The undefeated

Tomorrow, October 14, Ukrainians will be marking Defender of Ukraine Day which was introduced in 2015, when the war in this country was in full swing. This is why this date’s red color in the calendar hints at blood. The holiday coincides with Intercession of the Holy Virgin Day and Ukrainian Cossacks Day. French diplomat Pepin the Short wrote in 1788 that Intercession of the Holy Virgin Day was a special holiday for Cossacks. It is for this reason that this day was officially chosen to honor our military who defend, like Cossacks did before them, our country today.

 We, Ukrainians, were proud that our nation is peaceful. And while Russia was throwing its soldiers into the bloody whirlpool of the Chechen war, there was peace on our land. However, it was an illusory peace. We are now waging a war which the Kremlin prepared long ago and are even gradually getting used to it. We are aware of all the traps that confirm that it is a longtime misfortune. We are getting accustomed to shootouts and regular reports on the number of casualties. Now we customarily use the abbreviations and words we have never used before, such as ATO, war, occupation, “200” [wounded. – Ed.], and “300” [killed. – Ed.].

 It was clear to those who knew history very well that Russia had been making war for centuries, only changing phrases and even disguising it as “friendship of peoples.” Indeed, whenever the Kremlin could not push its tanks to us and shell our positions from multiple rocket launchers, it would put on a well-worn record about “fraternal peoples,” assigning Ukrainians, for some reason, the role of a younger brother. Quite often, some Ukrainians also helped the butcher to do this. We never forget that the terrorist ringleaders, in fact the occupier’s hirelings, with Ukrainian names, were historically preceded by the Cossack named Nis (“Nose”) who opened the door to Baturyn, the Hetmanate’s capital, for Menshikov’s troops in the early 18th century, and the Russian beast reduced the town to ashes.

 As multiple rocket launchers fired from the Russian territory in the bloody summer of 2014, inflicting death on Ukrainian servicemen near Zelenopillia and Novoaidar, we could still hear Putin’s loud claim he had made as far back as in 2008 that Ukraine is not a state and our lands are in fact not ours but “gifted” to us. He also dropped at that very time a broad hint to the US president that he was going to annex Crimea. But neither the Ukrainian leadership nor the world community paid any special attention either to Putin’s words, or to the very fact of his aggressive plans, or to the total dominance of those who had received FSB decorations in Ukraine’s key offices. After all, there were enough “Nis’es,” in fact the Kremlin’s noses, on Ukraine’s governmental Olympus on the eve of the war to let the enemy run wild on our lands. And what stopped the occupier was the fact that, in spite of Russian propaganda and poisonous Soviet schoolbooks, the Ukrainian nation was born. It was born in blood and fire to defend our homeland, when nobody could come to help us because a multi-vector approach was introduced in the most critical moment and even the course towards NATO was withdrawn from the military doctrine. It is perhaps not surprising that those who had done this signed a dead-end Minsk 2 agreement ten years later.

 The army, which had been funded on a leftover basis for decades, began to revive before our very eyes. Volunteers not only began to “storm” draft offices and enlist in battalions as early as March 2014, but also managed to do the job of many ministries. As a matter of fact, this self-sacrificingness was a Ukrainian wonder which the enemy did not expect. The Ukrainian people did not rise up, as it is said in pompous speeches. They just began to awaken from lethargic sleep, also thanks to the aggressor. And whenever historians, political writers, and officials recall the Cossack era, it is worthwhile to note that it is not so much anarchic Cossacks as the genetic memory of a true, not phony, Empire – Kyivan Rus’ – that woke up in our blood. It is the memory that Muscovites have been trying to squeeze out of us – the true heirs to Yaroslav and Volodymyr – for centuries. This is why we organized and mobilized ourselves and remained unsubdued. Therefore, the Russian-Ukrainian war is not for Donbas coal mines and Crimean beaches. It is a war for our memory, our place in history, and, after all, ability to build the State.

“UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS ARE OF THE BLOOD OF THE BRAVE COSSACKS, WHO NOT ONLY DEFENDED THEIR OWN, BUT REACHED THE WALLS OF MOSCOW ONCE”

Leonid HOLOPATIUK, head of the Chief Directorate for Military Cooperation and Peacekeeping Operations at the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF):

“The enemy met fierce resistance in Ukraine. This resistance did not come from some special weapons or superb organization, but from the Ukrainians’ fighting spirit alone. An old Soviet slogan read ‘The army is one with the people.’ And you know what? This formula has worked here exactly as intended. Despite the best efforts of all our previous commanders-in-chief, they still failed to destroy the Armed Forces. The latter have quickly recovered and became professional. In addition, the Armed Forces serve as a magnet and model of sorts nowadays. While many treated military service as a forced waste of their time previously, it is an honor to be a soldier now. This is essential for the education of young people. I have personally seen young men listen attentively to our veterans. This is an invaluable experience for which we have paid a high price.

