![]() Importantly, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) recognizes the formations of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), comprising up to 100,000 soldiers, who actively fought against the Nazi invaders and later, until the 1950s, against the Soviet system. ![]() For their heroism, 2.5 million medals were awarded and over 2,000 Ukrainian combatants were recognized with the prestigious title Hero of the Soviet Union, some several times over. Half of the survivors sustained injuries and remained invalids. Over 3 million military fighters died in combat or in prisons. Among them were 200 generals and seven commanders of various armies and fronts. Some 6 million to 7 million Ukrainians fought in the Soviet Army in 1941-1945, comprising up to 25 percent of the combatants – by far the largest non-Russian contingent. In 1939, 120,000 Ukrainians from the Halychyna region fought losing battles in the Polish Army against Wehrmacht troops. Thousands of Ukrainians from the region, joined by compatriots from the Ukrainian population of Poland, fought heroically against the enemy in 1938-1939 in the military organization Carpathian Sich until the Nazis and their Hungarian allies consolidated their grip on these territories. ![]() Ukrainians clustered in the Carpathian region of the country declared independence in 1939 and formed Carpathian Ukraine. Ukrainians of the Transcarpathian region of pre-war Czechoslovakia first challenged the Nazis in 1938, when Nazi Germany annexed the Sudetenland. On the battlefront, Ukrainians’ fight against the Nazis predated that of the USSR. There are only two countries in the world whose total losses exceeded the losses of the Ukrainian people in World War II: Russia (14 million) and China (15 million). The Soviet-legacy Victory Day is still observed on May 9 in Ukraine to honor the aging veterans of World War II and their families, but without the fanfare of military parades or displays of might and weapons.Īccording to the publication commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in World War II that was released five years ago by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Ukraine’s total losses in the war ranged from 8 million to 10 million people – equal to the population of modern Austria or Hungary. With this initiative Ukraine moved closer to the West in its commemoration, both in date and in spirit. As its new commemorative symbol, Ukraine embraced the red poppy to honor victims of all military and civilian armed conflicts. And it replaced use of the Soviet (and now Russian) term “the Great Patriotic War” with “World War II.” This change had great significance since between 19 the USSR was in a pact with Germany and invaded six countries while the Nazis were occupying Europe. ![]() In the legislation, the Parliament explicitly banned Communist and Nazi propaganda. On Victory Day in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets two veterans: Ukrainian Insurgent Army messenger Paraskeva Zelenchuk-Potiak and 101-year-old Ivan Zaluzhnyi, a Marine captain of the Soviet armed forces. On that date, Ukraine adopted the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation (to be observed on May 8), which occurs before the now Russian holiday of Victory Day (May 9). On April 9, 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law on De-Communization, which helped to introduce in Ukraine the European tradition of a prayerful and solemn celebration of the victory over Nazism in World War II. Joining with the United States and Europe in this milestone event, both Ukraine and Russia sought to commemorate this occasion – the former to gain proper recognition for its role in the victory and to draw attention to the ongoing Russia-sponsored conflict on its territory, and the latter as another opportunity to build national self-esteem and to present itself as a dominant world power. May 8 marked the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day), the end of World War II in Europe, specifically the capitulation of Nazi forces to the Allies (the Soviet Union, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and other Allied countries). ![]()
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