Ukrainian Galician army. Ukrainian Galician army - abstract

Former employees of the headquarters of the Galician army.
Officers on the station platform Liberians heading to Josefov, May 18, 1921

Fire brigade of the Ukrainian brigade in Josefov. Czechoslovakia, 1920 (TSDAVOU)
Veterans of the Galician army in Josefov. Early 1922

Detachment leaving Josefov for work, 1922

All photos from Zeikhgauz magazine, No. 36, 2011.

If anyone does not know what it is - the Ukrainian Galician army. All in all, it was a very interesting education. It was formed in 1919 on the territory of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR, but simply in Galicia), which fell away from Austria-Hungary. Its basis was the legion of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, in which there were many "Ukrainian officers with an Austrian lining."
At first, the UGA fought with the Polish troops for independence, including for the city of Lvov - where Poles made up 60% of the population, and another 30 were Jews. Of course, a typical Ukrainian city. The war went on with varying success, the UGA undertook a number of offensive operations, with the help of which the Galicians once went as far as Transcarpathia, but were quickly driven away from there by the Hungarians and Czechoslovaks. Finally, by June 1919, the UGA was driven into the famous "triangle of death" - a space bounded on three sides by the Zbruch and Dniester rivers and the Gusyatin-Chortkov railway. As was often the case at that time, there were many and all sorts of different enemies: Poles, Romanians, Hungarians, Bolsheviks ... As a result, the UGA undertook a heroic (according to the descriptions of the colonels) Chortkovsky offensive. Having broken through the heavily stretched Polish army, the best parts of which were sent against the Bolsheviks and to the border, the UGA captured Tarnopol on June 14 and continued the offensive. But the Poles, recollecting themselves, transferred large forces (including Haller's "Blue Army"), and a month later the driven away UGA crossed Zbruch and joined the "Petliurites" (UNR).
Despite the fact that the UNR and ZUNR had united by that time, and the UGA numbered 50,000 fighters, there was little sense from it - typhus mowed down their ranks as the spring approached for students in the classroom. As a result, the army went all over the territory of Ukraine for a whole year, clinging to those who are stronger, and immediately changing the owner if he lost. At first, the UGA, as already mentioned, fought under the ZUNR dictator Petrushevich, then went over to the side of Petlyura and actually became part of the UNR army, then, like Kolobok, they left both their grandmother and grandfather, and went over to the side of Denikin. At the end of 1919, near Vinnitsa, realizing that Denikin would not have long to live, the UGA broke with him and began to choose a new owner. There were a lot of options: UNR, Romanians and even Bolsheviks. As a result, a handful of officers, having gathered a revolutionary committee in Vinnitsa (by the way, its chairman was Stepan Shukhevych, the uncle of Roman Shukhevych himself), after disputes, they decided to go over to the Reds. Later, they justified this by saying that, de, the Romanians are our enemies, and it was impossible to get through to the UNR because of the large convoy and the number of patients, but in fact everything was much simpler - the Romanians stupidly did not let them in, and the Petliurists also remembered well " gratitude" Galicians.
As a result, "Muscovites and Kamunists" took over the UGA, renamed it CHUGA (Chervonaya UGA) and reorganized it into three brigades. Moreover, the goal seemed to be the same - to liberate Galicia from the Poles. But at the end of April, near Letichev and Yaltushkov, two brigades from the "army" once again made a cunning feint with their ears and ran over to the Poles, who had already promised the autonomy of Galicia. Naturally, the Galicians explained this by the national policy of the Bolsheviks, the persecution of the faith, the ideological offensive of the brutal communists... Of course... of course...
The cruel communists forbade poor Galicians even to wear their native yellow trident, ordering them to wear a satanic red star instead. What is there. These degenerates even forced the valiant Galicians to change their yellow-blue banners to red ones! Like these ones.

