Ukrainian Military Research Articles

THE ARCHIVAL-INVESTIGATIVE CASE OF VASYL PROKHODA AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE

The archival-investigative case of Vasyl Prokhoda, a Ukrainian military, public and political figure, Lieutenant Colonel of the Ukrainian People's Republic Army, military historian, is analyzed, as it is not only an important source for studying his life but also for studying totalitarianism in the Ukrainian SSR and the USSR. The investigation clarified the circumstances of the detention and arrest of V. Prokhoda in late January - early February 1945, the vicissitudes of the investigation from February 2, 1945, to September 10, 1945. Working methods of employees of the SMERSH counterintelligence administrative departments are highlighted. Some facts of V. Prokhoda's biography are characterized: his participation in the Ukrainian revolution of 1917–1921, public activity during emigration to Czechoslovakia, work in construction companies during World War II. The author analyzed topics of questions of interest to investigators: military service in the Russian tsarist army on the eve and beginning of World War І; national-cultural activities in POW camps in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; participation in Ukrainian military structures during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921; struggle against the Bolshevik government in Ukraine; activities in public societies and organizations in exile in Czechoslovakia and Germany (as «Sokil», «Society of Former Soldiers of the Ukrainian People's Republic Army», «Ukrainian National Union»); work in construction companies «in favor of Germany» during World War ІІ; information on the activities of the emigration government of the Ukrainian People's Republic and relations with its leaders; «counter-revolutionary nationalist» activities of the leaders of Ukrainian emigrant organizations. The facts of V. Prokhoda's biography in the archival-investigative case and his memoirs «Zapysky nepokirlyvoho» («Notes of the Rebellious») are compared. Keywords: Vasyl Prokhoda, Ukrainian People's Republic, archival-investigative case, public activity, SMERSH, People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs.

Resilience of Ukrainian Military Personnel to Perform Tasks in Combat Conditions

Resilience of Ukrainian Military Personnel to Perform Tasks in Combat Conditions

SOCIO-POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF VOLODYMYR KOKHAN IN THE 1920-1960S

The main directions of Volodymyr Kokhan's public and political activities in the 1920-1960s are analyzed through the prism of socio-political processes in the region. Attention is focused on the features of the formation of his worldview. V. Kokhan's expressive national and patriotic consciousness was based on family values and was laid down by educational and public institutions of Halychyna, which carried out active awareness-raising work among the Ukrainian people of the region. The politician's contribution to the activity of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO) is considered, his circle of like-minded people is singled out, among them - the future leaders of the national-state parties and national-cultural organizations of Halychyna. While in the UMO during the national liberation struggle, the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918–1919, he made considerable efforts to protect the national, cultural, and socio-political rights of Ukrainians in Halychyna. In the mid-1920s, as a member of the Ukrainian Party of National Labor (UPNR), he was one of the active supporters of the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDA). The well-known politician's organizational and political work is characterized; specific examples show the struggle of one of the Ukrainian national democracy leaders for raising the national consciousness of the Ukrainians of Halychyna. Through V. Kokhan's political biography's prism, the complex intertwining of political, social, and national aspects of the Ukrainian socio-political movement in the period is shown. The parliamentary work of V. Kokhan in the highest legislative body of Poland is outlined. Since 1928, party activity became secondary for one of the leaders of the National Democrats, comparing to parliamentary work. Emphasis is placed on organizational achievements in the National Unity Front (NUF), in exile in Canada, as one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee (UCC). Keywords: Volodymyr Kokhan, socio-political activities, Western Ukraine, emigration.

