STAND AGAINST FASCISM – YESTERDAY AND TODAY 1945 – 2025

VIGIL AT KINDERTRANSPORT MEMORIAL CALLS FOR THE RETURN OF UKRAINE’S ABDUCTED CHILDREN

On Wednesday, May 7, a vigil will be held at London’s Kindertransport – The Arrival statue in Liverpool Street Station, demanding the return of Ukraine’s abducted children.
Organized by Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, Campaign for Ukraine, and Vsesvit—Ukraine’s solidarity collective—the vigil takes place during the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Under the title “1945 – 2025: Stand Against Fascism – Yesterday and Today”, the vigil serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight against oppression.

Commemorating Past and Present Struggles
The vigil will be held at Kindertransport – The Arrival, a memorial honoring the 10,000 Jewish children who fled Nazi persecution and found refuge in the UK between 1938 and 1939. Their parents, forced to make a heartbreaking decision, sent them to safety—many never reunited.
Eighty years later the scourge of fascism has returned in Europe. In 2022, Russia’s authoritarian regime launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, bringing annexation, war crimes, and a brutal colonial rule. This genocidal war has deliberately targeted Ukraine’s children.
Forcibly relocated to Russia, subjected to re-education, militarised, and stripped of their cultural identity. In the early months of the invasion, Ukraine officially recorded 19,546 abductions—a clear crime under international law. However, the full scale of this atrocity remains unknown, with Russia claiming that since February 2022, it has taken more than 700,000 Ukrainian children.

A Vigil for Justice
Ukraine Solidarity Campaign is calling for action. The vigil will take place on May 7 at 5:30 PM, ahead of the UK’s VE Day and Putin’s military parade, which seeks to appropriate the fight against fascism and glorify his ongoing war against Ukraine.

Speakers will include:
• John McDonnell MP – Former Shadow Chancellor
• John Sweeney – Journalist
• Unmesh Desai – London Assembly Member
• Zoe Gardner – Migrant Rights Campaigner
• Simon Weller – ASLEF Assistant General Secretary
• Peter Roberts – GMB London Region
• Yuliya Yurchenko – Representative of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions

For more information, contact info@ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org.