Today, January 29, Ukraine celebrates the 105th anniversary of the battle near the Kruty station in Chernihiv Oblast.
Therefore, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, solemn events were held to honor the memory of the fallen Heroes, which were attended by the head of the Lviv OVA Maksym Kozytskyi, as well as representatives of the regional and city councils, district authorities, the State Emergency Service, the military, cadets of the Lyceum named after Heroiv Krut, representatives of the public and mass media.
Flowers and candles were lit at the graves of Ihor Loskyi (Field of Honorable Burials No. 67) and Andriy Lazarenko (Field of Burials No. 9) to the musical accompaniment of the orchestra of the 2nd Separate Galician Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, and those present took part in a memorial service.
“Today we pay tribute to the Heroes of Krut – young people who fearlessly held back the Bolsheviks’ offensive, even though they were outnumbered ten times. And even under such conditions, the young men were able to significantly thin the ranks of the enemy. 105 years ago, these guys delayed the attack on Kyiv. Unfortunately, some of them sacrificed the most valuable thing – their lives, someone was injured, someone was captured. We remember everyone’s feat. We remember this important page of Ukrainian history and continue to write our new history every day,” said Maksym Kozytskyi.
For reference:
On January 29, 1918, a battle took place near the Kruty railway station in Chernihiv Oblast between Ukrainian defenders, some of whom were students, and the Bolshevik Russian army. The Ukrainian unit retreated, almost 30 young men were captured and executed, some of the soldiers were wounded or killed. The battle near Kruty had an important geopolitical significance. The Ukrainians managed to delay the enemy’s offensive on Kyiv. Holding the capital under our national flag ensured the subjectivity of the Ukrainian state. This made it possible for the leadership of the Ukrainian People’s Republic to conclude the Brest Peace Treaty, according to which Russia undertook to withdraw from the First World War.
In this way, the Ukrainian People’s Republic received recognition on the international arena, which allowed the continuation of the Ukrainian state-building process and created the prerequisites for liberating the territory of Ukraine from the Bolsheviks.
The Battle of Kruty became a symbol of the heroism of Ukrainians, when the resilience of hundreds determined the future of millions.