Of course, the heroic Galicians could not endure such a thing... After all, as the Ukrainian historian Y.Tinchenko writes, "Parts of the Galician army were disciplined units, for which it was not common to receive banners and flags from just anyone (revolutionary councils, party committees, grateful citizens, etc.). That is why the Galician army did not have its own characteristic banners for a long time."
True, as he himself admits, until 1921 they obviously did not have any banners at all, but this does not apply to the essence of the matter.
It is characteristic that the remaining CHUGA brigade also later surrendered after the encirclement near Kozatyn, but already the UNR - 7 battalions out of 9 in the brigade. What remained was reduced to the 402nd Galician Rifle Regiment of the Red Army, which was disbanded in 1921. And the Poles who surrendered the two brigades disarmed, but were allowed to go to the UNR, which also became their ally from the opponents of the Poles.
By the way, the commander of the 3rd regiment of the CHUGA was the famous Bizants, who later proved himself so gloriously under the next masters - this time, the Germans - in the Waffen SS division "Galicia". So to speak, from the OSS - to just the SS.
But the Galicians did not stay in the UNR either. In 1921, at the call of his native Petrushevich, the Galician fighters of the 5th Kherson division of the UNR again threw their next owners and deserted to Czechoslovakia, where in 1920-1922. The Ukrainian Galician Brigade was formed. It was located in the towns of Libertsy, Iosefov and German Yablonoye, and then it was disbanded and the fighters dispersed in all directions.
This is a short but extremely rich history of valiant warriors.

During the years of the Civil War, a large number of various armies and groups operated on the territory of present-day Ukraine. Naturally, in the light of recent events, such an formation of the times of the Civil War as the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA) is also of interest, especially since its path most clearly and truly shows the path and fate of modern Ukrainians.
The UGA arose in November 1918 on the territory of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (oh, what a wonderful name!) From parts of the Austro-Hungarian army formed from the Galicians, the basis of which was the so-called. "Sich Riflemen". Since the population of Galicia at that time was very mixed, and the majority were Ukrainians, the Poles, who were about a quarter of the total population, still saw Galicia as part of the Polish state. On November 1, 1918, the Western Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed, to which the Poles immediately responded with an uprising. Clashes began between the Poles and the Galicians, primarily in Lvov. Already on November 21, 1918, Polish troops took Lviv and the UGA, together with the leadership of the republic, was forced to retreat from the city.

On December 1, 1918, the delegates of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic, led by Semyon Petliura, signed an agreement in the city of Fastov on the unification of both Ukrainian states into one. By this time, most of the ZUNR was already controlled by the Poles, and the fighting for the Galicians was unsuccessful. Thanks to Semyon Petlyura, the Ukrainian People's Republic was, on the contrary, at the peak of its power during this period, and it seemed that with such an ally the UGA would go from victory to victory.

The number of UGA was more than 30 thousand people, it included artillery - more than 60 batteries. There was also an aviation regiment with an air base in the village. Krasne, created, among other things, with the help of former officers of the Russian imperial army, which was armed with about 40 aircraft.

In fact, having united with the Galicians, Petlyura was not eager to fight the Poles. Khokhol threw the Galicians (who would doubt it!). From November 1918 to July 1919, the Ukrainian Galician Army independently, practically without the support of the UNR, took part in the siege of Lviv, the Vovchukhov and Chertkovsky operations, which ended unsuccessfully and led to the final loss of control over the territory of Galicia. After that, units of the UGA were transferred to the south and from July to September 1919, together with the active Army of the UNR (commonly called "Petliurists"), they took part in battles with the Red Army when it captured Right-Bank Ukraine. Having met in August 1919 with units of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia advancing from the Donbass and Odessa (White Guards-Denikin), the Galicians did not engage in hostilities, rightly fearing battles with a well-organized and armed enemy.

In September 1919, the UGA was forced to take part in the battles against the White Guards together with the Active Army of the UNR, but the fighting ardor quickly cooled. In November 1919, the Galicians throw their Petliurite brothers and the Galician Army, after the agreement in Zyatkovtsy of November 6, 1919, enters into a military alliance with the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, essentially going over to the side of the White Guards.

What was it about? In August-October 1919, the White Guards carried out a number of successful operations and occupied Kyiv on August 31, 1919. To the north, they successfully developed an offensive against Moscow, and on October 13 they occupied Oryol and threatened Tula. It seemed a little bit more and the Whites would win, which meant that we had to be closer to the winner. But here, too, the Galicians failed. From December 1919 to the winter of 1920, the Red Army launched a powerful offensive and began to smash the Whites on all fronts. In the winter of 1919/20, Denikin's troops left Kharkov, Kyiv, Donbass, Rostov-on-Don.

