On February 27th 2026, over 150 people gathered in Middleburg for Zeeland Together With Ukraine: Four Years at War, a memorial marking four years since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Organized by VATAHA and with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands and the Municipality of Middelburg, the event united Ukrainians in Zeeland, artists, local communities, and representatives of municipalities across the province.
For VATAHA volunteer and organizer Natali Melnykova, this event was the culmination of months of working toward uniting people across a region in which Ukrainian communities are often dispersed and scattered between small cities and towns.
“It was incredible to see how everything came together in one day: the support of municipalities, Ukrainians, artists, music, culture, art, and simple human warmth,” she reflected afterward.
A Regional Act of Remembrance
Planning for the event began in October 2025, in dialogue with the municipality of Middelburg. The goal was always to create something larger than a single-city commemoration.
Natali hoped the event could reflect Zeeland as a whole, not just the province’s capital of Middelburg. Participants ranged from municipal representatives, Ukrainian residents dispersed across Zeeland and mayors, deputy mayors, and aldermen from eight of Zeeland’s 13 municipalities.
An Opening That Connected Zeeland and Ukraine
As guests entered the foyer of the hosting venue ZB Bibliotheek van Zeeland, they were welcomed by photographs of Ukrainian cultural and community activities taking place across the Netherlands.
The audience then took their seats as a four-minute countdown appeared on-screen, pairing images of Ukrainian landscapes and cities with music from the local band BLØF, a moment of shared recognition and connection between Dutch and Ukrainian attendees.
As moderator Simone van der Schelde said, “Ukraine today is far away — beyond the horizon, beyond the sea. But it is always here in our hearts.”
The images recalled a home remembered from before the full-scale war. For Dutch attendees, the music created a familiar bridge into their own homeland.
Words of Solidarity
The program opened with a speech from Andriy Kostin, Ambassador of Ukraine, followed by Karel Burger Dirven, First Honorary Consul of Ukraine in the Netherlands. Local leaders also addressed the audience, including Loes Meeuwisse, Mayor of Noord-Beveland, Jan Luteijn, Mayor of Reimerswaal, and Jeroen Louws, Deputy Mayor of Middelburg.
Municipal representatives spoke about solidarity between Zeeland and Ukraine and the importance of continuing to stand together alongside those affected by war. As Louws reflected in his remarks, “Our cities were no longer just observers of the suffering; they became places of refuge and solidarity.”
Art, Music, and Memory
Music carried throughout the afternoon as a central thread.
Musicians Viktoriia Hamar and Bozhena Hamar performed the folk song Letila zozoelja with traditional instruments the bandura and sopilka, and later in the program returned to perform an original composition, Home in the Heart, a piece reflecting memory and belonging.
Violinist Yevheniia Krapivina,who arrived in Zeeland after the full-scale invasion, performed Myroslav Skoryk’s Melody in A minor; the composition, originally written for a film about the Second World War, has long carried associations with grief and remembrance, and was also performed during the February 2024 Commemoration Walk in the Hague.
Following the speeches and music performances, everyone paused for a moment of silence announced by Deputy Mayor Jeroen Louws.
The official program concluded with soprano Maria Kalytjak performing the Ukrainian national anthem. For many attendees hearing the anthem sung live in Zeeland carried a particular emotional weight.
After the formal program, the commemoration continued in the foyer with a series of cultural and artistic activities:
- At Nets of Remembrance, visitors attached ribbons bearing the names of those they wished to honour or remember
- Artist Marfa Vasilieva invited participants to contribute to her social art installation Carpet of Love and Sorrow, braiding red strands to represent love and connection, and black strands to mark loss
- War Through the Eyes of Children was an exhibition of drawings by students from the Drohobych Children’s Art School in Lviv Oblast, offering a glimpse into how young people In Ukraine are experiencing and interpreting the war
- Visitors could browse children’s books through the Tales of EUkraine project and Uitgeverij van de Oude Leeuw, and a “children’s corner” offered educational books by Dutch artist Mieke Klaver
Visitors moved between the artworks, books, and remembrance activities, sharing coffee and homemade snacks, with both Ukrainian and Dutch flavours on the table.
Building Dialogue in Zeeland
For organizers, one of the most meaningful aspects of the day was the feeling that different parts of Zeeland had come together in one place.
Reflecting on the experience, Natali emphasized the importance of that encounter: “The most valuable part was hearing words of support, starting a real dialogue, and realizing that together we can do many meaningful things.”
Four years into the full-scale war, remembrance continues to take many forms across the Netherlands.
In previous years, VATAHA has organized public memorial walks, but also musical performances, photo exhibitions, crafts workshops and poetry evenings to provide both Ukrainians and Dutch locals with various ways to express their mourning and solidarity.
The same week as this memorial in Middelburg, VATAHA organized a parallel memorial in Rotterdam. The weekend before, we also hosted a multimedia zine-making workshop in The Hague for creatives from the Donetsk region specifically, a long-term occupied region in Eastern Ukraine.
In Middelburg, remembrance and grief took form through music, silence, art, and collective participation. For a few hours, Zeeland and Ukraine met in one space to remember what has been lost and to reaffirm the connections that continue to build.
This event was organized by VATAHA in partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine in The Netherlands and the Municipality of Middleburg.
Our thanks go to all our above mentioned performers, our photographer Lera Manzovitova, our event moderator Simone van der Schelde, and our hosting venue ZB Bibliotheek van Zeeland. Special thanks go to our internal and external event volunteers, all municipal representatives and collaborators, as well as De Bloemenman van de Stad, Bakery & Lunchroom Everaers, and BLØF.