US Policy Towards Ukraine in Conditions of the New World Order

The US policy towards Ukraine in the post-bipolar period is considered. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize Ukraine as a new subject of international law. It is proved that in the first years of Ukraine’s independence in the American expert circles the idea of its great international importance as a strategic partner was established. The United States paid great attention to the Ukrainian nuclear issue and helped to shape Ukraine’s nuclear-free status, while guaranteeing territorial integrity and security under the Budapest Treaty Memorandum of 1994, along with the Russian Federation. The United States has consistently provided support for Ukrainian democracy, reform, market transformation and national security. The US views Ukraine as an outpost to strengthen its geopolitical influence in the post-Soviet space and in Eastern Europe, as well as a unique alternative to Russian imperial policy. The United States maintained its support for Ukraine during the difficult times of its historical development, marked by a decline in democracy and an increase in authoritarianism. An important step on the part of the United States was the adoption by the Senate of a bill on the Declaration of Freedom in Ukraine of December 11, 2014, which declared full support for the Ukrainian state. Another important gesture from the US was the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions after annexation of the Crimea by Russia and the deployment of hybrid aggression in the Donbass. Since then, the United States has been providing $ 300 million in annual financial assistance to Ukraine, providing defense weapons and training to the Ukrainian military. Recently, the US has been contributing to improving Ukraine’s energy security by supporting the diversification of natural gas and nuclear fuel supplies. The prospect of further strengthening of Ukraine’s energy security should be the expansion of the network of LNG terminals in Eastern Europe. Thanks to the imposed sanctions, the US managed to suspend the construction of the Russian gas pipeline “North Stream-2”, which is aimed at undermining Ukraine’s energy transit status. However, the negative sides of Ukraine-US relations should include pressure on Ukraine by the US to prevent China’s partial privatization of the Motor Sich plant and Ukraine’s involvement in US Presidential election scandal.

Entrepreneurship in the Personal Life and Family Memories of the Dnipro and ATO Fighters

The aim of the article is to study the entrepreneurial characteristics, attitudes and behavioral patterns of Ukrainian volunteer soldiers who have their own entrepreneurial experience and / or whose family memory has been saved examples of successful management of ancestors.In this study was used an interdisciplinary approach, the following historical and psychological methods of research were applied such as the method of oral history, psychodiagnostic method, biographical method, retrospective, comparative, and others.The main results of this work are the definition of such personal qualities of military, who are entrepreneurs: developed subjectivity, determined by faith in the effectiveness of their actions; leadership qualities and organizational skills; readiness to assume responsibility; creativity, ingenuity; the existence of a clear system of values; desire for self-identity; faith in the justice of the universe; preparedness for risk; active civic position; formed Ukrainian national identity. Some respondents who are descendants of repressed people have mistrust of the authorities and state institutions; shyness towards the expression of Ukrainian identity; readiness to rely only on oneself.Concise conclusions. During the rebuilt of the Ukrainian Army, especially in early 2014, to a large extent, the very entrepreneurial features allowed entrepreneurs to show themselves as active, creative, organizational strength.Practical meaning. The observations in this article can be taken into account when enrolling in the military service of citizens with entrepreneurial experience.Originality. For the first time in the focus of the study were features, outlook settings and patterns of Ukrainian military, who are entrepreneurs.The scientific novelty is the application of a transgenic approach that allows a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the formation of the ideological system of the personality of the Ukrainian military, who are entrepreneurs.Type of article: empirical.

ТВОРЕННЯ УВО В УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯХ: ІСТОРІОГРАФІЧНИЙ ОГЛЯД

У статті аналізуються основні особливості та рівень дослідження українською історіографією процесу творення Української військової організації, покликаної продовжувати збройну боротьбу за українську державність. Автор визначає найбільш складні, дискусійні та найменш дослідженні питання процесу формування УВО та її діяльності у 1920–1923 рр., робить висновок, що саме українські зару- біжні дослідження стали базою всіх сучасних вітчизняних розробок цієї проблеми. З’ясовано, що сучасна вітчизняна історіографія здебільшого успадкувала від української зарубіжної тенденції до спрощеного викладу історії УВО. Автор доходить висновку, що вже від початку 2000-х років в Україні з’явилася низка досліджень, у яких розглянуто актуальні та малодосліджені питання часу та місця виникнення УВО, ролі Є. Коновальця у процесі формування організації, однак висновки авторів досить часто є дискусійними, отож, ці питання потребують подальшого більш детального дослідження.

