Today marks 80 years since the Ukrainian National Assembly in Lviv proclaimed the Act of restoration of the Ukrainian state.
This was a milestone event in the struggle of Ukrainian nation for its statehood in the 20th century. By proclaiming the Act of restoration of the Ukrainian state on June 30, 1941, the Ukrainians demonstrated to the whole world that a fight for Ukrainian independence had not ended with the fall of the Ukrainian National Republic in 1921. Ukrainians also demonstrated that they would not tolerate or obey any occupiers on their land. These events also gave a powerful impetus to the emergence of a mass Ukrainian Resistance movement, the establishment of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which fought for the freedom of Ukraine against both the Nazi and the Communist regimes.
For more than seven years now, Ukrainian Crimea and Donbas are under Russian occupation. Today, Russian military aggression continues on the Eastern borders of Ukraine, in the Black and Azov Seas. Today, like never before, we recognize the real value of freedom, sovereignty, and statehood. Events of 1941 once again remind us of the cost of Ukraine’s independence.
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!
