Matthew Rybnicek

By Matthew Rybnicek

Carolina Journal

In 2025, North Carolina celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence. Next year will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence — the document that called for the freedom Americans later won on the battlefield. As we celebrate our independence and reflect on freedom, the core value of the American nation, I would like to draw your attention to Europe, where another nation is fighting for its sovereignty. Honoring the foundations on which our own nation was built, I believe that Ukraine’s fight against the brutality of Russian imperialist ambition is a struggle that should resonate with every American.

In the summer of 2025, I spent two months working in the city of Lviv and visited Kyiv on a

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