Risk factors of cognitive impairment in patients with blast-related mild traumatic brain injury

In modern local military conflicts, the prevalence of mine blast injury (MBI) is very high. In Ukraine, the frequency of MBI has significantly increased in recent years as a result of military conflict in the east of the country. Thus, it is necessary to develop a standardized approach to diagnosing mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) effects in order to objectify the functional state of the brain and cognitive impairment (CI), to correct treatment and control in the dynamics. Predictors of CI in these patients (pts) are studied insufficiently either.Aim. To investigate the risk factors of CI in pts with mTBI as a result of using mine explosive weapon.Materials and methods. One hundred and fifty men aged 18 to 45 years with mTBI were examined in SI Romodanov Neurosurgery Institute of NAMS of Ukraine. The diagnosis was established in Ukrainian Military Medical Academy according to the criteria of mild traumatic brain injury determined in clinical guidelines VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Concussion/mTBI (2009). The study used a single survey scheme for the pts: complaints, anamnesis morbi, neurological status, neuropsychological testing by using MoCA and HADS scales, quantitative electroencephalography (EEG), cognitive evoked potentials Р300 (CEP P300), and further phased statistical processing of the data obtained.Results. The analysis results demonstrated the following predictors of CI as: the patients’ complaints of fatigue and headache (p=0.003), neurological signs in the form of elements of pyramidal insufficiency, increase of tendon reflexes (p=0.02), high anxiety level on the HADS scale (p=0.001), changes in KEEG indicators (p<0.05), decrease in peak amplitude P3 (p=0.003), increase in latency of CEP P300 (p=0.003).Conclusions. The study proposed and grounded the necessity of using clinical and neurophysiological complexes to verify CI in the interim and long-term period. The study investigated the predictors of CI in pts with MBI, which is important for identification of pts with a high risk of progressive neurodegeneration as a consequence of MBI as well as for the individualization of rehabilitation approaches and treatment tactics for the pts.

YEVHEN KONOVALETS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY ORGANIZATION (August – November 1920)

YEVHEN KONOVALETS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY ORGANIZATION (August – November 1920)

Development of power qualities of cadets of Ukrainian higher military educational institutions during kettlebell lifting training

Development of power qualities of cadets of Ukrainian higher military educational institutions during kettlebell lifting training

ВОЛОДИМИР ЦЕЛЕВИЧ: ВНЕСОК У ЗАСНУВАННЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОГО ГОРОЖАНСЬКОГО КОМІТЕТУ ТА УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ВІЙСЬКОВОЇ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ

The social-political activity of the well-known Galician politician Volodymyr Tselevych during the first two decades of the twentieth century was analyzed in the light of socio-political processes in the region. It was noted that the future leader of the Ukrainian National-Democratic Association started his “political career” in the Division of the IV Section of the Ukrainian Student Union, as well as in the National-Democratic section of this student organization, where the students of the Ukrainian National Democratic Party were grouping together.A particular focus was made on the peculiarities of the formation of his belief system, his contribution to the founding of the Ukrainian Horozhansky Committee, the Ukrainian Military; the circle of his fellow-thinkers was distinguished, among which were the future leaders of the national-state parties of Galicia and the national-cultural organizations of the region. It was proved that the role of V. Tselevych in the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO) due to the lack of proper experience in military campaigns was gradually reduced to a purely organizational work, and E. Konovalets, D. Paliyiv, V. Kuchabskyi, O. Koberskyi, S. Fedak, etc. took over the leadership in the organization.The activities of Volodymyr Tselovych at the Ukrainian Horozhansky Committee (UHC) were considered; he directed his activities to meet the daily needs and protect the Ukrainians of Lviv. It was noted that as a secretary of the organization, he coordinated the activities of a number of committees and sections that provided material assistance to captives, arrested and feeble persons, was engaged in mediation regarding matters of employment, provided legal advice.It was stated that Volodymyr Tselevych, while being in the UHC, UMO during the period of national liberation struggles, the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918-1919, made significant efforts to protect the national-cultural, social and political rights of the Ukrainians of Eastern Galicia, collaborated with the Ukrainian political emigration, which caused him sufferings from repressions and persecutions from the Polish authorities.

