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Ukraine Quotes

“Як умру, то поховайте Мене на могилі, Серед степу широкого, На Вкраїні милій, Щоб лани широкополі, І Дніпро, і кручі Було видно, було чути, Як реве ревучий. Як понесе з України У синєє море Кров ворожу... отойді я І лани, і гори — Все покину і полину До самого Бога Молитися... а до того Я не знаю Бога. Поховайте та вставайте, Кайдани порвіте І вражою злою кров’ю Волю окропіте. І мене в сем’ї великій, В сем’ї вольній, новій, Не забудьте пом’янути Незлим тихим словом.”

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Book:Кобзар
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“Навіть якщо сьогодні нам здається, що сенсу немає, то в майбутньому, коли ми відбудовуватимемо Україну, ми віднайдемо його. Я дуже сподіваюся, що головними в наших емоціях тоді буде емоція любові й бажання навіть у напівзруйнованій країні вирощувати квіти.”

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Book:Емоційні гойдалки війни. Роздуми психотерапевта про війну
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“I took my own and Kolya’s two-day ration of bread and lard to the hospital,” the boy said, with unsettling calm beyond his years. “We must do everything we can to save him. If he dies, he won’t need food anymore.” Danilo’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh God, how could you let this happen?” he thought bitterly. “Is it fair to take a piece from one starving child to give it to another?” He pulled his son’s head to his chest. “You’re probably right,” he said quietly. After a while, he returned from the pantry with an unusually full bucket of cornmeal and two bundles. “Mother,” Danilo said to his mother-in-law, handing her the food, “besides the usual bread, bake a few pies with lard and pumpkin—for Kolya… and for Peter.” — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Three Context note: Set during the Holodomor, this scene captures the impossible moral choices faced by families during the man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine. A child’s stark logic forces adults to confront the inhuman calculus of survival—where compassion meant redistributing hunger, and saving one life could mean endangering another.”

SacrificeSurvivalHistorical FictionParents And ChildrenUkraineStarvationFamineHolodomorMoral DilemmasHuman Cost
Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга третя. Несправджені сподівання.: Все буде Голодомор.
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“«Жизнь прожила хорошую, за все спасибо. А теперь вот до войны дошли. Танки на границе. Придут ли? Выстрелить, батюшка, в них не смогу. Так выстрелить, чтобы убить и дальше жить, ― не смогу. Потому что вроде свои же, русские. Но и землю им отдать тоже нельзя. Подорвусь если с какой гранатой на поясе, чтобы и танк, и я, и не видеть после ничего… Грех ли это?» Отец Петр вздыхает, осеняя себя и Марию крестным знамением. Говорит: «Бог управит. Управит. На Него уповаем». Март 2014.”

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Author:Елена Стяжкина
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“Первые потери появились и среди российских солдат — на кладбище под Псковом появились свежие могилы десантников, убитых на востоке Украины. Скрывать участие российской армии, по сути, было уже невозможно, но Владимир Путин продолжал отрицать очевидное. В телефонном разговоре с Ангелой Меркель он уверял, что под Донецком только солдаты, которые ушли в отпуск. «Хорошо, а они что, у вас в отпуск прямо с оружием и военной техникой уходят?» — восклицала канцлер. «Ой, вы знаете, у нас в стране такое воровство, такая коррупция. Эта техника наверняка украдена со складов», — не смущаясь, ответил Путин. Меркель повесила трубку. При этом Путин вовсе не считал, что он кого-то обманывает: солдаты, по его мнению, знали, на что шли. 10 сентября, через неделю после окончания боев под Иловайском, он пошел в церковь и, по его словам, «поставил свечки за тех, кто пострадал, защищая людей в Новороссии». Тем самым он отдал дань памяти тех солдат, участие которых в войне Россия до сих пор не признает. Семьям убитых военных выплатили компенсации — при условии, что они не будут разговаривать с журналистами.”

