On Sunday, March 17, events were held at the Veretsky Pass to commemorate the fallen Sichov soldiers of Carpathian Ukraine. In 1939, several hundred captured by the Hungarian units of the Sichovyks of the Carpathian Ukraine were shot for fighting for the independence of their native land.
With a joint prayer, representatives of the authorities and the public, people’s deputies and deputies of the Lviv Regional Council, the military honored the memory of the Sichovites and laid flowers and lamps at their graves.
The head of the Commission for Culture, Information Policy and Promotion of the Lviv Regional Council, Svyatoslav Sheremeta, said that 22 remains of Sichov fighters who defended their land with weapons in hand were buried here at the national memorial site. According to various sources, after the occupation of Transcarpathia, about 600 people were captured and then shot.
The Memorial Cemetery of the Heroes of the Carpathian Ukraine on the Veretsky Pass was established in 2017 on the initiative of the Lviv Regional Council.
“This year is special. In 2024, we celebrate the 85th anniversary of the proclamation of Carpathian Ukraine, and today, March 17, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Augustyn Voloshyn – the president of Carpathian Ukraine, an outstanding Ukrainian who is in the pantheon of glory of real fighters for the freedom and independence of Ukraine. As then, as now, the best sons lay down their heads for their country. We must remember our Heroes and honor their feat,” noted Svyatoslav Sheremeta.
For reference: on November 9, 1938, the “Organization of People’s Defense of Carpathian Sich” was founded in Khust, headed by Dmytro Klympush. Sichov soldiers had the right to wear a military uniform, insignia and light weapons. The military headquarters operated separately. The “Plastu”, “Sichi” and “Prosvyta” cells became the basis for the development of Carpathian Sich. Teachers, doctors, employees, students, high school students, seminarians, workers and demobilized servicemen of the Czechoslovak army voluntarily joined the ranks of Sichi. Volunteers from Halychyna, Volhynia, Bukovyna and Naddniprian Oblast have arrived. In February 1939, the population of Carpathian Sich reached about 15,000 people.
On March 15, 1939, in the conditions of the final disintegration of Czechoslovakia and armed aggression from Hungary, the Diet of Carpathian Ukraine proclaimed the independence of the region. Augustyn Voloshyn was elected president. During March, the defense forces of Carpathian Ukraine fought about 20 battles with Hungarian military units, which were gradually capturing the lands of Transcarpathia. About 1,500 Ukrainians died in the fighting. On March 18, 1939, Hungarian troops completely occupied the territory of Carpathian Ukraine.
The occupying power introduced martial law and began repression against the Sichovites, the intelligentsia, state and party figures of Carpathian Ukraine, and the clergy. The arrested Ukrainians were held in prisons and camps. In the spring of 1939, they were shot in separate groups at the Veretsky, Yablunetsky, and Uzhotsky passes.