With gratitude to each fighter for independence and its preservation
In memory of each fallen hero
Independence Day is the most important non-religious holiday for Ukrainians, according to a 2023 survey. Today, 63% of respondents celebrate the day, but in 2013, only 12% of Ukrainians considered it the most important day. To mark the 33rd anniversary of independence, we asked military personnel, volunteers, and migrants from Ukraine what independence means to them and when they felt it was important.
Parental science
Iryna Popovych, a physician from Ivano-Frankivsk who has lived with her family in the United States for six years, says her parents taught her to appreciate independence. Her father, who hung the Ukrainian flag from the kitchen window every year on the eve of the holiday, and her mother, who sewed collars with embroidered blue and yellow flowers on her school uniform. The woman remembers that she was the only one in her class who wore flowers on her uniform. With gratitude for her patriotic upbringing, Iryna also talks about the school where the first and last bells began with the Cossack march. "Love for the motherland begins small. My youngest son was born in the USA. He loves Ukraine even though he has never been there. At school he paints everything blue and yellow, and every night he asks God to protect Ukraine and Ukrainian children. As parents, we instill love and patriotism from childhood. It depends on us if children will love their homeland. It is up to us to teach them the history of their country."
From a young age, Roksolana Vasylchenko was also taught to respect independence, and now, while in the UK, she volunteers at the Psychobattalion, where Ukrainians affected by the war can seek free psychological help. She says her father, born in 1944, knew from personal experience what russification, communization and all that the Soviet regime entailed: "Dad knew history well and raised us in such a way that we had no doubt that only Ukraine's independence was our only path to success and development."
Value through invasion
"One realizes the importance of something when there is a risk of losing it. The same can be said about Ukraine's independence. I really understood the importance of independence when the occupying forces invaded our country," says soldier Stas Slyvka, "so the motivation to fight for the preservation of independence is simple - so that our children can live in a free Ukraine, without fear that a Russian missile could come at any time. We do not want our children to go through what we are going through now!"
Captain Rostyslav Balema of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also emphasizes that the importance of independence is truly realized in the face of a real, extremely great threat of losing it. "For me, Ukraine's independence means the pre-harvest yellow expanses under the boundless blue of our native skies, the white-foamy spring gardens, the majesty of the Carpathians and the intoxicating vastness of the Cossack steppes; it means our indomitable nightingale word; it means a wise, patriotic government and prosperous families looking confidently to the future; it means a well-deserved and worthy place for the Ukrainian state in Europe - among the strong civilized nations. We already have some of it, and we will definitely get some of it - our truth and strength are greater than the threat, and therefore we will WIN!". That is why Rostyslav defends the country.
The future
For many respondents, independence means the future of their children. For example, Andriy Odarenko joined the army after returning to Ukraine from Denmark, where he had been living and working. As a result of a serious injury, he lost his leg and was forced to leave the service. Now he is often asked what motivated him to return to his homeland and go to war. Andriy has a clear answer: "I could have taken a girl with a baby to Denmark, but then the child would grow up and ask where I was when the Russians came to kill my people. And what would I tell him? Now, as a veteran, when I talk to children in schools, I have found the answer to the question of why I came back. All our children are the most precious thing we have, our future. And we have to "nibble" at this country to give them the opportunity to realize their potential. And we can give our lives for that. If I have to wear a prosthesis for the second time, I will. Who else has to? Kids aged 16-17? No. Our future generation is worth dying for. We must fight for freedom. The man adds that for him, independence means being proud to study at a Ukrainian university, not a foreign one. To be proud that people come to us for world competitions: "This is an indicator of an independent, strong state. And we have the potential, despite the fact that for so many years we have been destroyed, stolen, sucked and squeezed this land and this country for so long".
Freedom of choice
Independence is also the right to choose, to be the creator of your own destiny. A soldier with the call sign Khyzhyi defines independence as the ability to be yourself in your own home without giving up your allegiance to your own nation: "The consequences of colonization in the past helped us realize the importance of this. After the crimes committed by the enemy in this century, we simply have no choice but to fight hard and resist terrorists, looters and rapists.
The soldier, who goes by the call sign Umka, sees independence as an opportunity to determine the future of his country and to honor his own traditions and heroes.
"For me, independence is when society builds the country it wants to live in. I felt its importance in 2014, and since then I have been defending it. Love for the country where I was born, grew up, fell in love, where my children were born and where my loved ones are buried", Major Pavlo Berdula outlined his position.
Karina Tkachuk, a migrant from the Khmelnytsky region, shares the same position. She says that for her, independence means freedom and the ability to decide her own destiny, even in Canada, far from home. "I felt the importance of Independence especially when I saw Ukrainians united by a common goal, defending their country, protecting its values and future. It reminds me that independence is not just a state, but a constant struggle for the right to be free."
Ukrainian roots
For many, an important, fundamental feature of Ukrainian independence is the preservation of customs and traditions. Since the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity, volunteer Tetyana Yuzepchuk has been working to ensure that Ukrainian children have a future in a free and independent country. "Independence means preserving our language, culture and traditions, passing them on from generation to generation, and protecting everything that is rightfully ours".
