Opinion: On Independence Day, a playlist in honor of musicians who defend Ukraine

Editor’s note: Daria Kolomiec is a Ukrainian cultural activist, producer, DJ, and author of the documentary project Diary of War. Since the summer of 2022, Daria has been volunteering in New York City, where she talks about and shows Ukrainian music and culture to Americans, raises money to support Ukraine and fights Russian propaganda. Time magazine included Daria in its list of Next Generation Leaders for her cultural work. Among other things, Daria brings documentary stories of Ukrainians in the war to New York theater stages, where they are read by American actors.
When foreigners think of a Ukrainian soldier, they often imagine someone who has been involved in military affairs all their life, perhaps even dreaming of going to war and finally having the chance to do so.
They picture these individuals as titans born to be soldiers, yearning to hold a weapon.
In reality, many have never envisioned wearing a military uniform, let alone using weapons.
These are people from all walks of life, including actors, musicians, and media workers, who have essentially paused their careers to defend their country after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On the occasion of Ukraine’s 33rd Independence Day, celebrated on Aug. 24, I created a playlist dedicated to these individuals. It features 33 songs by those involved in defending our independence. Thanks to them, we still live in a free country after all these 33 years.
The playlist includes artists serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces and those killed during the war. You can hear everything from Ukrainian metal, rock, punk, and drum and bass to funk, folk, and pop. Courage and love for one’s country are not defined by genres or styles.
Our Atlantic – Marni Mrii (Pointless Dreams).
I was supposed to be at their concert on Feb. 24, 2022, at the Caribbean Club. I had two tickets and a huge desire to hear them live. Russia disrupted all our plans.
Instead of listening to them live at their concert, I heard the voice of Oleksiy – the band’s drummer – when I was collecting voice messages for my podcast, the “Diary of War.”
Oleksiy immediately stepped up to defend his country. In 2023, the band released an album, “Na Hlybyni” (“In the Deep” in Ukrainian), based on Oleksiy’s diary. The song “Marni Mriyi” (“Pointless Dreams”) opens the playlist.
Uvaha (Attention) – Sumyattia (Confusion/Uncertainty).
The band’s guitarist, Vadym, is currently involved in combat missions. This year, Uvaha released the album “Sumyattia” (“Confusion/Uncertainty”).
Tapolsky and Vyshebaba – Plus (+).
Anatoliy Tapolsky is one of the most prominent Ukrainian DJs. A veteran of the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas and the full-scale Russian war in Ukraine, Tapolsky is now serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Pavlo Vyshebaba is a soldier, poet, writer, musician, and civil activist.
Soundots – Bezlich Ochey (Countless Eyes) feat. Krapka.
The song was created in collaboration with musician and sound producer Krapka (real name Iryna Lobanok). The lyrics for the song were written by Iryna’s husband, Stas Shostak, who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2022. Anton Heneralov, who recorded bass for the song, is now also serving in the army.
Yarmak – Vavylon (Babylon).
This song, for me, is an unofficial anthem of all Ukraine’s defenders. When combat medic and public activist Iryna Tsybukh was killed while on rotation near the front in Kharkiv Oblast in May 2024, this song was on the playlist for her funeral procession from St. Michael’s Monastery to the Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv.
The song’s author, Ukrainian rapper Yarmak, has been defending Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Stasik – Heroi Vmyraiut (Heroes Die).
Anastasiia Shevchenko (Stasik) is an actress and singer who is also a veteran of the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas.
When Russia invaded Donbas in 2014, Anastasiia could not stand aside and went to the front for 10 days as a volunteer. After that, she became a riflewoman and medic. Due to the full-scale invasion in 2022, Anastasiia joined the Ukrainian army again, where she now serves as a combat medic.
Her story was featured  in the “Diary of War” a stage reading with U.S. actors and veterans in the New York theater Bedlam. The project raised $18,000 in one evening for Hospitaliers, a Ukrainian volunteer medical battalion.
