Ukraine Commemorates the Heroes of the Battle of Kruty
KYIV — On January 29, 2010, President Viktor Yushchenko laid flowers at Kyiv’s monument to the Kruty Heroes, the 300 young volunteers who were killed defending Ukrainian statehood against the five thousand strong Russian Army near the Kruty railway junction in 1918.
Other participants of the event were Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, NSDC Secretary Raisa Bohatyryova, Chief of Presidential Staff Vira Ulyanchenko, Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko, and representatives of the Kyiv city government. Memorial services were held all over Ukraine.
In memory of those killed in the Battle of Kruty the present observed a minute of silence.
In the Chernihiv region President Yushchenko laid flowers at the memorial to the young Ukrainian patriots who died in the battle near the Kruty railway station, and took part in a rally for the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the battle.
"Coming to the Kruty battlefield and honoring the memory of the boys who fought for our independence is always a great honor and great responsibility," Yushchenko in his speech. "Kruty is our present, a page in independent Ukraine’s history.”
President Yushchenko noted the critical importance of the Battle of Kruty in the historical context of the struggle for Ukrainian independence. "In the 20th century this was the first attempt to state clearly: we, Ukrainians, want our own independent state," he said.
According to the presidential press service, on January 28 President Yushchenko signed a Decree “On Honoring the Participants of the Struggle for Independence of Ukraine in the 20th century.” According to the decree, members of the following formations are recognized as participants of the independence struggle: formations of the Ukrainian Central Council, Ukrainian People’s Republic, Western Ukrainian People’s Republic, Ukrainian Hetmanate State, Ukrainian Military Organization, Organization of People’s Defense “Carpathian Sich,” Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), Ukrainian Main Liberation Council, etc.
