(opinion-article)

On March 20, 2025, the International Day of Happiness is celebrated all around the world. That day, the World Happiness Report is published by the UNO. For the 8^th time, out of 147 countries, the first place belongs to Finland, with following it other Nordic countries such as Denmark (2) and Iceland (3), Sweden (4) and Norway (9). The key parameters, taken into account, are social support and healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, gross domestic product per capita, etc. Ukraine takes in this list just only the 111^th place. In 2024, Ukraine was the 105^th… Surely, the Russian-Ukrainian war challenges don’t lead Ukrainians to the higher rating among the happy nations… War atrocities, war victims, war ruins don’t contribute to a cheery mood and happy humor.

However, that day, in Kyiv, many Ukrainians remember the founder of the Happiness Research Institute in Ukraine, the General Director of the Publishing House ‘Blitz-inform,’ the author of two Ukrainian bestsellers, ‘The Crossroads,’ ‘Business – The Most Honest Game,’Volodymyr Chepovoi. A successful businessman, with dozens of start-up projects in his head, a loving husband and a caring father, with a happy family, waiting for him at home, this lively man went to protect Kyiv with arms in hands as a military man of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine… To protect his family, his folks, his friends, from war crimes, war brutalities and war barbarism.  He dreamed of transforming Ukraine gradually, to make the living space of Ukrainians more harmonious and happier, to write a new book about Happy Ukraine and the guidelines leading to it…

However, at the beginning of June 2022, Volodymyr Chepovoi was declared ‘a missing-in-action’ person… Since then, nobody has seen him, unfortunately…

I think that on the International Day of Happiness we should honor such men as Volodymyr Chepovoi, because thanks to them, earlier or later, Ukraine will get the long-awaited JUST PEACE and at long last will be HAPPY.