The Roman Colosseum and the Sydney Opera House, the buildings of the EU institutions in Brussels, the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, the City Halls of Paris and Porto, the main Christmas trees in New York near Rockefeller Center and in London in Trafalgar Square, as well as in Prague, Riga, Sofia, Wroclaw, Turku, Vilnius, the famous Toronto TV tower – in total, more than 60 world-famous locations will turn off the light today as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine and urge their visitors to join the collection for generators for Ukrainian hospitals. The campaign takes place against the background of President Zelenskyy’s visit to the United States, where he will discuss comprehensive support for Ukraine during a full-scale war.

The #LightUpUkraine campaign aims to raise USD 10,000,000 to purchase generators for Ukrainian hospitals through the UNITED24 fundraising platform launched by President Zelenskyy.

New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall was the first to join #LightUpUkraine, switching off the lights on December 4, 2022, during a concert in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian Christmas melody Shchedryk.

“When the lights go out, it is always perceived as somewhat unusual. But when you spend four, ten, twenty hours or even days without it and start getting used to the darkness, it is the worst thing that can happen. This means that light is not the only thing they want to take away from you. It is an encroachment on every part of your life. This is how we live in Ukraine now – defending ourselves from the enemy who came to destroy us. Therefore, I appeal to you, true friends of Ukraine. We need your support! To every doctor who has to operate in the dark. Every father and mother who do everything to provide their families with everything they need – even in the dark. To every Ukrainian who believes in freedom despite the darkness. Together we will stop this war! Please do not stop looking for new ways to help Ukraine! Thank you to everyone who cares about freedom!” said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In total, on December 21 at 20:00, 62 locations in 19 countries will turn off the light.

“The most famous locations in the world will turn off the light in solidarity with Ukraine, which is suffering from russian aggression and missile terror. The MFA helped to implement this large-scale initiative of President Zelenskyy, which demonstrates support for Ukrainians around the world and proves that Ukraine is a force of light, and russia is a force of darkness. It is important that the action also has a practical dimension – fundraising within the UNITED24 platform,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said.

Last week, russia struck another devastating blow to Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving about 10 million people without electricity. Missile strikes and drone attacks damaged 50% of the country’s energy infrastructure. This has led to blackouts in every region. Ukrainian doctors have to save lives and perform complex operations under the light of flashlights.

“The #LightUpUkraine campaign launched by the UNITED24 fundraising platform was supported by 6 ambassadors at once: Andriy Shevchenko, Oleksandr Usyk, Scott Kelly, Elina Svitolina, Liev Schreiber and Timothy Snyder. Now more than 60 international locations are joining them and this is a real sign of solidarity with Ukraine. Each public call – whether from the Coliseum or the London Mayor’s Office – is not only attention to Ukraine just a few days before Christmas, but also donations that will help to purchase generators for Ukrainian hospitals. So far, more than USD 2 million have been donated by people and companies from all over the world,” said Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

The #LightUpUkraine campaign is organized by UNITED24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the United for Ukraine international parliamentary coalition.