The guests, among whom were the MPs, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman, members of the Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine, judiciary officials, diplomatic representatives and representatives from the NGOs, had a possibility to see a unique archive footage of a century ago.
Andriy Parubiy continued with his speech, speaking about the significance of the consequences of the Ukrainian revolution 1917-1921 defeat.
According to him, “many surrendered and Ukraine lost its state”. “But now we have to learn the lessons of a century ago and we need unity and army to keep fighting back, because the enemy is still the same,” he continued.
Andriy Parubiy further noted that now “thousands of our soldiers stand in the Eastern Ukraine like a solid wall to protect us”. “In order to win the modern Ukraine-Russia war we need to unite as just like 100 years ago,” he emphasized.
Vladyslav Verstiuk, Ukrainian historian, Head of the history of Ukrainian Revolution department at History Institute at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, spoke of the Ukrainian Revolution and foundation of the Central Council of Ukraine.
His Holiness, the Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus’ - Ukraine, Filaret, stressed that “if we want to win, we need to be unified” to fight the enemy. “If there is no Ukrainian state, nothing else matters” and called on everyone to join the all-Ukrainian prayer for peace. Among the other speakers at the official ceremony were Archbishop Emeritus of the Greek Catholic Church, Lubomyr Guzar, and the Head of the National Memory Institute, Volodymyr Viatrovych.
Concluding the ceremony the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine invited all the guests to visit the exhibitions “100 years of First Ukrainian Parliament” and “The Ukrainian Moment. Famous leaders of the Ukrainian national revolution in 1917 - 1921”.