Realizing the change in the situation, the Ukrainian Galician Army at the beginning of 1920 went over to the side of the advancing Red Army, after which it was renamed and reorganized into the CHUGA (Chervona Ukrainian Galician Army), or the Red Ukrainian Galician Army. From December 1919 to April 1920, the army was stationed mainly in the Baltsky and Olgopolsky districts of the Podolsk province. The army headquarters was in Balta.

But the Galicians did not stay in the service of the Bolsheviks. The Red Army of the beginning of 1920 is already a well-organized army with strict discipline, complete subordination of all units to a single command, rejection of nationalism, with the idea of internationalism and class unity, rejection of priests in the army and rejection of religion. All these things were completely incomprehensible to the Galicians.
In April 1920, the Poles defeated Tukhachevsky's army near Warsaw, in Polish history this event came under the name "miracle on the Vistula" (although there was no miracle - the criminal arrogance and negligence of the commander) began to actively attack Ukraine. And here she is the new star of the winner! Most of the personnel of the Red Ukrainian Galician Army rebels and immediately goes over to the side of the Poles. The very ones with whom back in November 1918 they fought so desperately, hoping for the weakness of the newly created Poland.
The commanders and servicemen of the UGA (CHUGA), who were in Odessa at the time of the uprising, in total about 600 people, were arrested, several dozen of them were executed in the case of the “Petliura military organization”. The rest, it was decided to remove from Odessa. During loading into the wagons at the Odessa railway station, a shootout began, during which most of these six hundred Galicians were shot. Some sources say that it was the notorious Chekists who carried out the massacre. Other sources say that it was the Galicians who were the first to start shooting, outraged by their sending to the remote rear of the Red Army, away from Ukraine.

Thus, in two years, the Ukrainian Galician Army (initially, by the way, simply the "Galician Army") managed to change and serve the following masters: at first they were part of the Austro-Hungarian army; then a short period of independence: October-November 1918. Unsuccessful battles against the Poles and the transition to the side of the Petliurists. On the side of the Petliurists, they fought until November 1919 and went over to the side of the White Guards. A few months later they abandoned the Whites and went over to the side of the Reds. And a few months later, in April 1920, they threw the Reds and went over to the side of the Poles. The last period is especially remarkable, since in six months, from November 1919 to April 1920, the Galicians managed to change three armies for which they fought. It seems to me that this is an absolute record for betrayals and prostitution in a short period of time, and even in the absence of significant military successes.
In general, the history of the Ukrainian Galician Army is especially indicative and probably most accurately reflects the essence of modern Ukrainianism, as well as the essence of modern Ukraine, which is trying to take Galician ideas as its new basis and new ideology.

History of the Ukrainian army
	Army of Ancient Russia

	Army of the Galicia-Volyn principality

	Host Zaporozhye

	Black Sea Cossack army
	Transdanubian Cossack army
	Ukrainian Sich Riflemen

	Army of the UNR
	Ukrainian Galician Army

	Carpathian Sich
	UPA

	Armed forces of the USSR

	Armed forces of Ukraine

The basis of the army was the legion of Sich Riflemen, located on November 1, 1918 in the Chernivtsi region (270 km from Lvov). It was created on the basis of parts of the Austro-Hungarian army, consisting entirely or mostly of Ukrainians. As of November 1, 1918, these were the 15th Infantry Regiment (Ternopil), the 19th Infantry Regiment (Lviv), the 9th and 45th Infantry Regiments (Przemysl), the 77th Infantry Regiment (Yaroslav), the 20th th and 95th infantry regiments (Stanislav, now Ivano-Frankivsk), 24th and 36th infantry regiments (Kolomiya), 35th infantry regiment (Zolochiv). Conscription of men aged 18-35 into the army was carried out on the basis of the Law on compulsory military service of the ZUNR. Thus, the territory of the ZUNR was divided into 3 military regions (Lviv, Ternopil, Stanislav), each of which was divided into 4 military districts. Commanders - Anton Kravs, Miron Tarnavsky, Osip Mykytka.

