Every day spent by Ukraine in battle goes into the treasury of our security guarantees. We have already broken the stereotype of a timid, funny Ukrainian – the head of the farm, imposed for decades by the Ghb propaganda and Soviet film production. As the Kremlin Margarita Simonyan said three years ago: well, this is Ukraine… what’s there to fight for…
And in Ukraine itself, the pages of the military glory of Ukrainians were carefully retouched. The authorities selected by Moscow were supposed to instill in us “hopak-vodka-Dykanka-cherry orchard”. As soon as Petro Shelest began to take an interest and awaken interest in the era of Cossack glory, he was immediately removed from the leadership chair in Kyiv and transferred to a worthless position in Moscow.
My uncle, who is already 90, has always been an inquisitive researcher of the Cossacks. I remember when I was 10 years old, he brought me Starytsky’s book “The Storm” to read and, looking around, he accompanied me: just show this book less… There was nothing seditious from the point of view of Soviet censorship, as I understand it now. Except for the freedom-loving fighting spirit of the indigenous inhabitants of these lands. And they were even afraid of that.
The history of the UPA was not even mentioned publicly until the 90s – in an instant an article could be written for “Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism”. And meanwhile – holding weapons in our hands – that was our eternal job. Cossacks were willingly hired by neighboring rulers. There was no better warrior in Europe: brave, resourceful, unwavering.
Wounded, tired, but not broken and undefeated, our warriors are our pride and our glory. Their spirit is our main guarantee of security.
Viktor Leshik,
“Desna Wave”
