Activists from the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement in temporarily occupied territories sent photos holding handwritten messages: “Crimea is Ukraine,” “Donetsk is Ukraine,” and “Kherson is Ukraine.” These images, taken near central squares, Christmas trees, and iconic locations of occupied cities, inspired the band MUR to launch the flash mob “Ukraine’s Time Will Come.” As part of the flash mob, Ukrainians record videos and post photos with New Year greetings addressed to those living in temporarily occupied territories.

“We saw several photos of nonviolent resistance movements on social media, where people in the temporarily occupied territories were showing that they would celebrate the New Year together with Ukraine. We felt how powerful that was — because the Russians can temporarily take away our freedom, but they cannot take away Ukrainian time. That’s how the idea for our video was born,” explains MUR founder Oleksandr Khomenko.

The flash mob’s idea is to emphasize that Ukrainians celebrate the New Year according to Kyiv time, regardless of where they are. Many photos from the temporarily occupied territories feature clocks set to Kyiv time.

Ukrainians from government-controlled areas are calling on everyone to join the flash mob by posting photos and videos with messages of support for cities still under occupation. These greetings have already spread across social media, uniting people around a common goal — bringing our compatriots back home to Ukraine.