ФУНКЦІЇ КОМАНДУВАННЯ ВИЩОГО ВІЙСЬКОВОГО НАВЧАЛЬНОГО ЗАКЛАДУ В УПРАВЛІННІ ДИСТАНЦІЙНИМ НАВЧАННЯМ КУРСАНТІВ

Abstract. Introduction. The issue of insufficient research in the field of the theoretical, methodological and technological fundamentals of managing the remote training process in higher military educational facilities has been analyzed.Purpose. The aim of the article is to examine the functions of the command of an Ukrainian high military educational institution, that provides the basic facilities for the education of future officers, as a subject of command in terms of distance learning.Methods. Theoretical analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, modeling and forecasting.Results. The structure of command of the higher military educational institution has been determined as a subject of the management system of remote training of military men. On the basis of a review of scientific literature the following types of functions for a subject of managing the remote training within the higher military educational facility have been established: constructive, organizational, motivational, stimulating and controlling. The management functions of remote training are determined as follows: system-creating, administrative-self organizing, system-self-organizing, system-motivational, system-stimulating, administrative-self-controlling, system-controlling. The content of every function of command of a higher military educational facility has been researched in accordance with the relevance to its subjects (the head of the facility, its deputies, the scientific council etc.) Additionally, the peculiarities of the functions of command of a higher military educational facility have been included in the remote training process.Conclusion. The article provides the analyses of five areas of work of the command as a subject of managing the distance learning of the higher educational establishment. It also points out the basic functions (constructive, organizational, motivational, enabling and control). Additionally there’s also a notion, that their implementation is possible if the command of the educational institution will be interested in the increase of the effectiveness of distance learning through creation of a clear management system. Accepted results of the research have father determined the work functions of the representatives of the command and build up the coherent management framework of the distance learning for future officers.

Bones Talking Back: Theology and Public Mourning after the Crash of Flight MH17

In this article I formulate a theological response to the shocking event of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 (MH17), which was shot down over Eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014. None of the 298 passengers survived the crash. Moreover, since the plane crashed in territory where separatist militias were involved in an armed conflict with the Ukrainian military, the victims’ bodies could not be removed from the crash site for several days. I address how displays of public grief, such as those in the aftermath of MH17, are embedded in a ‘politics of mourning’ in which feelings of loss and despair are expressed against the backdrop of particular political entanglements and national histories. In the case of MH17, these entanglements included a construction of the civilized Western mourner versus the barbaric Ukrainian separatist who does not know how to properly treat a body. Taking the body as my point of departure and using Mario Aguilar’s notion of a ‘hermeneutics of bones’, I trace some of the ‘past narratives of God and bones’ in the Old Testament. These narratives show that Old Testament accounts of bones testify to the deep notion of human beings as created by God and are therefore a place to locate God in times of despair (e.g. in Job). Moreover, Old Testament renderings of bones can offer the comfort of language and speakability. They show how bones can be a site of ultimate humiliation, but also the site where dignity is restored. I then turn to a more in-depth reading of Rizpah, who in 2 Samuel 21 publicly mourns over the bones of her sons for six months until they receive a proper burial at the hands of King David, thereby changing the power constellations that had led to their deaths in the first place.

АНАЛІЗ СТАНУ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ БЕЗПІЛОТНИХ ЛІТАЛЬНИХ АПАРАТІВ, ЯКІ БУЛИ СТВОРЕНІ ЗА ЧАС ПРОВЕДЕННЯ АНТИТЕРОРИСТИЧНОЇ ОПЕРАЦІЇ НА СХОДІ УКРАЇНИ

The article presents the analysis of unmanned aerial vehicles that were created during the conduct of the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. The article is based on the description of the features of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in eastern Ukraine. The article also discusses the advantages of using unmanned aerial vehicles when performing combat missions. The leading concepts of creating unmanned aerial vehicles and a set of factors that determine the success of providing unmanned aerial vehicles with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are defined. The experience of using and providing unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned aviation complexes during anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine was generalized. Ways to improve the traditional methods of creating unmanned aerial vehicles and identify for which tasks unmanned aerial vehicles were used during the anti-terrorist operation. The article describes the types of unmanned aerial complexes used in the area of anti-terrorist operation by Ukrainian military, special forces and guards. As a result of the research the peculiarities of determining operational-tactical requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles for their effective use in the east of Ukraine are revealed. The rational ways of creation of unmanned aerial vehicles for their use in the interests of combat use are offered. The starting point for the analysis was some recent publications on the creation and use of drones for military purposes and guidance documents. The source materials were checked for compliance with the criteria set out in the guidance documents.

