On the 24th of February, my mother called me at 7 AM sobbing because there was a huge explosion outside our window at an old military airfield. The whole neighbourhood shook. This was one of the first explosions that erupted in all of Ukraine, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" against my country in a video message.

With this letter, I want to address the global music community on behalf of my peers from the Ukrainian industry, who are numb and highly focused on the war. Many are spending nights in shelters, trying to save their lives crossing the borders into EU countries, picking up guns to fight the Russian troops and preparing cyberattacks to stop the spread of fake news from Russian state-run media. Another 80,000 Ukrainians who were living abroad returned to Ukraine in the last few days to be with their families or fight against the Russian invasion. As I write this, the missiles are falling on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Zhytomyr and Odessa. Our families are not safe. Your email won't find us well. Everyone is making an immense effort to save lives and scream for help.

The new generation of creatives and forward-thinking youth in Ukraine have been building up a unique identity that separates them from the former Soviet Union. This has intensified since 2014 following the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv's Independence Square, which combatted the corrupt government and illegal, barbarian annexation of Crimea by Russia. During those years, many Ukrainians from the Donbas and Crimea regions had to flee their homes and become refugees in their own country. The new identity of the free-willed Ukrainian became inseparable from values like freedom of speech, solidarity, sexual liberation and celebration of diversity—new values that depart from totalitarian restrictions and post-Soviet nostalgia. I am watching in pain as the country's POC population face discrimination as they flee Ukraine. Still, I also know that the people helping and protecting them now are those who have been involved in creating safer spaces, standing for inclusivity and an anti-racist agenda long before the war. These are the foundational values of the Ukrainian electronic music activists and communities.

Since 2014, many music and culture media platforms have been hyping the "war" and "revolution" narrative, benefiting from edgy headlines when writing about Ukraine. In 2017, I asked Ukrainian journalist, music activist and now one of my dearest friends, Maya Bakhlanova, to write in detail about the clubbing scene in Ukraine for the second edition of Borshch magazine. We agreed that this piece would depart from the "revolution" storyline and stress its gradual evolution. And that's what we've been doing every time a journalist approaches us and asks us to tell them about the scene in Kyiv, fishing for drama and political unrest. So now we're asking the media who've been speculating on those topics in the last years to activate their powers. Don't wait for the post-war stories to hype over destruction and trauma.

Kyiv has become a global clubbing hotspot over the last few years, and hundreds of ravers have also travelled to cities like Lviv, and Odessa, earning these local scenes—especially the capital—praise from clubbers and music platforms. The Ukrainian economy has been strongly shaken since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the exhausting war in the Donbas region which has continued from 2014 up until today. This economic instability made it impossible to shut everything down over the entire two years of the pandemic because the government wouldn't support any artist or music industry workers. This was the case for all industries in Ukraine, not only for the clubs. By staying open, out of financial necessity, the Ukrainian clubbing industry's ongoing events provided opportunities for local and international artists to continue working during Covid-19.

My heart is broken for every citizen of Ukraine, inside and far beyond the club scene. But, as the Ukrainian music scene is facing tremendous losses, and I'm a part of it, I'm here to specifically address the music scene. When I speak to my closest friends and family and refresh my news feed every two minutes, it feels like the whole world is burning and collapsing. And yet, even today, music promo emails are landing in my inbox starting with, "Hey Mariana, I hope you had a nice weekend. Can you check this new track?" I see artists posting their tour dates without any reference as to how to support Ukraine or ways to stop the war. So I guess not everyone in the industry is on the same page, and many don't seem to realise how they could use their voice to stop this apocalypse.

Real underground music is political. It always has been. From the origins of techno in Detroit with collectives like Underground Resistance, to the endless raves celebrating unity and new beginnings in Berlin after the fall of the Wall, to the Cxema raves in post-Revolution of Dignity Kyiv. Artists and industry people who build their careers on the values of rave culture—such as freedom of speech, movement and assembly, resistance against establishments, anti-fascism and anti-racism—have responsibilities for their actions and their messages. Full stop. Ukrainian people are in pain now, activating their powers, focus and incredible will-power. They will tell their stories soon when the bombings and shootings are over. Make sure to support them now.

There's an ongoing battle of Ukrainians demanding that Russians stand together with Ukraine against the fascist regime of Putin's government. We appreciate those Russian citizens that are standing with Ukraine now. We also know that many are being threatened and punished for attending demonstrations or making donations. But our people are dying and losing their homes because troops are shooting and bombing our country while Russian citizens sleep without the fear of coming under fire. The losses are incomparable. And so we beg the forward-thinking communities in Russia to wake up and fight against this tyranny.

Recently, I've been raging about a Nina Kraviz post on Instagram. For me, it reflects a much broader problem. One of the world's best-paid DJs with a huge, two million-strong fanbase—who built their career on the values of rave culture—cannot be neutral and show this level of indifference. I truly believe that a famous Russian artist with a global reach and influence on the public opinion inside of Russia (where the government manipulates the media) has a responsibility to share the facts and encourage action to help stop the war. Your job is to be in contact with your audience and share real information with people who follow your opinions. In times of war, this is especially urgent.

Other high profile DJs are sharing a photo of two people hugging, one wearing a Ukrainian flag and the second a Russian flag, with captions about "brother and sister nations." I urge you to stop using this photo. It was taken before the Russian government invaded Ukraine and started a war in our country. The soldiers who are shooting, bombing and driving tanks through our cities have this flag sewn on their uniforms. For us, it represents the genocide of the Ukrainian people by the Russian government. We hope that when this horror is over, Russians will rise from decades of oppression and fascist regimes to choose new values.

I know seeing the same list, "Real Ways Anyone Can Help Ukraine as a Foreigner," circulated over and over again can be overwhelming, and soon starts to feel like noise. One person cannot fight the evil of the whole world. Yet each of us can make a difference on a local level, bringing together our communities and engaging with or without financial contributions. Life does go on, but it's essential to be mindful and supportive now. The following resources highlight what the music community specifically can do to help.

How the music community can help

• Get in touch with your local initiative. Organisers might need your help with logistics or deliveries. Find local specific efforts on this homepage.

• Host Ukrainian refugees. Keep in mind that people arriving from Ukraine are extremely sensitive now. They often don't speak English or other foreign languages, and might have little or no money on them.

• Offer to set up legal consultations. Every country will have different conditions for refugees. Help people understand what they need to do, and set them up with translators.

• Support queer and POC people fleeing the war.

• If you can provide financial support, ask your Ukrainian friends directly if they need money.

• Buy Ukrainian music. Here is a list of Ukrainian artists and labels you can support directly, provided by the record label Muscut.

• Donate to organisations that help to stop the war and save lives.

• Read and spread verified news from independent media. Don't rely on the news only from Twitter or Instagram.

• Organise local fundraisers. Think of specific messages that could resonate with your local audiences and make them more eager to support and donate to the Ukrainian artists. Many artists and promoters, like Flora Yin-Wong, Job Jobse, Hör Radio, Refuge Worldwide Radio, and more are actively organising fundraisers. Watch and learn from them.

• Fundraise by selling artwork and special merchandise.

• Don't post "peace and pigeons" content in case you are afraid to speak up against the Russian fascist government. If you have nothing insightful to say, please give the cyber space to people reporting the real news and suggesting real solutions.