September 28, 2028. Defenders Day, a public holiday, together with the Protecting Veil of Virgin Mary, was celebrated at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. Historically, this day was marked by the Ukrainian Cossacks, who started honouring it somewhere at the beginning of the 17th century. Quite often, in a case of extreme danger, Cossacks prayed to Virgin Mary and asked her protection by covering them with her Holy Veil.

On the concert hall stage, Olexander Tyruntsev, Vice-president of BGKMU, presented awards to 17 defenders of Ukraine, lecturers and employees of our University, who decided to protect their Motherland personally with weapons in arms. Unfortunately, 11 Ukrainian defenders from our University had gone to the better world and were commemorated with a minute of silence. All of them got university medals “For Service to a person, Community, Society” and financial rewards (bonuses). Among them there were two of our colleges, Sergii Khominskii and Olexander Kurban, Associate Professors of the Faculty of Journalism.

After the solemn part, the Ukrainian National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments headed by Viktor Gutsal, a prominent Ukrainian composer and conductor, performed a dozen folk songs and compositions which touched the hearts of the audience with their authenticity, artistry and appeal. The virtuoso play of cobza and bandura, pan flute and tsymbaly, zozulka-ocarina and basolia, traditional Ukrainian folk instruments, delighted the public and plunged people into the glorious old times of Cossack fierce force and freedom and Carpathian mountain might and merry-making.

Zaporizhian March, the closing composition, sounded like a compelling crescendo to the fascinating Ukrainian folk music concert.

Additionally, we would like to thank Viktor Teteria, Sergii Yurchenko and Oksana Petrykova, splendid and standout singers who sparkled the audience with their soul performance of songs belonging to the classics of Ukrainian culture.