Nina Svetlynska :

It all started with the thunder of heaven. So cruel, so dishonest.
And from the hateful, malicious thunder that drove him out of the house at dawn...

And mom is silent and pale, like a wall... And dad slowly says "war".  War. Behind this short and terrible word - fires, fierce battles, destroyed cities and villages, tears of mothers and children.

On June 22, 1941, a rosy dawn broke in the arms of a thirsty night, he drank warm dew from the grass and dreamily listened to the melody of the school waltz. Yes, June 22, 1941 was the first day of the Great Patriotic War. It was from this day that the Second World War began, its countdown of 1,418 bloody days and nights.

War reminds of itself with thousands of obelisks and mass graves. They are the shrine of our memory. Today we pay tribute to those who died on the fronts of the Second World War, who gave their lives so that we could live.

Every year in May we celebrate the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation. The Ukrainian people paid a high price for participating in this terrible war. The great feat and great tragedy of our people will not be forgotten! His battle, his victory over the fascists. You can treat the Great Patriotic War differently, call it differently, but can you forget those who died in battles, who gave their lives for the happiness of others?

The war left terrible traces all over the world. On the territory of Ukraine alone, the Germans turned 714 cities and 28,000 villages into ruins and burned down.
334 settlements in Ukraine were burned by fascists along with all the inhabitants. The largest town destroyed during the war was Koryukivka of the Chernihiv region. In two days, 1,290 out of 1,300 houses were burned and 7,000 residents of the town were burned. How much grief, how much suffering behind these numbers.
On Ukrainian lands, the war lasted 1,225 days and nights from June 22, 1941 to October 28, 1944.

Already on June 22, in the first days of the attack by Hitler's Germany, fascist aircraft bombed Kyiv.

And as soon as the enemy set foot on Ukrainian soil, millions rose up to repel him! And everyone believed in a bright victory!

To freedom! To freedom! Stand up brave, proud

With swords in hand
All the enemies are afraid
Wake up my people
for the victorious right battle!

Such words entered the hearts of all Ukrainians with fiery verses!

At the beginning of July, 13 fighter battalions and 19 detachments of the people's militia with a total number of 33 thousand people were created in the city. About 160,000 city residents took part in the construction of defensive lines around Kyiv. His defense began on July 7. The fascists' attempt to seize the capital of Ukraine with a sudden blow failed. The enemy lost about one hundred thousand men near Kyiv! The defense of the capital of Ukraine lasted more than 70 days. For comparison: Denmark defended itself from the fascist invasion for only one day, Belgium - 19 days, France - 44 days
Norway - 2 months.

During the war, Ukrainians received 2.5 million orders and medals. 2,072 Ukrainians received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

We are Ukrainians! We will never forget the feat of our grandfathers and fathers in the Second World War. Today we honor all the living and those who did not survive it, whose wounds still hurt. War and victory is not only history, it is a testimony of the great feat of people who took the main blow in the fight against the German invaders and courageously performed their sacred duty.

For us, the war is not only the past, because it entered every home, every family. It took millions of people, engulfed them in its flames, caused destruction, torment and bitterness of loss. 

Aurka Shvets:

Today I pray for Ukraine,
For all the dead and for all the living, who do anything to defend the ruin, Until the pounding of the heart has not stopped. Today I pray for my father and my brother,
For someone's mother and her sons...

Retribution awaits all wrongdoers,
Unfortunately, at the cost of many lives. I pray for everyone in the line of fire, Wounded and stoned. It won't be long before we go through this stubble.
Soon there will be a free generation! I want to live here, not die.
So that no more rivers of blood flow. So that the mother does not shed tears for her son,

Let's fight, because we have already achieved a lot together!

The Day of Remembrance of the Fallen in the Second World War is only a part of a great tribute to the fallen and living veterans who defended our freedom with their blood. There are few participants of those events left, but we are all sincerely grateful to them for their lives!