DrumMishanya – Pamiatka (Memory)
Mykhailo Biketov, callsign Rudyi (“Ginger”), was a volunteer and electronic music artist.
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, he joined Module Squad, a volunteer military unit consisting of Ukrainian artists. He later became an FPV (first-person view) drone operator with the 128th Territorial Defense Brigade.
During his last battle, he, along with his brothers-in-arms, destroyed a Russian tank and infantry fighting vehicle, stopping one of the Russian assaults. Misha died in March 2024, just two days after turning 24. His mother is a legendary combat medic who serves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In May, Ukrainian label Dnipropop released Misha’s album posthumously. The album includes 15 tracks. Misha recorded most of the material between combat missions, in dugouts and an improvised “mini-studio” at a checkpoint close to the front line.
Balaklava Blues – Broken.
The band’s member Marichka Marchyk, despite having a fully scheduled international tour with Balaklava Blues, dedicated herself to saving lives. She finished a tactical medicine course with Hospitaliers and went to Ukraine from Toronto because she felt it was more important at the time.
Trystavisim – Malenka Liudyna (Littile Human).
A band from the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, whose member, trumpet player Volodymyr Schobak, is defending Ukraine on the front line. He says that he “swapped a trumpet for AK-47.”
The Vyo and Katya Chilli – Zhyty (To Live).
Myroslav Kuvaldin, the frontman of the band The Vyo, created it in 1990. During the full-scale invasion, Myroslav joined the defense of his homeland and became a soldier of the 59th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
Sasha Boole – Trymaiemo Posadky (We Are Holding the Land).
This is the first song that Sasha Boole wrote after joining the Armed Forces. It is dedicated to the brave people he met on the front lines – ordinary men and women who aren’t professionals soldiers but decided to fight for the future of their country.
Sasha Boole joined the army in the early days of the full-scale war.
Thekomakoma – Telescope.
Electronic music artist and sound producer, creator of the project Thekomakoma, Serhii Silakov joined the army and became a soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine. “I support mobilization. There is time for amusements and there is time for war. No one will save us for us,” he wrote.
WHATISLOVE NIMAK – 22
Vladyslav Nimak, from Kalush, dropped his last track in 2021 before joining the army in 2022. “That Vlad was not the same as now. He was young and careless,” says Vladyslav. But are any of us the same as before the big Russian war? I really wish that Vlad found the resources to carry on creating music because his work is absolute fire.
Nytso Potvorno – Tsikave Zhyttia (Interesting Life).
The singer, whose real name is Serhii Husak, recently announced that he signed a contract with the National Guard of Ukraine and will serve as a medic.
Andzh – Kaliuzhi (Puddles).
Andzh is a guitarist who became a soldier a month ago and is now undergoing military training in the east of Ukraine.
Marnyi, Shozha – Slidy (Traces).
The drummer of the band Marnyi, Andrii Dorosh, is serving in the Ukrainian army.
Dallek – Dreamin’ of Rotation.
Electronic musician Mykyta Dalek is now a soldier and founder of Module society. Module is an art club in Dnipro created in 2016 by a community of people passionate about the city’s music industry. Over the course of its existence, Module has managed to unite a community of prominent electronic musicians in Dnipro, which led to the creation of the Dnipropop label in 2020. At the end of 2021, the club closed, and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, part of its team joined the 128th Territorial Defense Brigade. Mykyta is currently serving in a unit called Module.
Grabar – Doshchi (Rains).
Before Feb. 24, 2022, Oleh Grabar used to be a TV producer, scriptwriter for international productions, and worked on his debut music album. After the start of the full-scale war, he first became a volunteer and later joined the Armed Forces, despite not having any military experience.
Mokri Dereva – Moya Nadia (My Hope).
Yurii Tymoshenko, known by his stage name Mokri Dereva (Wet Trees), is an electronic musician who is now defending Ukraine.
Liza Zharikova – Ne Nazavzhdy (Not Forever).
Yelyzaveta Zharikova, an artist, poet, keyboardist, and song writer, is now a combat medic in a Territorial Defense unit.
