The Radio Dictation of National Unity starts on Tuesday, 27 October, at 11:00 Kyiv time. In Germany that is 10:00, as the time difference is currently one hour. You can write anywhere: at home, at work, in a library or at a Ukrainian community centre. All you need is paper and a pen.
The text is titled “The Letter That Doesn’t End”. It was written by the author and veteran Artur Dron, who joined the 125th territorial defence brigade in March 2022 and served as an infantryman in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. According to the public broadcaster Suspilne, the themes include wartime experience, growing up through revolution and war, military service and biblical motifs. Two readers will take part live: Artur Proidakov, a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, and Dasha Astafieva, a singer, volunteer and founder of the UnderBooks audio project. The organisers call the duo an experiment.
The broadcast runs on Ukrainian Radio and Radio Kultura, live on the Suspilne Culture TV channel, on Ukrainian Radio’s YouTube channel, and in the suspilne.radio and Diia apps. If 10:00 does not suit you, a recording will be available afterwards on YouTube and all Suspilne platforms.
There are two ways to submit your work for checking. Paper letters go to 01001 Kyiv, Khreshchatyk St. 26, with a postmark no later than 28 October — tight from Germany. Email is easier: send a photo or scan (.jpg.png.jpeg.tiff or .pdf) by 11:00 Kyiv time on 29 October. Suspilne gives the address in its own article, so take it from there. To check your own text, the official version will be published on Suspilne platforms on Thursday, 29 October, at 11:00.
The tradition dates back to 2000, when the Ukrainian Radio team launched it. Last year more than 11,200 texts were sent in for checking, mostly by email, and paper letters arrived from Italy, the US and Belgium among other places. This year the dictation is paired with the “Dronopad” fundraiser by the Povernys Zhyvym foundation, which supports an anti-drone air-defence system; the broadcaster publishes the donation link in its article.
Suspilne Culture’s literary editor advises against exam-style anxiety: the dictation is about shared values, not marks. Practical help includes brushing up on the 2019 orthography, writing together with family or friends, and making it a small occasion. For children in German schools who attend Ukrainian Saturday classes, it is a good chance to hear the literary language live.
Sources: Suspilne Culture, Suspilne Culture: tips, Osvita.ua, Vikna
