Intellectual weapons for the Ukrainian army

The spirit of the new time is fully felt in Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum in Kyiv. And this is a Ukrainian spirit. The wall of one of the central halls of the institution is now adorned with a memorial to Heavenly Sotnia, and the slogan “Glory to Ukraine! – Glory to Heroes!” is now used among the lyceum students no less frequently than the traditional army greetings. Namely there the launch of the sociopolitical action “Strong Spirit for a Strong Army!” took place a few days ago. It is a brainchild of the charity Foundation of Assisting the Initiatives of the Newspaper Den jointly with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the National Union of Writers of Ukraine.

Twenty-five book sets from Den’s Library were presented to representatives of military higher educational institutions of Ukraine: the Cherniakhovsky National University of Defense of Ukraine, Ukrainian Military Medical Academy, National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, National Academy of Security Service of Ukraine, etc. According to the organizers, they managed to embrace not only the main military higher educational establishments, but also numerous lyceums and reserve-officer training departments all over Ukraine. The libraries of all the establishments will be replenished with the series “Armor-Piercing Political Writing,” “Subversive Literature,” as well as the books The Power of the Soft Sign and Ukraine Incognita. It will be reminded that this is not the first action of this kind. Recently Den “launched an intellectual assault” in the Specialized School no. 216 of Kyiv.

The event started with singing of the spiritual anthem of Ukraine, “Prayer for Ukraine,” to the accompaniment of the military orchestra. Later the floor was given to the guests, including the benefactors, representatives of the Ministry of Defense, and MPs.

“Today, apart from the armament and material aid, our army, especially the cadets, students, and lyceum pupils who plan to fill its ranks in the future, badly need their patriotic education to be boosted,” the president of the Foundation of Assisting the Initiatives of the newspaper Den Mykola HRYTSENKO said, “Unfortunately, there are many gaps in our past that we haven’t discovered. What was the Ukrainian history like in fact? Who were our heroes? Ukrainian historians, sociologists, and political scientists who actively cooperate with Den tried to give answers to all of these questions. Their explorations became the groundwork for such publications as The Power of the Soft Sign and Ukraine Incognita. This action would be impossible without our patrons, Oleksandr Yurkov, Vasyl Kryvobik, Anna Svyrydenko, and many other caring people who responded to our call. I am sincerely thankful to them.”

“You can ask, why does a soldier need to read books?” a member of the Committee on Questions of National Security and Defense, MP Yurii Syrotiuk continued, “At first glance a boxer appears to be stronger than a chess player, but history proves that namely the ‘chess players’ are more successful. I can share my own experience. If I did not read the newspaper Den and books published by this periodical every day, I would not have become a people’s deputy. Everyone who knows the real history of Ukraine (which is actually told in the books from Den’s Library) understands that the war that broke out at the eastern borders of our country in fact has been lasting for 360 years. Ivan Bohun, whose name this educational establishment bears, took part in this war. He was actually the Cossack colonel who did not go with Bohdan Khmelnytsky to Pereiaslav to sign the agreement with the Russian czar. He did not believe that you can win the war relying on someone else’s forces. In fact, there have been no such precedents in history. No one will ever send his children to die for our independence. Only we ourselves can defend our country. But those who learned history know as well that no one has ever defeated Ukraine in an open fight. They defeated us with cunning and betray. Ukrainian soldier, like phoenix, always rises from ashes. Ukrainian soldiers were actually the ones who prevented the Mongol-Tatars from destroying Europe in the 13th century. Ukrainian Cossacks with Sahaidachny at the helm stopped the Ottoman Porte that wanted to conquer the entire world and destroy the Christian civilization. In 1659 the Ukrainian soldiers of Hetman Vyhovsky defeated the 100,000 army of Moscow. And now before God and generations of those who died for this land we are responsible for defense of Ukraine.”

TO THE POINT

ODESA CADETS WILL AS WELL RECEIVE DEN’S LIBRARY

The Foundation of Assisting the Initiatives of Den has recently taken part in the 2nd International Forum-Exhibit “Education, training, and employment of sailors.” Jointly with Ukrainian companies Aquaservice and Aquavita the participants of the foundation presented Den’s Library – books Ukraine Incognita, The Power of the Soft Sign, collections “Armor-Piercing Political Writing,” “Subversive Literature,” glossy edition Route No. 1, etc.

According to the president of the foundation Mykola Hrytsenko, within the framework of the joint action of the newspaper, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the National Union of Writers of Ukraine “Strong Spirit for a Strong Army!” festively decorated baskets with books from Den’s Library and newspaper subscription forms will be presented to the Odesa National Maritime Academy, Odesa Lyceum with Intensive Military and Physical Training, and Odesa Military Academy, where the cadets of the Sevastopol-based Nakhimov Naval Academy continue their education.

The participants of forum-exhibit in Odesa discussed the prospects of the development of the maritime branch, in particular, improving the quality of personnel training in maritime educational establishments in Ukraine and specialized higher educational establishments abroad. The exhibit, where representatives of international organizations, 65 companies, marine and educational institutions from 14 countries took part, was attended by thousands of Odesa residents and guests.

By Mykhailo AKSANIUK, Odesa