11:34
27.06.2026
Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, leader of the ‘European Solidarity’ party Petro Poroshenko took part in a discussion at the Culture Forum during his visit to Lviv, alongside writer Yuriy Andrukhovych, Yevhen Nyshchuk, director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre, and Vasyl Kosiv, rector of the Lviv National Academy of Arts. The discussion was moderated by Member of Parliament Sofiia Fedyna.
According to Poroshenko, Ukrainian culture is precisely the soft power that fosters national optimism and inspires people to take pride in and respect themselves on the world stage.
“Three very important historical events took place involving the participants in our discussion today. A political revolution – the Orange Revolution, when we defeated the communists for the first time – played an incredibly important role in the history of Ukraine. And cultural figures were the driving force behind it,” recalled the fifth President.
“The second revolution was the Revolution of Dignity, or the European revolution. It led to the army, language, faith, the EU and NATO becoming the top priorities for the Ukrainian authorities. This had never happened before 2013. And cultural figures helped shape this agenda,” Poroshenko emphasised.
“I would say that it was a military revolution, because as a result we began to build up the army. And thanks to this, Ukraine has been preserved. For our best and most persuasive diplomat today is the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And the language they know how to speak is the language of strength, which our enemies finally understand. That is why the role of the Revolution of Dignity as a military revolution was so crucial,” Petro Poroshenko is convinced.
“And in 2026 – this is a matter of life and death – a cultural revolution must take place in Ukraine. This cultural revolution is linked to our membership of the European Union. It is linked to democracy and freedom of speech. It is linked to national optimism, to the fact that Ukrainians have learnt to respect themselves and are demanding respect for themselves in the world,” Poroshenko believes.
“Although it has been a long journey to get here. During my term in office, for the first time in Ukraine’s history, I recognised the soldiers of the OUN-UPA and granted them the same rights as Second World War veterans. We compelled others to respect Ukraine through soft power. This process was set in motion back then, and I am absolutely convinced that it must not stop now. Because it is up to us – our historians, our artists, our cultural figures – to determine our own heroes, without asking anyone’s permission. And conversely, to rid ourselves of Soviet heroes,” Poroshenko believes.
“Ukrainian culture is now speaking so loudly and so clearly that even Russian meowing won’t get in the way,” the fifth President is convinced.