The 26th Anniversary of Ukraine’s Renewed Independence

The following was submitted by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. 

26 years ago, Ukrainians around the world celebrated the long-awaited declaration of Ukraine’s renewed independence. As they watched with jubilation, centuries of foreign domination by the evil empire – the Soviet Union and, before that, imperialist Russia, –came to an end without a massive land war or the firing of nuclear missiles. Instead, the Parliament of Ukraine overwhelmingly approved the Act of Declaration of Independence on August 24, 1991, a brave step of civic defiance that was upheld by over 90% of Ukraine’s citizens in a nationwide referendum in December of that same year. Yet amid the celebrations, a sense of unease lingered: would our former oppressor truly respect the establishment of an independent, sovereign and democratic state of Ukraine?

 

When Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it became clear to the world that Ukrainians would now be called upon to “lay down 'body and soul' for our freedom.” Russia’s illegal annexation of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar homeland and further invasion of Eastern Ukraine represent a daily violation of all conceivable international law and standards, but which has mustered a fight that our adversaries may soon regret.

 

Thousands of brothers and sons, sisters and daughters have bravely volunteered to fight to maintain Ukraine’s independence, while even more contribute in the fight against brazen economic, cyber and information warfare – or hybrid war – waged by a revanchist Russia seeking to reclaim its former empire. 

 

Click here for the full article. 

 

Click here for the complete list of Ukraine summer events in the United States.