This paper investigates the ways in which Ukrainian independent popular music, after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has contributed to domestic nation-building and international nation-branding. Taking as case studies six artists who have extensively toured abroad with their musical projects, the paper traces the evolution of the internal imaginings and external projections of Ukrainian identity enabled via musical activity. The paper shows that the war has generated a reconfiguration of the relationship between the artist and their social responsibility, in which music now functions as a fundamental means to raise transnational awareness of the Ukrainian struggle and materially influence Ukraine’s defence. This reconfiguration has prompted the performers to take on the role of the grassroots cultural ambassador and create DIY networks of solidarity, largely outside of state initiatives. While the promotion of Ukrainian identity on the international stage assumed a central role in this collective endeavour, notions of the country did not adhere to a standardized framework, but rather reflected Ukraine’s unity in cultural diversity
