A nation lives as long as it gives birth to heroes,
and dies when there is no one to die for it. (Oles Honchar)
Our greatest national feast, which we dreamed of, suffered, and won in battles, is approaching - the Independence Day of Ukraine. Despite all the difficulties experienced by the young state, this day became one of the favorite, joyful, full of optimism and hope, with a sea of blue and yellow flags, with the beauty of ancient and modern embroidery, with pride for our military, who so confidently marched at the military parades.
We live in a very responsible time - the time of a cruel and merciless war, which was unleashed against Ukraine by the empire that officially exists under the name of the Russian Federation and completely ignores the national needs of the conquered lands and its peoples. For centuries Russia could not cope with Ukraine. Ancient Kyivan Rus chronicles were collected and destroyed, our history was rewritten and falsified, and peoples were resettled (Germans here, and Serbs there, and where did Crimeans go?). Already in the 21st century, we met the Russian Buryats. And all this is done so that all peoples obey the "great, mighty Russian people", their king, and live by the greatness of their science and unsurpassed "Russian culture" where there is so much appropriated and stolen. How could it happen that this "divine" Russian culture nurtured such smerds, world vagabonds, scoundrels and murderers...
In the recent history of Ukraine, you can witness the resilience of its people, the sense of solidarity in the struggle for freedom. Our indomitable and courageous students took part in three revolutions. The political demands of the heroes of the Revolution on Granite, mass support of the Orange Revolution, which Putin called the "Orange Plague", and the Revolution of Dignity which caused such horror and panic in Russia. That's when it began: "Sold to America." A whole army of historians was formed to interpret historical events in the Moscow way and come to the conclusion that Ukraine "has never had statehood", up to the thesis that "all Ukrainians are Banderites and fascists". Our people lived through the deceitful Catherine's era, the predatory Petro's era, Stalin's Red Terror and the Holodomor, the Brezhnev-Andropov yeralash, but to "Kill, because he/she is a Ukrainian" - such a thing has never happened in our history. Has now Moscow really shown its pathological imperial-fascist grin?...
They were invading like fascists in 1941. At dawn on February 24, 2022, the "blood brothers" came with a single goal: to conquer Ukraine in three days, destroy the government, put their puppets at the head of the state (the system has been worked out for centuries), and the entire terrified people would be on their knees. The "second army of the world", or rather, the occupiers, carried uniforms and chevrons with them for the parade on Khreshchatyk. Previously, for the occasion, they even composed a solemn hymn about the fearless paratroopers who capture the Gostomel airport in a matter of seconds, but met their inglorious end there.
The whole nation rose up to fight against the treacherous enemy. The President behaved heroically, staying with its people in this tragic time, which immediately caused respect for Ukraine in the world. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the strategist and analyst of military affairs, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, skillfully managed the defense. It seemed that the terrifying and brutal events strained every cell of the national organism. The military commissariats were full of young people who stood up for the defense of their Motherland, signed up for territorial defense and the Armed Forces. To the credit of the Svoboda political party, on the second day after Putin announced a special operation, and in fact a brutal war, they were in the capital.
The enemy mercilessly bombarded Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and was trying to reach Kyiv. A significant part of Kyiv and Kharkiv residents moved to the underground stations, where there were even maternity wards. The world was shocked by the cruelty of the enemy against the inhabitants of cities and villages, by the bombing of orphanages, schools, and hospitals, as well as by the destruction of museums and even churches. The imperial idea turned the Kremlin's leaders into a pathological satanic sect, which perpetrates terrible fascist terror in Ukraine, even against Russians who had the courage to speak out against the war and who were called "foreign agents."
Mariupol bravely held on. The battle for the city lasted three months, which was literally wiped off the face of the earth by missiles. Soldiers of Azov stood in defense. The admirable feat of the Azov people, equivalent to the Greek Thermopylae, heavy losses and at the same time spiritual strength and courage in the defense of the state will forever remain in the people's memory and in the annals of history.
547 days of great losses unheard of since the Second World War, bombed cities, destroyed infrastructure, ruined human destinies, children kidnapped by the invader, tragedies of families, mined territories, overcrowded trains from East to West, 8 million refugee emigrants, and, finally, the undermining of the Kakhovska HPP dam...
Dear Polytechnicians! What is our responsibility to the future in this time of hardship and trials? Our sons, grandsons, our relatives and colleagues are at the front. We believe in them, in the strength of the nation, and we work on our front, because, despite everything, our native Polytechnic must live, develop and keep in line: enroll its entrants, calmly and responsibly ensure the educational process, participate in many educational and scientific projects, webinars and international conferences. And at the same time, continue to work for victory, help the Armed Forces, which Polytechnic did and is doing, participate in volunteer activities, in the reconstruction of our cities, villages, destroyed shrines and educational institutions.
Let's make an oath in our souls that the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, the heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Heroes of Polytechnic who gave their lives for the Motherland, bringing our Victory closer, will remain in our memory and the memory of future generations. Remembering our heroes, we ourselves will become better and nobler in deeds, more courageous in work, because we are sons and daughters of our great mother Ukraine.
Today is a great day – the Independence Day of Ukraine!