ГУМАНІТАРНА ДОПОМОГА ІТАЛІЇ УКРАЇНІ В 2014 – 2018 РР.

The article deals with the provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine by the government and society (citizens) of Italy during the period of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine (2014-2018). Among them are the efforts of the large Ukrainian community in Italy (according to official figures in Italy, there are more than 230 thousand Ukrainians registered). The directions, volumes and methods of relief assistance for Ukrainian military and population in war-affected areas in eastern Ukraine and settlers were analyzed. It was determined that government financial assistance (over 3 million euros was allocated for 2014-2018) during this period came through international humanitarian organizations, which deal with the civilian people affected by the armed conflict and the program of demining of ukrainian territories. The Ukrainian community in Italy provides individual assistance (from individuals) and from organizations (for example, the Congress of Ukrainians in Italy, “EuroMaydan-Rome” and others). Ukrainian communities of entire cities and regions may be involved in collecting a large sum (the most active are Ukrainians in Rome, Brescia, Milan, Naples).Mostly Ukrainians provided cars for units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer groups in the area of fighting, equipment, clothes and funds for the needs of Ukrainian defenders, as well as food and gifts for them to holidays, organized humanitarian cargoes for the victims of the war of the population. At the same time, the Ukrainian community in Italy tried to hold public information events in support of Ukraine in the early years of the Russian-Ukrainian War and inform the Italian society and authorities about the events in it.The third source of humanitarian aid for Ukraine in Italy is Italian voluntary associations such as “Italy-Ukraine-Maidan”, which independently delivers the largest humanitarian cargo to the east of Ukraine. Italy’s assistance to Ukraine is considered in the context of the socio-political processes and the foreign policy line of the Italian government. It is determined how the traditional strong ties between Italy and Russia affect for the attitude and assistance to Ukraine.

BOOK REVIEW: The First Ukrainian Military Encyclopedia: The History of Wars and Military Arts Project [by]: Voitovych L., Ovsinskyi Y. History of Wars and Military Arts. Kharkiv: Folio, 2017. Volume 1: From the Beginnings of a Military Organization to Professional Hired Armies (about 3060 BC - Beginning of the XVIth Century). 894 p.; Voitovich L., Holubko V. History of wars

BOOK REVIEW: The First Ukrainian Military Encyclopedia: The History of Wars and Military Arts Project [by]: Voitovych L., Ovsinskyi Y. History of Wars and Military Arts. Kharkiv: Folio, 2017. Volume 1: From the Beginnings of a Military Organization to Professional Hired Armies (about 3060 BC - Beginning of the XVIth Century). 894 p.; Voitovich L., Holubko V. History of wars

YEVGEN KONOVALETS AND THE MILITARY COUP IN NOVEMBER IN LVIV

Until 16th November 1918, Yе. Konovalets lived in the Bila Tserkva, where he commanded a separate detachment of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, and also was the leader of the Western Ukrainian community of Kyiv. On the eve of 7th November, the Striletska rada headed by Yе. Konovalets did not support the request to go to Lviv and help the Ukrainian military to keep the city in street battles with the Poles. Since the battles for Lviv in November have been lost, this fact is superficially estimated by modern historians. The purpose of the study is to reveal events that are indirectly and directly related to Ye. Konovalets and events in Lviv in November 1918. A methodological basis is an integrated approach to the analysis of this problem. In a situation that emerged in November 1918, both in Lviv and in Kyiv, it is obvious that one could not expect another solution from Ye. Konovalets and the Striletska rada. As of 6th November, there were no previous talks or ordinary communication on assistance in the event of the armed approval from Ukrainian authorities in Lviv. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Kyiv was deprived of an understanding of the internal processes that took place in the Ukrainian state. Despite the fact that Ye. Konovalets did not step back from the November events in Lviv, they began to organize volunteers. It is also important that the West Ukrainian community in Kyiv, a few months before the November events in Lviv, through its press office "Nasha Dumka", criticized the distance of the Galician politicians from the independent Ukrainian state. Keywords Ye. Konovalets, Sich Riflemen, O. Nazaruk, ZUNR.

