The commemorative event took place at Lychakiv Cemetery.
Today, on 23 May, on the Day of Heroes, Lviv region honours the memory of all Ukrainians who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom and independence of Ukraine. The commemorative event took place at Lychakiv Cemetery.
Representatives of the authorities, clergy, families of the fallen soldiers, and the public paid tribute to the Heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian War on the Field of Mars and laid flowers at the UPA Memorial. Afterwards, the participants went to the honorary burial field No. 67, where the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred are buried, as well as the burial field No. 76.
“Wherever you are in Ukraine, take the time to bow down to those who made the country possible through their greatest sacrifice. If you can’t do it physically, pray and remember their stories. At the same time, it is our duty to think about what each of us must do individually to ensure that our country has a tomorrow.
The Knights of Kyivan Rus, the Cossacks of the Hetmanate, the Haidamaks, the Opryshky, the Sich Riflemen, the soldiers of the UPR, UGA, OUN, UPA, the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, the Heroes of the ATO, the JFO, the Heroes of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. We remember all Ukrainian Heroes.
Their deeds are forever recorded in the history of our country. Their names are forever in our hearts,” said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional Military District Administration.
Read also: Lviv region honours the memory of Yevhen Konovalets
About this day in history:
The idea of the holiday originated in the interwar years among Ukrainian nationalists to honour the memory of the fighters who defended Ukraine’s independence and free choice. The date of 23 May was chosen because the leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement, Yevhen Konovalets and Symon Petliura, were killed on 23 and 25 May. Also in May, Mykola Mikhnovsky, an ideologist of Ukrainian independence, was killed in Kyiv under controversial circumstances.
During the Second World War and after its end, the Heroes’ Day was actively celebrated by participants of the liberation movement and Ukrainians in the diaspora. It was first officially introduced by a resolution of the Second Great Assembly of the OUN, held in April 1941 in Krakow.
After 1991, the tradition of celebrating the Day of Heroes began to revive, primarily in western Ukraine. It is especially relevant today, as Ukrainians have been defending their territorial integrity and the right to freely choose the development of their country in the war with the Russian Federation since 2014.