Ghana's commitment to international peace and justice.

He emphasized that the mission to seek a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine is rooted in the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

Ukraine appreciates the solidarity and principled position of the Republic of Ghana in matters of defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, both during the voting for resolutions of the UN General Assembly, as well as in the form of Ghana's participation in international forums - participation in the II Summit of the Crimean Platform in 2022, and in particular the participation of the President of Ghana at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in June 2024.

4. How is Ghana affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? We know of some Ghanaian medical students whose education has been truncated as a result of the invasion

The Russian Federation's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine's sovereign territory is not only bringing death to Ukrainians. By fighting and disrupting traditional supply chains, the Russians have pushed at least 70 million people around the world to the brink of starvation. A total of 345 million people suffer from catastrophic food shortages. Eighty-two countries are in need of food aid (according to the UN).

Ghana, like many other countries, has been impacted by Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in several ways. President of Ghana Akufo-Addo at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland emphasized that the African continent has been severely affected by the Russian War in Ukraine: “The blockade of the Black Sea has led to severe shortages and skyrocketing food prices, precipitating a food security crisis across Africa”. “This has resulted in a surge in the cost of living and a looming threat of hunger and malnutrition over the continent’s most vulnerable populations. The repercussions of the war extend far beyond Ukraine, threatening global stability and economic security”.

Another notable effect as you mentioned has been on Ghanaian students pursuing education in Ukraine. Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine has turned into a personal tragedy for millions of Ukrainians, as well as for thousands of foreigners, including Ghanaian students, whose studies have been disrupted, leading to uncertainty about their academic future and safety. Many students' education was interrupted as educational institutions were forced to close or relocate due to the barbaric Russian invasion.

The situation highlights the broader consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine on individuals far from the epicenter of the Kremlin's violence. For these students, it means grappling with not only the immediate challenges of being displaced but also the longer-term impact on their professional and personal development.

The Ukrainian government and various Ghanaian organizations are working to support these students, providing assistance for their continued education and safety. This crisis underscores the importance of international solidarity and support in addressing the far-reaching effects of such conflicts on global citizens.

And this month, I was happy to receive a message from a Ghanaian student and my friend that he successfully completed his studies and received a doctor's degree from Uzhgorod State University.

5. What are Ukraine’s key priorities in its diplomatic relations with African countries, especially Ghana?

Ukraine's key priorities in its diplomatic relations with African countries, including Ghana, generally focus on several key areas:

1. Ukraine seeks to build robust political relationships and enhance economic cooperation with African nations. This includes establishing trade agreements, fostering investments, and promoting economic partnerships that benefit both parties.

2. Ukraine aims to increase educational and cultural exchanges with African countries. This involves offering scholarships for African students, fostering academic collaboration, and promoting cultural understanding through various initiatives and programs.

3. Ukraine is interested in collaborating with African nations on global and regional issues, such as climate change, security, and sustainable development. This partnership can help both sides tackle shared challenges and contribute to international stability.

4. Building diplomatic and strategic alliances is a priority. Ukraine seeks to engage in dialogues that support mutual interests and strengthen its presence on the African continent.

5. Ukraine is committed to supporting humanitarian efforts and development projects in Africa. This includes providing aid, sharing expertise, and contributing to initiatives that promote growth and stability in African countries. «Grain from Ukraine» is a humanitarian food programme launched by President of Ukraine on 26 November 2022 and presented during the first inaugural International Food Security Summit in Kyiv.

By focusing on these priorities, Ukraine aims to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with Ghana and other African countries, enhancing cooperation and addressing common goals.

6. How can Ghanaian businesses and investors support Ukraine’s rebuilding and economic recovery efforts?

Ghanaian businesses and investors can play a significant role in supporting Ukraine's rebuilding and economic recovery efforts through various avenues.

Ghanaian investors can participate in infrastructure development and reconstruction projects in Ukraine. This includes investing in sectors such as construction, energy, and transportation, which are crucial for Ukraine’s recovery.

Expanding trade relations between Ghana and Ukraine can benefit both economies. Ghanaian businesses can explore opportunities to export goods and services to Ukraine, while Ukrainian companies can invest in Ghanaian markets, creating a mutually advantageous economic relationship.

Ghanaian companies with expertise in areas such as agriculture, technology, and healthcare can collaborate with Ukrainian counterparts to support development projects. This partnership can help address specific needs and contribute to sustainable growth.

Ghanaian businesses can support humanitarian initiatives by contributing to relief efforts, providing aid, or participating in programs that assist displaced individuals and communities affected by the Russian aggression.

Ghanaian firms with advanced technologies or specialized knowledge can engage in knowledge and technology transfer programs to help modernize Ukrainian industries and enhance productivity.

Ghanaian investors can provide capital, expertise and labour to Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are vital to economic recovery and job creation in both Ukraine and Ghana for both Ukrainians and Ghanaians.

By engaging in these activities, Ghanaian businesses and investors can contribute significantly to Ukraine's recovery while also fostering stronger economic ties between the two countries.

7. What message would you like to convey to the Ghanaian people as Ukraine celebrates its independence?

As Ukraine celebrates its independence, I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude and warm wishes to the people of Ghana. Your support and solidarity during these challenging times have been deeply appreciated. Our shared values of freedom, resilience, and cooperation have strengthened the bonds between our nations.

Despite the ongoing full-scale Russian aggression against our country and the significant challenges we face, Ukraine remains committed to its democratic ideals and the pursuit of peace. Your encouragement and positive engagement have been a source of strength for us. The Russian war in Ukraine has tested our resolve, but it has also highlighted the importance of international friendships and global solidarity.

As we celebrate our national day, we are reminded of the critical role that global solidarity plays in overcoming adversity. Ghana’s support and understanding have been invaluable to us, and we are grateful for your continued commitment to our shared values of democracy, justice and peace.

We look forward to deepening our ties and working together towards a future marked by stability, mutual respect, and shared success. Thank you for standing with us during these challenging times and for being a valued partner on this journey.