Интеграция женщин в вооруженные силы: перспективы и проблемы украинского общества

This article analyzes women’s integration into the Armed Forces of Ukraine from a liberal feminist point of view, incorporating sociological and gender perspectives. The phenomenon of vertical and horizontal gender segregation and gender discrimination in the Armed Forces is described as a problem of the labor market, based on both the Soviet legacy and global trends of women’s participation in the military. However, the growing number of military women in the contract service is primarily associated with the reluctance of men to hold low-paid positions. Women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine participate mostly in the so-called feminized professions: nursing, finance, logistics, and communications. Women in the military also face gender discrimination and prejudice. The infrastructure of the Ukrainian military is designed for the needs of men and thus excludes women with their specific needs from the army.In this article we consider the opportunities and challenges around the implementation of the gender policy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Formally, the Ukrainian army had developed a gender policy that meets the national gender policy and attempts to guarantee equal rights for all persons, regardless of sex, in military life. However, there is resistance to the realistic implementation of the declared policy of equal rights and opportunities for women and men. The article is based on the findings of the “Invisible Battalion” project (conducted in 2015–2016), which ooked at the roles women played in the Antiterrorist Operation (ATO ) in the Donbas region and their fight for equal rights and opportunities in Ukraine. DOI: 10.25285/2078-1938-2018-10-2-13-33

Ukrainian Military Casualties in the XVII Century: European Context

The article clarifies that the persistent struggle of the Ukrainian people for its own statehood and the confrontation between civilizations in Eastern Europe, with Ukraine at the center, were the maincauses of unprecedentedly high casualties of Ukraine in the XVII century. According to our estimates, the lethal military casualties in the wars on the territory of Ukraine in the XVII century amount to atleast 600,000, including 220,000 of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Comparison with the casualties of Austrian and French armies – as the most powerful armies in Europe at that time – showed that, having 3,5 times less population than in France and 2,5 times less than in Austria, in the wars of the XVII century Ukraine has lost almost equal number of soldiers as the French and a third more than the Austrians.

The Network of Ukrainian Military Libraries: the Current State and Prospects of Entry in the Social Communicative Space

The Network of Ukrainian Military Libraries: the Current State and Prospects of Entry in the Social Communicative Space

Ukraina rahvusväeosade loomine Vene armees 1917. aastal [The Creation of Ukrainian National Military Units Within the Russian Army in 1917

Th is article is devoted to the process of the formation of Ukrainian national units within the Russian Army aft er the February revolution. In February 1917, the monarchy was overthrown in Russia and the Provisional Government came to power. The revolutionary wave touched the Russian army, where almost four million Ukrainians were serving at the time. On 9 March, the great meeting of Ukrainian officers and soldiers of the Kyiv garrison took place. They decided to consider themselves to be the Ukrainian Military Council, and in such status to direct an official request to the Provisional Government in Petrograd demanding autonomy for Ukraine. Within a week, the Ukrainian Military Club named aft er Hetman Pavlo Polubotok was founded in Kyiv. It took over the organization of their “own national army, the powerful military force, without which one cannot think of obtaining the full freedom of Ukraine”. Due to the appeal of the Polubotko Club members, Ukrainian soldiers initiated the creation of various self-gathered organisations on all fronts, armies and larger garrisons in the rear area. On 18 April 1917, more than 3,000 soldiers of the Kyiv redeployment depot declared themselves to be the 1st Ukrainian Cossack regiment named aft er Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. But the Russian command refused to recognise the regiment, having accused its soldiers of intentionally staying in the far rear zone and thus trying to avoid participation in hostilities. However, three days later, under pressure from the revolutionary situation, it was forced to agree to the formation of a 500-man Ukrainian volunteer military unit. In order to unite and channel the powerful but largely spontaneous Ukrainian patriotic movement in the Russian army, the 1st Ukrainian Military Congress was held in Kyiv on 5–8 May 1917. It was attended by over 700 delegates, representing nearly one million soldiers. The delegates demanded autonomy for Ukraine within a federal Russian state as well as the “immediate nationalization of the army on the nationalterritorial principle”. Additionally, they demanded the Black Sea Fleet be replenished in future only by Ukrainians. Congress also raised the question of the introduction of the Ukrainian command language in the army. It should be used in national military units and schools.