Ukrainians in Dumfries and Galloway mark independence day with poignant Lockerbie ceremony

Ukrainians in Dumfries and Galloway came together on Saturday (24 August) to mark the country's independence day.

At the Ukrainian POW Chapel, which sits just outside Lockerbie, those with a Ukrainian heritage were joined by people who've recently left the country to plant a tree, and listen to speeches.

"It's a day when we should be celebrating, but we're not," said Peter Kormylo , who is an archivist for Lockerbie Friends of Ukraine. "We are commiserating the fact that Ukraine is at war."

Ukrainian independence is marked the day after 'Flag Day', which celebrates the national flag. This was the third independence day commemorated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which has since seen thousands of Ukrainians forced to flee their homes.

Many of the attendees at the Lockerbie event have family still in the country. John Panczak, the Chairman of the Friends, said he had relatives in Western Ukraine, "not necessarily tied up in the worst of what we're seeing in the East."

He added: "Obviously we'd like to see an end to the war in Ukraine, but it seems, week by week, it's getting further away."

In an orchard planted by Ukrainian Prisoners of War who lived on the site in the 1940s, a tree was planted by a young Ukrainian to mark the day. "That's quite symbolic," Peter explained.

"The young Ukrainians have come to Scotland and been made welcome. Whether they stay or they don't stay, they're planting this tree.

"If they come back in a few years time, it will be a day for them to remember."

The event finished with the Ukrainian national anthem. There's a lot of worry about the future of the embattled nation, but, it appeared, a lot of hope too.

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