(Opinion article)

It is already 13 months of the war, which affected everyone, and 9 years of the war, which was “somewhere, far away.” The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station`s Explosion, Bucha atrocities, Bachmut bloodshed… Our soldiers are defending our country at the cost of their lives. They give us days without fear, the opportunity to sit in a cafe, meet with friends and hug our family.

But it is painful to realize that many do not understand that this is not a war of several months, years and even decades. No, not at all. As once, centuries ago, our ancestors shed their blood for the existence of the future Ukraine, for the opportunity to speak, write, think in Ukrainian, for the right to exist in our culture, so now, modern Cossacks shield our freedom and right to identity.

It is important to know who you are. Now is the time for change and understanding, but, unfortunately, the language of the enemy is still heard from people who call themselves Ukrainians.

National self-identification is primarily the language we speak. And many people say, both in Ukraine and abroad, “I am Ukrainian” in the language of the aggressor country.

For many, this is a habit that they have no willpower to remove from their heads and tear out of their hearts. A lot of russian-speaking Ukrainians are covered by russian-speaking soldiers on the front lines. But these are all worthless excuses.

The struggle for the language has existed for more than 300 years, when for the first time, in the russian Empire, the czar ordered his grovellers to burn all copies of the Gospel, which were written in Ukrainian. And only 5 years after, somewhere in Kyiv, all Ukrainian-speaking “nonresidents” were asked to switch to Russian.

Even now, russian rockets fly into civilian houses, russian invaders rape and massively kill women, children, and elderly people, russian occupants steal our earthly property and try to set up their own order. And somewhere out there, while watching ‘Mavka’ in the movie-theater, he or she is commenting on the animated cartoon in the language that is currently on the other side of the front, concealing discomfort at the transition to the state Ukrainian language.

In some definitions, the language is the cultural heritage. However, when defining the Ukrainian language itself, it can be said that it is a treasure that our ancestors guarded and protected at the cost of their lives. Our language is soaked in pain and blood, strength and hope. This is a gift from our ancestors from Kyiv Russ and the Carpathian Mountains, which they carefully preserved until the times of freedom and independence.