A Solidarity Narrative: The Soft Power of Ukrainian Wartime Poetry

This article undertakes an analytical reading of the new wave of contemporary Ukrainian poetry after the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in particular the poems written and published online and/or in print between 24 February 2022 and May 2023. This Ukrainian post-invasion poetry serves as a cultural response to the war, shaping the national narrative of the war by undertaking a factual and emotional witnessing of the wartime reality and creating an empathetic connection that engenders a solidarity of the international audience with the Ukrainian people. It therefore functions as a tool of soft power which promotes the foreign-policy goals of Ukraine, namely European and transatlantic political solidarity in countering the Russian aggression.