Struggle and unity are also synonymous with Ukrainian independence. We have been fighting for the right to live for centuries. And fortunately, we are united in our aspirations and vision for the future of our country. "Life is a struggle! Independence is the realization of the importance of fighting for the future of your generations," said a soldier nicknamed Kozak Ptah.
"I was lucky to be born in the best country in the world, Ukraine, and it is a country for which it is an honor to die. And it is even better to live for it. To live in such a way that many of us, several lives at a time, will live for it", these words were bequeathed to be published after her death by hospital worker Oleksandra Mulkevych, call sign Mike, who was hit by an enemy drone on August 14, the day before she returned home from her rotation.
Taras Kiyan of Chernivtsi, a longtime resident of the United States, said that while abroad he realized that true independence begins with an inner sense of dignity and freedom and responsibility for the future. "Ukraine's independence is not only a right, but also a great responsibility we owe to our ancestors and future generations. Its importance became especially clear to me when I saw how in February 2022 the people and the state united to preserve their identity and the right to the future."
For those who were forced to emigrate from Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, independence is also a connection to home. Anastasia Kurdydyk, originally from the Frankivsk region, said Ukraine's independence has a deep personal meaning for her. For the girl, who currently lives in the United Kingdom, it symbolizes a connection to home, to culture and history, to her native places, which remain important even at a distance. "Ukraine's independence is an opportunity for us to be proud of our country. Being far away makes me realize even more how important it is to protect the freedom, sovereignty and national values that unite Ukrainians around the world," she said. Her namesake, Anastasia Kratiuk, a native of the Zhytomyr region who now lives in London, agrees: "For me, independence is not only about the status of the state, but also about a sense of spiritual connection to my homeland. It is the ability to live freely in my country, without fear for my life and the lives of my family, and to speak my native Ukrainian language freely. It is the realization that the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine is the basis of our existence as a nation. The girl says that since childhood she has had a strong sense of patriotism, which has remained until now, even with the acquisition of "emigrant status," because she is clearly aware of her identity as a citizen of a free and independent Ukraine.
Alina Kuryatnyk, a volunteer from Khmelnytskyi, has been living in Italy for a long time. She started helping the army during the ATO, and after her younger brother Ruslan decided to join the armed forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, she intensified her volunteer activities. The woman who buried her brother in May is convinced: "Ukraine is like a mother. So, like a mother, we cannot leave her in trouble." So while her family is at war, Alina and like-minded people continue to collect and send aid. – як матір. Тож її, як і матір, не можемо залишити в біді». Тому, поки рідні воюють, Аліна з однодумцями продовжують збирати й надсилати допомогу.
Solomiya Narytnyk of Ivano-Frankivsk, who emigrated to the United States when the full-scale invasion began, feels that Independence is an important part of her identity, a link to her homeland, even from afar. "In times of war, Independence symbolizes the struggle for freedom, for the right to remain oneself and to preserve one's values, culture and language. Even in America, Ukraine's independence in time of war becomes a personal responsibility to contribute to the common victory and restoration of the country, as well as a source of strength that unites me with all Ukrainians in a common goal."
Maryna Sedukhina, who emigrated to the UK from Nova Kakhovka, believes that independence means uniting people in a common cause - the improvement and development of the state. "This is extremely important and something that every Ukrainian should appreciate, no matter where we are."
Responsibility
We must realize that our independence is backed by many names of heroes. The names of sacrificed lives and crippled destinies. Therefore, to truly respect independence is also to bear responsibility for our country and to honor the memory of those who fought for it. Volunteer and poet Yaroslava Slobodian believes: "Independence is not "my house is on the edge, I know nothing", but "my house is on the edge, I meet the enemy first". Independence is a very big responsibility of everyone to preserve the country for future generations. Everyone has to face the problems, otherwise we may lose the state. Often we don't save what we have. But now, when the blood of the people is being shed for our freedom, everyone should reconsider his contribution to the preservation of the independence of the state. Only in a free country will we be able to live according to our own choices and defend our right to do so. We will be able to speak openly and not look for punishers. To go to the Maidan when the government usurps the right to freedom of choice. Just to be ourselves. To be Ukrainian. The woman admits that she is very afraid that we might lose Ukraine's independence, which is why she is doing her best to save the lives of those who are fighting for it at the cost of their own lives and health.
Bohdana Levytska, the head of the volunteer organization Vesta, admits: "It is painful to understand the price of independence, but it is our responsibility to carry the memory of our fallen friends and implement memorial projects. Nobody else will do it for us.
It is not important now what taught us to value independence: the traditions of our parents or the invasions and crimes of the enemy.
It is important is to make every effort to preserve it for ourselves and future generations.
It is important to pass on to children an understanding of what Ukraine's independence is, what the cost of Ukrainians fighting for it for centuries and protecting it now.
It is important to remember and tell about the heroes with gratitude and respect.
