Freedom and dignity have always been fundamental values for Ukrainians. They motivated the struggle for independence.
The modern history of Ukraine has three stages of revival of an independent state on all Ukrainian ethnic lands:
The First Liberation Struggle (1917-1921) - the creation of a state in the aftermath of the First World War;
The Second Liberation Struggle (1938-1950) - the creation of an independent state in the context of World War II;
Third liberation struggle (since 2014) - protection and defense of the state in the context of Russian aggression.
On the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day, we offer a closer look at the latest stages of the Ukrainian people's heroic struggle for a united and independent state.
On February 20, 2014, the modern Russian-Ukrainian war began. It was the first time that the armed forces of the Russian Federation crossed the state border of Ukraine through the Kerch Strait.
Russia had been preparing for the attack in advance. For many years, it has been carrying out information and economic aggression against Ukraine, recruiting traitors, creating and financing a powerful network of agents in Ukraine, especially on the Crimean peninsula.
Crimea was the first target of Russian aggression against Ukraine. In March 2014, the enemy occupied the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, and in April 2014, it began an invasion of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reinforced by volunteers, stopped the advance of the occupation and liberated some of the occupied territories from the invaders. For some time, the active phase of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine was stopped thanks to the courage of the Ukrainian people, who stood up to defend their homeland as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine and other units of the security and defense sector, as well as volunteer formations.
However, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion, announcing a "special military operation" in Ukraine. О 5:00
On February 24, Russian troops attacked Ukraine along the entire length of the common border, from the territory of Belarus and occupied Crimea. They began launching missile attacks on military targets in Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Brovary, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia.
For more than 11 years, the Defenders of Ukraine have been resisting the Russian invasion on various fronts, bravely taking on the battle, holding back the enemy's advance and destroying its plans.
History is cyclical: the struggle against the colonial power has been going on for centuries. Orsha, Konotop, Kruty, Vapnyarka, Gurby, Savur-Mohyla, Donetsk Airport, Debaltseve - in these and hundreds of other battles, the Ukrainian military selflessly, without sparing themselves and destroying enemies, defended Ukraine from the same aggressor. Centuries have passed, but the enemy of Ukraine is the same: Muscovy, the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and the Russian Federation.