Pohoda Loves Ukraine is one of the results of the continued close collaboration between Music Saves Ukraine and Pohoda Festival. It was a unique cultural event, which took place on January 27th, 2024, at Kyiv’s Atlas venue. The main idea was to demonstrate in person the solidarity of Slovak people with Ukrainians during their fight for survival, especially since the new government in Slovakia reversed the country’s course of supporting Ukraine.

The line-up consisted of 8 artists – 4 Slovak, 3 Ukrainian and 1 Czech-Slovak, who played alongside each other on 2 stages. Among them were VBPS – a punk band featuring Pohoda’s founder, Michal Kaščák, on the drums and vocals. Another notable act was Michael Kocáb – a Czech artist and political activist who used to be the chairman of the reconstituted commission for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia and a Minister of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights.

The event also featured discussion panels. The first discussion was between Ukrainian artists and cultural representatives about cultural and musical diplomacy during wartime. The second was an interview panel with both Michal Kaščák and Michael Kocáb about their background as musical and political activists and how best to continue supporting Ukraine in the current situation. During the panels and performances, all artists reiterated that they and the Slovak people are on the side of Ukraine, regardless of what the Slovak government says or does.

In order to do the event, Slovak artists, media, and Pohoda team members travelled together on a bus from Bratislava to Kyiv for an entire day. At the same time, Michal Kaščák and Michael Kocáb were driving ambulances, which Pohoda Festival and Slovak journalist Vlado Šimíček raised money for earlier in 2023, to the frontline in the east of Ukraine before they would come to Kyiv for the event.

Pohoda Loves Ukraine was free to attend, but people were asked to donate money to Music Saves Ukraine to purchase a special inertial treadmill for the Kyiv Institute of Rehabilitation, which treats Ukrainian war victims for free. People could also purchase Pohoda Festival merchandise for donations. The event raised over €2000, enabling the treadmill purchase.

At 8 PM during the event, there was an air-raid alarm due to a ballistic missile threat in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine. All participants and visitors had to be evacuated to the shelter underneath the venue. The threat lasted for 95 minutes, and the event resumed shortly after. The artists had to play shorter sets to ensure every artist could perform. This attracted a lot of media attention in Slovakia in the light of claims by the Slovak government saying there was no war in Kyiv. As a result, Pohoda’s team received multiple requests for TV, radio, and podcast interviews, during which they shared their impressions and reiterated how important it is to support Ukraine, especially in light of the Slovak government’s position.

The next day after the event, the artists, media, and Pohoda team members were taken by Music Saves Ukraine to Borodyanka to show what its residents went through during the Russian occupation in the first months of the invasion. They could see the Borodyanka Palace of Culture and how its workers are renovating the building and continuing to bring culture to the people of Borodyanka.