“It should also be noted that the army reform is going fast precisely in wartime. And notice that the Ukrainian army does not differentiate people by language they speak or their ethnicity. We are united by the understanding that the people and the state face a real threat. The presence of a common enemy unites all sane citizens. In addition, along with an upswing of patriotic feelings and accumulation of combat experience, our military industry has begun to show progress. At the long last, these enterprises are working to supply the Armed Forces as well, instead of just selling weaponry to foreign countries.

“Russia’s war against Ukraine has truly lasted for more than 300 years, even though it has gone through many different phases. And the fact that we are celebrating the Day of Defender of Ukraine on October 14, the feast day of the Most Holy Mother of God’s Intercession which is also the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks, this fact has its own meaning and symbolism. What we learned of the Cossacks earlier presented them as a kind of theatrical scenery, a myth of the long-forgotten age. In fact, it has turned out that genes do not go extinct. Modern Ukrainian soldiers are actually of the blood of the brave Cossacks who not only defended their own, but reached the walls of Moscow once. I would not advise anyone to forget it. It does not matter what weaponry the enemy uses: be it a saber or an assault rifle, a war club or a machine gun, Ukrainians will never submit. Moreover, even the international community recognizes that they have to deal with a spirited nation in Eastern Europe. I will say more, I have noticed that we are not only respected but even start to be feared lately. This is evident in our meetings with soldiers from other countries. It should be noted that we have never had such an intensive military cooperation as we have now. Foreign soldiers’ questions sometimes make us feel like mentors. And many of them do understand that if the Ukrainian soldiers fail to stand their ground, the European soldiers will be in a major trouble.

“Regarding cooperation with NATO, I would say that there are many distortions in how it is presented sometimes. NATO is reforming itself in view of new threats at the moment. The alliance of 2002 and the same bloc now are two different organizations. Dynamic changes are going on, although NATO has still not managed to promptly and fully respond to the challenges it faces. We will be ready to join NATO when each of us will clearly realize that joining this collective security system is not a whim but a means of survival.”

“THERE IS A GLARING GAP BETWEEN DECLARATIONS OF OUR LEADERS AND THEIR REAL ACTIONS”

Viktor POKUSA, colonel, officer of the Intelligence Center at the Joint Operational Staff of the UAF:

“The issue of reforms in the Armed Forces is very sensitive for me. Virtually all improvements that exist in our military are the result of the aggression launched by our Russian enemy. It was the aggressor that put us in a situation when the Ukrainians had to defend themselves, and it is precisely the Ukrainian people that has been our greatest defense asset. The Ukrainians were able to mobilize and show their patriotism and courage. This asset had to be used skillfully and steered in the right direction. And I must say that the enemy did not expect to face this high morale of rank-and-file Ukrainian soldiers and this amount of civic work done by our civilians. One should not forget that the civilian volunteer has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the soldier in this struggle.

“I also agree with the idea that there is some unfairness in evidence when you compare the government’s treatment of the Armed Forces and the National Guard. It is evident that our leaders care about the internal troops more.

“As for the military reform strategies and tools to overcome the shortcomings, unfortunately, there is a glaring gap between declarations of our leaders and their real actions. Because of this, we are wasting extremely valuable time, for we have no reason to believe that the Kremlin has abandoned its aggressive plans. Qualitative changes are either occurring very slowly, or not occurring at all. We must realize that the individual is the basis of any organization. Effective progress in reforming the military will only happen when the government will work with the individual soldier and take care of them. Just like a nation’s citizen is the basis of its statehood, an army’s soldier is the foundation of the defense capability.”

“THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION TO MILITARY BENEFITS”

Serhii HURIN, chief of staff of the 80th Brigade, UAF:

“I am a professional soldier and can see how the Armed Forces of Ukraine have improved over the past two years, regarding both professionalism and the supply and equipment situation. Therefore, I see positives in the dynamics of the Ukrainian military’s development. Do not forget the condition it was in before the war. Of course, if not for the war, we could have lost our military altogether. The enemy would be able to conquer us barehanded then. The Ukrainians have managed to defend their state, and I believe that we will be able to finally defeat the enemy at some point. The main goal is to create a professional army. Being a soldier is both a vocation and a profession. Our military has unique experience of fighting under the conditions of the so-called hybrid warfare. Let us not forget also that the Ukrainian military has confronted a powerful armada for a long time. The government should pay more attention to military benefits for soldiers who have fought in the anti-terrorist operation area. This will not only encourage our servicepeople to work on their professionalism, but also make them more confident of their future. After all, we all have families, and the soldiers who risk their lives and sometimes sacrifice them for this country should know that the country will take care of them or their family.”