On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine, that is, Europe. Each day and night Moscow’s tanks, jets and rockets are sent to kill innocent people and freedom. The Ukrainian soldiers and civilians fight for their country and for all of us. Their mothers, wives and children look for shelter in basements, or in the neighboring countries. Hell on earth burns once again. 

In this context, the Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea seems to be as insignificant as a grain of sand on the sea shore. However, each grain of sand makes up a firm shore against the storm. 

The Association is unable to send either weapons, or a field-hospital to Ukraine, though it can express its solidarity with the Ukrainians at least by suspending or cancelling all contacts with Russian state organizations. Additionally, the Association has decided to stop any work on the catalogue in the Russian language. 

The Association was founded in 1991 as an instrument helping the process of Europe’s cultural re-unification. Freedom, friendly co-operation and mutual understanding constitute our core values to this day. The present Russian aggression, terror and imperialistic policy clash with those values drastically. It seems that at the moment, Russia’s leaders do their best to ruin our dreams of living in peace, freedom and friendship.

There is also another value threatened by the Kremlin regime – the truth. Recently, the truth has been replaced by offensive propaganda there. The Association is one of those social entities designed to protect historical truth. It also gives a voice to the so-called small countries with their own memories of the past and a vision of the present. Today, all those small countries around the Baltic Sea want to stand together with Ukraine “For your freedom and ours”.