From November 1918 to July 1919, the Galician Army took part in the siege of Lvov, the Vovchukhov and Chertkovsky operations. From July to September 1919, together with the Active Army of the UNR, she took part in the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine from Soviet troops. From September to November 1919, together with the Active Army of the UNR, she took part in the battles against the Armed Forces of the South of Russia. In November 1919, according to the agreement of the High Command of the Galician Army and the commander of the Novorossiysk region of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, the Galician Army (renamed the Ukrainian Galician Army) went over to the side of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia. Being completely incapacitated as a result of a typhus epidemic, the Ukrainian Galician Army went over to the side of the advancing Red Army in early 1920, after which it was renamed CHUGA (Chervona Ukrainian Galician Army), or Red Ukrainian Galician Army, and reorganized. The dissatisfaction of the personnel with the conditions of service (the ban on national symbols, the persecution of clergy in the ranks of the army, the inculcation of enmity between officers and soldiers) led to the fact that in April 1920 most of the personnel of the CHUGA went over to the side of the Poles during the spring offensive of the Polish army.

Types of troops

70% of the personnel consisted of infantry(buttons and sleeve patches in blue).

Artillery was also a priority branch of the armed forces and was armed with more than 60 batteries, the high combat effectiveness of the UGA artillery was noted (red buttonholes and sleeve patches).

cavalry was not given much importance, since it was supposed to conduct a positional war, was formed mounted brigade(buttons and sleeve patches are yellow).

There was also aviation regiment with an airbase in Krasne, created, among other things, with the help of former officers of the Russian imperial army and was armed with about 40 aircraft, including 16 of the Brandenburg type, 12 L.F.G, Nieuports from the army of the former Russian Empire and German Fokkers. The regiment was commanded by Colonel B. Guber, after his death in an explosion at the airfield - by Colonel Kanukov. The regiment included a flight school, hundreds of technical and airfield services. The result of the fighting of the regiment were 16 downed Polish aircraft. Also carried out tasks for reconnaissance and bombardment of enemy positions

Hardware Parts included 5 sapper hundreds, communications regiment with telephone hundreds. The motorcade of the UGA consisted of 36 cars, 42 motorcycles and was reorganized into self-propelled chicken. Technical and engineering units had gray buttonholes and sleeve patches. armored vehicles in UGA it was represented by 8 armored cars and 2 armored trains.

Sanitary Service was organized on the model of the medical service of Austria-Hungary and had at its disposal 2-5 field hospitals and a medical train. In addition, there was field gendarmerie, intelligence service, veterinary departments at headquarters, field mail posts, etc.

Organization

The Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA) did not include divisions, but only corps and brigades. The brigade consisted of a headquarters, a headquarters (mace) hundred, 4 kurens (battalions) of infantry, one horse hundred, one artillery regiment with an artillery workshop and an ammunition depot, one sapper hundred, one communications department, a convoy warehouse and a brigade hospital. In some brigades there were more infantry kurens (5-6), and in some these kurens were also combined into regiments of a three-kuren composition. The cavalry brigade consisted of 2 regiments of cavalry, to which 1-2 cavalry artillery batteries, a cavalry technical hundred and a cavalry hundred of communications could be attached. The rudiments of them at the equestrian brigade already existed.

Separate brigades of the UGA had the following names:

1st Ukrainian Sich Riflemen
4th Zolochivskaya
6th Sokalskaya

Command

All military affairs in ZUNR were in charge of the State Secretariat (Ministry) of Military Affairs. It operated until June 9, 1919 and consisted of 16 departments and an office. It was headed by Colonel Dmitry Vitovsky, and after his death in a plane crash in German Silesia (he flew to Berlin for German help) - Colonel Viktor Kurmanovich. From the moment the dictatorship was proclaimed (June 9, 1919), the functions of the department were transferred partly to the High Command of the UGA, and partly to the newly created Military Chancellery of the dictator (chief - Colonel Karl Dolezhal, Czech by nationality). The High Command headed all units located at the front and conducting combat operations. All other units were subordinated through the rear district commands of the GSVD. The command and staff structure completely copied the Austro-Hungarian one.

