Thirty-three runners are carrying a flag from the frontline in eastern Ukraine to the NATO summit in Vilnius.
On Sunday, in the Lithuanian Square in central Kyiv, some of Ukraine’s best runners were preparing for a marathon of more than 1,500 kilometres. Over the following week, they will run to the Polish border carrying a Ukrainian flag handed over by soldiers and pass it on to Lithuanian runners. The latter will carry the flag to Vilnius, which will be hosting the NATO Summit.
“During the NATO Summit on July 11, this flag from the battlefield, handed over to us by soldiers of the 10th Assault Brigade, will be raised in Lukiškių Square,” Edmundas Jakilaitis, journalist and head of the Strong Together Foundation, told LRT TV.
The Ukrainian flag comes from the Donbass and was handed over by Ukrainian troops on Saturday, amid fighting for the control of Bakhmut.
“This flag has crossed the entire east of Ukraine. It is our flag of victory and every soldier on the front line knows that many of our soldiers sacrificed their lives for it,” said Sergeant Stepan Barna of the 10th Brigade.
The run, entitled Raise the Flag for Ukraine in NATO, is organised by the NGOs Strong Together and Blue/Yellow. According to them, it shows Lithuania’s strong support for Ukraine’s aspirations to join the military alliance.
“It involves 33 runners. Ukraine should become the 33rd member of NATO, after Sweden. And in Vilnius, we hope that 33,000 Ukrainian flags will be hoisted throughout the campaign. If we succeed, and I believe we will, it should make a huge impression on the visiting delegations, journalists and everyone else,” said Jakilaitis.
When the run reaches Vilnius on July 7, everyone is invited to welcome the runners with flags.
The marathon will last 16 days. It is a symbolic but important action, according to the Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Valdemaras Sarapinas. Ukrainians have high expectations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius.
“There might not be a direct invitation [to join NATO] during the Vilnius summit, but there will be a political track with very specific obligations and actions for Ukraine. I think it will be outlined in Vilnius and during the next meeting in Washington, at the latest, there will be the invitation,” Sarapinas said.
The marathon started with the runners winding through the streets of Kyiv. Each day, they plan to run at least 100 kilometres.
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