Ukraine’s Independence Day in Kaunas 2026: the flag carried by recovering soldiers

On Monday 24 August, Kaunas marked the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. A huge blue-and-yellow flag led the procession from the memorial plaque to Colonel Yevhen Konovalets on Laisvės alėja to the garden of the Vytautas the Great War Museum. It was carried by Ukrainian soldiers recovering in Lithuania from wounds sustained at the front – and it was sewn by our fund’s director, Tatjana Narkevičienė. In the evening the Basilica of the Resurrection of Christ, the building whose basement our volunteers work in every day, lit up in blue and yellow.

This year the War Museum took the lead on the commemoration, with our fund among the organisers: we published the invitation a week earlier and, on the day itself, wrote about why this date is so hard and so important for Ukraine.

From Laisvės alėja to the War Museum

At noon, by the memorial plaque to Colonel Yevhen Konovalets, commander of the army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Lithuanian Air Force band played, members of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union formed ceremonial ranks and flowers were laid. From there the participants, carrying Lithuanian and Ukrainian flags, walked down Laisvės alėja to the War Museum garden, where flowers were laid at the Freedom Monument and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; cadets of the General Povilas Plechavičius Cadet Lyceum took part in the ceremony.

Inside the museum both national anthems were sung, prayers were said for the fallen defenders of freedom and their memory was honoured with a minute of silence. Museum director Rita Malinauskienė and Ukraine’s ambassador to Lithuania Olha Nikitichenko gave the welcoming addresses, and our director spoke too. The commemoration closed with a concert by the Ukrainian ensemble Malva (led by Nataliya Myronets) and soloists Olena Sleptsova, Ihor Danyleiko and Dalia Tarailienė.

Photos: Vytautas the Great War Museum.

A flag sewn by hand

The flag the soldiers carried down Laisvės alėja did not come from a shop. Tatjana sewed it herself, as she does every year. Speaking on LRT Radio’s programme Lietuvos diena that same day, she said:

“I am so glad that this celebration, which has become a tradition, was taken over by the War Museum this year. We started it back in 2014–2015, and my yearly duty is to prepare the flag for the event. I have sewn a great many flags – for joyful occasions and for farewells to heroes.”

“We” are the people who later founded the Visi išvien fund: they began marking Ukraine’s Independence Day in Kaunas when russia’s war on Ukraine had only just begun, in 2014–2015. That a state museum has now taken the lead is, to Tatjana, a happy sign: the day belongs to the whole city, not to one small circle.

How is the fund doing? Her answer is about people:

“The fund is doing well. As its director I am so grateful for our team – a team of devoted, selfless people, because without them there would be nothing. And of course the people of Kaunas support us a great deal. But you always wish for more – more understanding that this kind of Christian compassion is needed. We live very well, we really do, and we don’t realise how well. Only when you lose something do you understand what you have lost.”

“Not speeches on paper”

In the Lrytas TV news report from the commemoration, Tatjana explained why this celebration is unlike any other:

“It is a real celebration. Ukrainians have the word shchyra – sincere, genuine. The feelings are very strong: people who won their independence are defending it with their lives, so everything here is very real – not formal speeches on paper. It is a hard, painful celebration, but a genuine one.”

Both recordings are in Lithuanian: the Lrytas TV news report and the LRT Radio programme Lietuvos diena (24 Aug 2026).

In the evening, the basilica in blue and yellow

After dark, Kaunas City Municipality lit the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, the municipality building and the Basilica of the Resurrection of Christ in blue and yellow until morning. For us the basilica is more than a symbol: in its basement (Žemaičių g. 31A) volunteers make trench-candle blanks, weave camouflage nets and load shipments for Ukraine. That evening we sent up a drone – this is what our home looked like.

Photos: Visi išvien.

Join in

Celebrations pass; the missions remain. Every euro you give buys paraffin for trench candles, fuel and vehicles for Ukraine’s defenders – monthly support strengthens the fund most, but one-time support is just as welcome. And if you have a couple of hours to spare, come to the basilica basement – the volunteer schedule is here. No experience needed.

Ukraine’s fight is our fight. All together. 🇱🇹🇺🇦

Sources: the Lrytas TV news report; the LRT Radio programme Lietuvos diena (24 Aug 2026); kaunas.kasvyksta.lt; Vytautas the Great War Museum (Facebook); event page (Facebook); Kaunas City Municipality.