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Book:Вся кремлевская рать: Краткая история современной России
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“Я не принимал участие ни в каких торжественных мероприятиях [14.10.2016], ни в каких шествиях, парадах. Кстати, мне очень непонятно, чего это вдруг парад "Азова" ― это "парад патриотов"? Тогда парад "Свободы" ― это парад кого... барабанов? Я не пошел ни туда, ни сюда, а вместе со своей семьей сегодня поехал по кладбищам, где похоронены пацаны. Я не патриот? Я разговаривал с семьей на Лесном кладбище, где похоронен боец "Азова" с позывным "Вальтер". Я стоял с его вдовой, с его дочерью, с его братом и женой брата. И никого там больше не было. Ни барабанов, ни факелов. Там вообще никого не было.”

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Author:Георгий Тука
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“I’ve already learned the poem! I have! Listen!” And five-year-old Peter recited it boldly, without a single pause. His parents were stunned. Danylo considered himself a well-educated man. He had once completed a parish school, later pursued self-education diligently, and through natural intelligence and perseverance had become a skilled accountant. Yet to memorize such a poem casually, in play, having heard only fragments of it? No — such heights had always been beyond him. With a mingled feeling of joy, pride, and astonishment, the father studied his son. For the first time, he saw in this mischievous boy an heir — one who had inherited the best traits of his ancestors and might one day surpass even his boldest expectations. “Maria,” Danylo said to his wife, “let’s send Peter to school, even if it’s still early — let him study alongside his older brother Nick. He’s capable, he’s bright, he’ll manage. After all, no one knows what the future may bring.” — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One Context note: In a fragile post-war society where education was uncertain and the future unpredictable, a father recognizes early brilliance in his son — a moment when hope quietly overcomes fear, and destiny begins to take shape.”

HopeLearningChildhoodComing Of AgeHistorical FictionUkraineEarly 20th CenturyParental ExpectationsGifted ChildIntellectual Awakening
Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
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“The hospital’s long-time cook, Iryna, mechanically peeled potatoes as usual — breakfast had to be prepared for the patients. Work was work, and she was now the only breadwinner in her family. Yet today her thoughts were entirely at home. There, her pregnant daughter Maria had been struck down by typhus and had lain alone in critical condition for a week. To make matters worse, no one was with her. Normally, Iryna would visit her sick daughter during the day. But today the hospital was in emergency mode — another convoy of wounded from the civil war had arrived. A mother’s heart was tearing itself toward her child… though what could she really do? Wiping her hands on a towel, Iryna approached the small icon depicting the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus. She knelt, folded her hands to her chest, fixed her gaze on the immaculate face of the Mother of God — and began to pray. — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One Context note: Set during the chaos of the Ukrainian Civil War and a typhus epidemic, this scene shows the quiet suffering of civilians. While the hospital is overwhelmed with wounded, a mother torn between duty and fear turns to faith — highlighting the human cost of war beyond the battlefield.”

WarFaithPrayerMotherhoodCivil WarHistorical FictionUkraineEpidemicsHospitalHuman Resilience
Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
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“Soon after the birth, Maria was shown her son. He was no longer crying. The baby was tiny, frail, his skin wrinkled — yet his bright, restless eyes darted stubbornly in every direction, as if he were trying to take in this vast, unfamiliar, and beautiful world as quickly as possible. “You did well, Maria! You have a son! You did well!” Irina kissed her daughter’s hand joyfully. “Everything will be all right now.” Seeing her child, Maria felt relief wash over her. She longed to take him into her arms, to press him to her chest — but the baby was taken away. After the necessary procedures, the midwife quietly pulled Irina aside. “Breastfeeding is dangerous,” she whispered. “The baby could contract typhus. But he is premature, weak — and if he does not receive colostrum now, I fear he will not survive. The previous woman gave birth a week ago and has no colostrum left. I believe we must take the risk: newborns contract infection from sick mothers in only about a third of cases.” Irina looked at her grandson lying in her arms. He jerked his tiny hands and feet at random — then smiled clumsily. “God’s will be done,” she said firmly. “A child must drink his mother’s milk.” When the alcohol-sterilized breast was offered to the baby, it turned out his mouth was too small to take the nipple. Fortunately, the other breast was smaller — and the boy latched on with determined urgency. Holding the flesh of her flesh to her chest, feeling her son’s gentle sucking, Maria experienced a moment of pure euphoria. The terrible illness receded, making way for the overwhelming joy of motherhood. Neither Maria nor the newborn knew of the danger of infection. They were simply following the ancient law of nature. And Irina spent the rest of the day in prayer, asking God to spare two souls — her daughter and her grandson. — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book One Context note: During the Ukrainian Civil War of 1920, amid epidemics, hunger, and collapsing authority, a premature child is born into a world where survival depends on instinct, faith, and impossible choices. This moment captures motherhood and mercy standing against historical catastrophe.”