Formation

The first field units of the UGA were created spontaneously at the time of the creation of an independent Western Ukrainian state. This was a response to the creation of Polish combat organizations. Already on November 1, 1918, the Poles raised an uprising in Lvov, and on the 11th they occupied the strategically important city of Przemysl. Until the end of December 1918, the UGA consisted of heterogeneous combat groups that could not be called a regular army. There were 15 of them in total. The most powerful were the groups operating near Lvov: Navariya, Staroe Selo and Vostok. In the north of the ZUNR, the "North" group of Colonel Osip Mikitka was created. Southwest of Lviv, the regional command in Stryi (Colonel Hryts Kossak) had at its disposal the Comancha, Lutoviska, Stary Sambir, Glyboka, Krukenichi, Rudki, Yug-1 and South-2". All of them practically acted in isolation from each other and often had no connection with the High Command. As a result of replenishment, the strength of the army increased. On December 10, 1918, when General Omelyanovich-Pavlenko led the army, its strength was about 30,000 people with 40 guns, not counting the Dnieper units. At that time, the front passed from Tysna in the south-west to Khirov and, bypassing Przemysl, to Lvov, went around the city, then went to Yavorov and past Lyubachev to Rava-Russkaya-Belz, adjoining the forces of the UNR in the Kholm region. In January-February 1919, the UGA was reorganized into three corps and became a truly regular army.

Myths about the origin of Ukraine and Ukrainians - 3

Myth 3. Historically foreign flag of Ukraine.

The history of the Ukrainian flag, like all Ukrainians, is shrouded in myths and lies and is based on historical fraud and fantastic nonsense. The main thesis of the created myth is that “yellow-blue colors symbolized the Kiev state, ... eventually revived on the coats of arms of Ukrainian cities, ... almost all the coats of arms of the cities of the Kiev region and Ukraine as a whole were framed in yellow-blue flowers, ... since the 18th century, regimental and centenary Cossack flags of the Zaporizhian Army are increasingly being made of blue cloth ... "

Officially, the meaning of blue and yellow colors on the flag is traditionally interpreted as a combination of a clear, peaceful, cloudless sky over the yellow color of a grain field - a symbol of peaceful labor and prosperity.

But even a superficial examination of this legend reveals the absurdity of pseudo-historical statements. Take, for example, Kievan Rus, although it has nothing to do with modern Ukraine. What colors of banners prevailed in the ancient Russian principalities?

In these principalities, banners were the symbol of princely power, and from the 9th century on the lands that are now part of Ukraine, red, crimson, white, less often blue and green, but not yellow-blue, have always dominated in symbolism. For example, the Russian detachments that participated in the Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Order in 1410 marched with banners of different colors. The yellow-blue color was peculiar only to Lvov, other colors of the banners prevailed in the rest of the detachments. So the lie about the dominance of the yellow-blue color of the banners in Kievan Rus is far-fetched.

If we take the period of the Cossacks, then all statements about the yellow-blue Cossack banners also turn out to be lies. The banners of the Little Russian Cossacks, who considered and called themselves Russians, were dominated by the historical colors of Russia. Bogdan Khmelnytsky went into battle with a white banner in his left hand, followed by two general cornets with purple and white banners unfurled.

There is not a word about the yellow color and the trident on the ensigns of the regiments and hundreds of the left-bank hetmanate and on the flags of the regiments of the Slobozhanshchina. Flags of different colors were used to distinguish Cossack regiments and hundreds in battle. This was not due to their national differences, but to the military necessity to determine the place in battle of one or another regiment or hundreds. So attempts to keep the history of the Ukrainian flag also from the flags of the Cossack hundreds and regiments are the blatant ignorance of their authors.

Where did the yellow-blue flag come from in Ukraine? It turns out that this myth, like everything “Ukrainian”, was born in Austrian Galicia at that time and has nothing to do with the history of Ukrainian lands. This flag is not so ancient and it appeared in the middle of the 19th century. The combination of yellow and blue banners is typical of the provinces of the Austrian Habsburg Empire - Dolmatia, Lower Austria, Galicia and Lodomeria and Russia-Ruthenia. All these lands were Austrian provinces and had nothing to do with greater Russia. The Galician Rusyns received a flag of this color from the hands of the Austrian royal family for their faithful service.

In 1848, a revolution broke out in Austria, and the emperor attracted the Rusyns of Galicia to suppress it, who showed themselves well as punishers against the rebels. For their faithful service to Franz Joseph, they were honored with the last nickname "Tyroleans of the Middle East" and he granted them a yellow-blue flag as a symbol of the Galician regiment, and the Russian Council created by the Austrian authorities and loyal to them approved this flag as a symbol of Galicia already and called on the Rusyns to support emperor. According to one version, on the ribbon to the flag of the Ruthenians, the mother of the emperor, Archprincess Sophia, embroidered the slogan: “Loyalty leads to victory. Sophia, Archprincess of Austria.

