Dutch Embassy, LUkraine Host Luxembourg Premiere of 'Cuba & Alaska'

On Tuesday 9 December 2025, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Luxembourg, in partnership with LUkraine and the Ukrainian Ombudsman, hosted the Luxembourg premiere of the documentary Cuba & Alaska at Ciné Utopia.

Organised on the occasion of Human Rights Day 2025, the event represented the second year of collaboration between the embassy and LUkraine, with the premiere welcoming around 100 attendees.

Shortly before the film, the Dutch Ambassador to Luxembourg, Carin Lobbezoo, introduced the evening's programme in her opening remarks, thanked the partner organisations and acknowledged the resilience of Ukrainians in the ongoing war with Russia.

The programme continued with a screening of the documentary Cuba & Alaska, which ran for approximately one hour and a half; it was screened in Ukrainian with English subtitles. Directed by Yegor Troyanovsky, the film follows two young Ukrainian women, Cuba and Alaska, who volunteer as military paramedics. It depicts "the violence, pain and sadness, yet also friendship, love and dreams of a life without war". The director has filmed their lives since the summer of 2022, capturing moments of respite during rotations alongside the harsh realities of war.

In the discussion panel after the screening, the Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) in Luxembourg, Inna Yaremenko, informed the audience about a new Christmas campaign, launched by LUkraine, that finances high-quality winter uniforms and tactical boots designed specifically for women. Reflecting on the film, she added: "We need to hear more female voices and watch more female stories from the frontline. These women are young, brave, strong and determined, and they fight on the frontline for us and for our common future."

Also invited on stage, Melissa Cornelis, Political Advisor at the Belgian Embassy and reserve infantry officer, said that Ukraine "has constantly shown that war is not only a man's story", adding: "Women are involved, and they need to be involved, because they are a strong part of a society's resilience. They bring lots of skills to the army and they are an example for European women in this war." She continued: "One of the things we see is an increasing number of women fighting on the frontline in Ukraine, [and] of course, they are also fighting for our freedom. But it is, of course, important to realise that when armies were designed, there were not a lot of women in there."

Speaking with Chronicle.lu, Liz ter Kuile, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Luxembourg, added that last year, for the same purpose, they screened another Ukrainian documentary, Nice Ladies. She said that the plan for next year is to secure a larger venue, as public interest in this event remains high. "It was fully attended. We even had many more people who wanted to come and we had to say no," she noted.

The event concluded with a reception.

EO