"It embodies our values and memory": how Ukrainians are marking Flag Day – photo, video
Ukraine marks Flag Day on 23 August – a holiday that has taken on particular significance during the war. Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia (Life) has collected together some posts from Ukrainians reflecting on what one of the country's key symbols of statehood means to them.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia
Details: In his post marking the holiday, Mykhailo Drapatyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, observed that the flag is not only in Ukrainians' hearts, but also on their uniforms.
"Thanks to Ukraine's Armed Forces, the blue-and-yellow flag has become a symbol of struggle, resilience and will to the whole world. We will do everything possible to make this flag the flag of victory," the commander-in-chief said.
The National Guard's 1st Azov Corps marked the holiday by posting a video about the meaning of the national flag for Ukrainians during wartime.
"Independence has its visible expressions, and among them the flag holds a special place," the unit said. "This is a flag with centuries of struggle and the blood of heroes behind it. Colours that people eagerly look out for as they return home from foreign lands and captivity. A symbol that unites all Ukrainians without the need for words. It has been saved from fire, preserved in exile, smuggled out of occupation. The flag that flies over our shared home. The colours that unite us."
The 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanised Brigade noted that the flag "passes through fire" alongside Ukrainian troops, and so carries the marks of war and evidence of the defenders' resilience.
"For every citizen it is an honour to raise and live under their own flag, but for Ukrainians this opportunity comes through an arduous struggle," the unit said. "This flag represents our land, our freedom, and our memory of those who paid the ultimate price. That is exactly why the enemy is prepared to throw everything into destroying the Ukrainian flag – to tear it down, burn it, throw it off buildings. Because they know that it isn't just a piece of fabric. As long as the Ukrainian flag flies over the land, that land remains Ukrainian. And wherever it is raised again, Ukraine returns."
Among the symbolic flags Ukrainians recall on this day is a tattered one found in a vehicle that survived a shelling near Ilovaisk on 29 August 2014.
Vatra, a military and volunteer community, recounted the flag's history: "During the withdrawal from the Ilovaisk encirclement on 29 August 2014, the flag was in a ZiL-131 truck carrying an anti-aircraft mount. The vehicle came under fire, two soldiers were killed, and the others got into a surviving vehicle from the 93rd Brigade. They were later captured by Russian forces. The tattered flag was found in the burnt-out vehicle by a search team from the Evacuation 200 (Black Tulip) mission while searching for fallen Ukrainian soldiers in September 2014."
Members of special police units posted photos taken with the state flag at their combat positions.
"For the fighters of our special police unit, the state flag is a symbol of freedom, honour and the unbreakable spirit of the Ukrainian people. Under the flag we carry out combat missions, hold our positions, support our brothers-in-arms, and continue the fight for every metre of Ukrainian land," the soldiers wrote. "And wherever we are – at our positions, in the skies or on the ground – we know what we're standing for. May the blue-and-yellow flag always fly over a free and independent Ukraine."
The National Council of Ukraine for Television and Radio Broadcasting shared moments from the archives relating to the blue-and-yellow flag's establishment as a national symbol.
The Defence Ministry's online media outlet, Army TV, recalled that during Soviet times, people were persecuted and imprisoned for the sake of the Ukrainian flag, recalling one such incident from 1966 when student Heorhii Moskalenko and worker Viktor Kuksa raised a blue-and-yellow flag made out of two scarves over the Kyiv Institute of National Economy.
"Kuksa cut down the red flag and put up the Ukrainian one. It flew over Kyiv for several hours," Army TV said. "The KGB searched for them for nine months. Moskalenko was sentenced to three years in a strict-regime labour camp, Kuksa to two. They continued to be monitored after their release. Both were only rehabilitated in 2007."
The Security Service of Ukraine noted: "For many generations, [the flag] has been the symbol of a stolen dream and boundless strength of spirit. For the sake of the flag people were persecuted, their homes searched, criminal cases opened against them, and they were intimidated and killed. Yet despite this, Ukrainians continued to preserve and raise their flag."
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