TOL – Khto I? (Who Am I?)
TOL is a Ukrainian new-metal band whose popularity peaked in 2003-2013. The band’s frontman Vasyl Pereverzev joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army this year. He is now a soldier of the famous Azov Brigade.
Distortion (UA) – Killa.
Electronic music artist Distortion (UA) is now a soldier of the Third Separate Assault Brigade. His energy can immediately be felt in his music.
O.Torvald – V Podushkah (In pillows).
The band’s guitarist, Denys Miziuk and the frontman, Yevhen Halych, both joined the Armed Forces. In 2023, Denys got seriously injured and left the band to recover.
John Object – 500 mg.
Musician and producer John Object joined the army in the early days of the full-scale war. He documents his life in English on Instagram.
Raavel – Blatzer.
Raavel is a DJ and producer. At the beginning of the full-scale war, he volunteered to help wounded civilians and soldiers at a hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city located just 30 kilometers from the Russian border, which has been relentlessly bombarded since 2022. In March 2022, he became a soldier.
Cape Cod – Syluetamy Vitryn (Silhouettes of Shop Windows).
The band’s member Maksym Sikalenko recently enrolled in the army. On Aug. 9, the musicians released their new album “Syluetamy Vitryn.”
Tin Sontsia – Zrodylys My Velykoi Hodyny (We Were Born in a Great Hour).
Tin Sontsia released the cover of the march of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In her will, Iryna Tsybukh, a fallen combat medic, asked everyone who would come to her farewell ceremony to learn 10 Ukrainian songs and sing them at her funeral. This song was the first on the list.
The band’s frontman, Serhii Vasyliuk, currently serves in the 130th Territorial Defense Battalion of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Polozhynskyi – Na Vysoti (At Height).
Iconic Ukrainian singer Oleksandr Polozhynskyi recorded for me his war diary in the first months of the full-scale invasion. The diary was about how he was not accepted into the Territorial Defense. But he didn’t give up and eventually became a soldier, for which he deserves great honor and gratitude. He is also my high school crush, but that’s a whole different story.
Papa Karlo – Y*bana Orda (F*cking Horde).
Papa Karlo is a band from Kharkiv, whose members have been involved in volunteering since 2014. With the start of the full-scale invasion, the band’s frontman Vasyl Riabko joined the National Guard of Ukraine. This year, Papa Karlo released the album “Muzykant Na Viini” (Musician at War).
Taras Kompanichenko – Nakryla Nichka (The Night Has Fallen).
Taras Kompanichenko is a Ukrainian bandura player, soldier of the Ukrainian army and frontman of the band “Khoreya Kozatska.”
Zhadan i Sobaky – Vona Sama Siudy Pryishla (She Came Here Herself).
Serhiy Zhadan, perhaps the most famous contemporary Ukrainian poet, traveled around the world on a charity tour to raise funds for the Ukrainian military after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In the summer of 2024, he joined the National Guard, along with two musicians from his band, Yevhen Turchynov and Oleksandr Merenchuk.
Hromadianyn Topinambur – Соромно (It’s a shame).
The band’s frontman, Roman Zabuha, is now involved in combat missions in Kharkiv Oblast.
Adm:t – Zavtra? (Tomorrow?)
The band reminds me of the times when I worked at Radio Aristocrats, where we played their music. Then we went to Munich together with the band: Adm:t were the first Ukrainians who presented their music at the international competition Aloft Star Europe and won. The prize for the band was a contract with Universal Music Group.
Today, Andrii Dmytrenko, the band’s frontman, serves in the Armed Forces. Adm:t recently released the single “Zavtra?” (Tomorrow?) based on a poem by Ukrainian poet and soldier Maksym Kryvtsov. Maksym never got to hear the final version of the song – on Jan. 7, he was killed on the front line.
If you want to support the musicians at war, you can donate to the Musicians Defend Ukraine foundation https://musiciansdefendukraine.com.