MUSICURES: HOW UKRAINIAN DJ/PRODUCER DARIA KOLOMIEC IS SPREADING AWARENESS ABOUT THE RUSSIAN INVASION

The first bomb struck on 2/4 just before 5am.

Kyiv was still cloaked in darkness as the sun made its revolution around the Earth, having not yet illuminated Ukraine. Sound asleep, DJ/producer Daria Kolomiec heard her phone ring and lazily picked it up, blissfully unaware of what she was about to hear. It was her sister, who told her that Russia had just invaded their country. Frightened, Kolomiec grabbed her backpack and fled to the street. She ran to a local café, where she knew the owner. For two weeks, 40 people—grandmothers, children, mothers, fathers—huddled together in a tiny basement there, still in the same clothes from the day they ran.

This has been the story of thousands of Ukrainians for the last four months, but Kolomiec is determined to unite those fighting for their freedom. As the developer of the Google Play MusiCures app, she is committed to using music to bring people together and inspire them to act.

“We have this huge wound because we have friends in the armed forces of Ukraine, friends who have lost their homes, friends who are dead because of Russian aggression,” she explains. “I understand that we need many more things, but this could help heal us.”

To further that goal, she’s taken a new course with MusiCures.

“Before the full-scale invasion, I was trying to spread all kinds of music to the audience, to open people’s ears to new artists,” she says. “But now, I want something that will unite us as Ukrainians in our trauma and show people from all over the world what a deep-rooted culture we have and have had. I’ve even included music from the 1970s, a time that Russia wanted to colonize our culture. We need this national energy.”

Kolomiec is currently in New York, where she’s bringing that energy everywhere she goes. From marching with the Ukrainian flag to DJ'ing Pride festivals to blasting Ukrainian artists from her speakers, she bleeds blue and yellow. With her Diary of War podcast, she keeps her listeners apprised of the violence erupting in Kyiv, a burden she carries every day. “In New York, there are a lot of different noises,” she says. “But in Ukraine, there are only sirens and explosions. The Russians are trying to destroy Kyiv, so I need to spread the truth about what we are going through as widely as possible.”

“What every person in all the world can do is pay attention to Ukraine and try to understand what is happening, volunteer, make donations,” Kolomiec continues. “Whatever you can do, make it a routine. If everyone used their social media, their connections, their conversations, even for one minute, to spread the news from Ukraine, it would be so important for us.”

For her part, she is also counting on music. “I feel trauma,” she says, “but music is very, very huge and deep.” It has been a lifeline for Kolomiec, and she believes it can be for her fellow patriots.

“So please listen,” she implores, “do what you can―and do not forget about Ukraine.”