As you can see, modern myth-makers are trying to make a symbol of loyalty to the Austrian throne a symbol of "independent Ukraine" and hide the role of the Habsburgs in the history of its appearance. Cossacks with their regimental badges appeared as arguments much later, when the population of Little Russia had to come up with a new story in which it would appear as a special non-Russian people on the outskirts of Poland.

On the territory of modern Ukraine, except for Galicia, until 1914 this flag was never some kind of symbol, and even more so was not used by military, political, or public structures. No one knew anything about this flag in the territory of Little Russia.

The yellow-blue flag resurfaces along with the Sich Riflemen on the eve of the First World War. Under the Austrian command, units of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen and other Galician formations are being created, which the Austrian monarchy, under this flag, is preparing to conduct combat operations against the Russian army.

The emissaries of the archers under the leadership of Grushevsky are sent to Kyiv to carry out subversive activities. They attract Kiev students and arrange a demonstration in March 1914 on the occasion of honoring Shevchenko, where for the first time in Little Russia they marched under the yellow-blue flag. So the colors of the Habsburg Empire penetrated the territory of Little Russia and began to poison the life of the local population.

Sich Riflemen under this flag were defeated by Russian troops in 1915 on Mount Makovka. Ukrainian myth-makers are trying to present this defeat as a “great” victory of Ukrainian weapons and instead of Victory Day, celebrate May 8 as a day of remembrance of the Sich Riflemen, teaching everyone to put not carnations, but poppies on the graves of the fallen.

The corps of Sich Riflemen was eventually defeated by Russian troops, and many of the archers were captured, including Konovalets, the future leader of the OUN. Immediately after the February Revolution, immigrants from Galicia established in Kyiv a self-proclaimed Central Rada headed by Grushevsky (out of 18 members, 12 were representatives of Galicia) and attracted former captured Sich Riflemen to demonstrations under the yellow-blue flag. Konovalets creates from them in November 1917 in Kyiv combat formations, which distinguished themselves by suppressing the uprising of the workers of the Arsenal

When Grushevsky created the Ukrainian People's Republic in January 1918, the flag of the Austrian province became the state flag of this operetta state. With the liquidation of the UNR, the flag passes to Hetman Skoropadsky, he changes colors in reverse, but this does not help, and this regime fell. The next champion of independence, Petlyura, on Polish bayonets, returns to the flag of the UNR, but the curse of the Austrian flowers overtakes him too, another pseudo-state has sunk into oblivion. In November 1918, the Ukrainian Galician Army was formed in Galicia under this flag, which suffered the same fate.

With the end of the civil war, the yellow-blue flag was practically forgotten on the Ukrainian lands; it was used only by the OUN militants and in the foreign diaspora, represented by immigrants from Galicia. It resurfaces during the Great Patriotic War and unites Ukrainian punishers and policemen.

Under this flag, in occupied Ukraine and Belarus, the punitive battalions "Nachtigal" and "Roland", the SS division "Galicia" and the ruthless beast from the UPA cracked down on civilians. The yellow-blue flag flew next to the Nazi flag over all police stations and city governments, and in the eyes of the population remained a symbol of betrayal and treason.

With the beginning of another turmoil in the late 80s, the yellow-blue flag reappears, and not just anywhere, but at demonstrations in Galicia, in other regions, it was and remained an alien symbol. Gradually, under the pressure of the Galician emissaries who flooded Kyiv and the Supreme Council, this flag is imposed as a symbol of independent Ukraine, and after the well-known events in Moscow in August 1991, in the wake of general permissiveness, at the request of the Rukh, it was raised over the building of the Supreme Council.

What should be the state flag of Ukraine, no one has ever publicly discussed. Behind the scenes, under the leadership of Kravchuk, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council in September 1991, it began to be used in official events. Under pressure from the leadership of the Supreme Council, in January 1992, the deputies approved it as the state flag. This is how the yellow-blue banner, presented by the Austrian monarch to the Sich Riflemen of Galicia for their faithful service to the Habsburg crown during the suppression of the Hungarian uprising, became the state flag of Ukraine.

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