FaithMotherhoodCivil WarHistorical FictionUkraineEpidemicsChildbirthMother And ChildMoral ChoiceEarly 20th Century
Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга перша. Перші кроки до світла та назад: Дитинство та занурення в ГУЛАГ.
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“Last night I dreamt Moses and I were rowing underwater. We could breathe and talk to one another. We rowed past schools of fish and sea anemones and Moses named them for me.” —Jules Finn”

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Book:The Belief in Angels
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“– All strong independent farmers are driven into unbearable conditions. Sooner or later, following the Party’s orders, they will come and eliminate us as a class — within an hour.”

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Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга друга. Непрості дороги до пекла: Виживання в умовах насильства.
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“– Independent farmers are arrested and deported somewhere to the Urals or Siberia. I fear we may be the next to be labeled ‘kulaks’. — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two Context note: During the forced collectivization in the USSR, millions of peasants were forcibly deported to remote regions such as Siberia and the Urals as part of state repression against on wealthy peasants (nicknamed "kulaks" by the Soviet authorities).”

Soviet UnionTotalitarianismPeasantsUkraineClass WarfarePolitical ViolenceCollectivization1930 SState TerrorismRepression Books
Book:Камень. Биографический роман. Книга вторая. Непростые дороги в ад: Выживание в условиях насилия
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“That’s how we’ve ended up,” Ivan said with a bitter smile. “We work, as in the proverb: Enough trading, father — there’s no change left to give. ‘Why did they suddenly increase the grain procurement plan?’ Vasyl protested. ‘Everything seems the same — but it isn’t,’ Danylo explained. ‘The status of our land has changed, and so has the status of the collective farmers. What grew last year is now taxed differently. Even the poor peasants who joined the collective are no longer considered poor — and the taxes rise accordingly.’ ‘Clever,’ Ivan muttered angrily. ‘They’ve laid out their accounting traps well.’ — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Two Context note: In Soviet collective farms, taxes and grain quotas were often increased not because of real agricultural growth, but due to bureaucratic reclassification. Accounting became a tool of pressure that made normal farming impossible.”

InjusticeBureaucracyFarmingPeasantsUkraine1930sSoviet HistoryCollectivizationState TerrorFarming Economy
Book:Камінь. Біографічний роман. Книга друга. Непрості дороги до пекла: Виживання в умовах насильства.
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“I have been watching the Democrats run the USA for four years. The police are still corrupt and incompetent, their ‘green’ energy policy is toxic, workplace health and safety enforcement through OSHA is a ‘ghost’, Boeing is a global embarrassment, millions of people are being denied their eligible disability benefits through feeble excuses, mental illness is a national crisis, cities have filled up with the homeless, housing is out of reach to the masses, rents have gone astronomical, their proxy wars have us on the edge of the next nuclear disaster, their unemployment numbers are fraudulent because they do not count the long term unemployed or the disabled, unemployment benefits are cut off to the long term unemployed, illegal immigration went crazy during their term, and so on. I will be using my 2024 USA vote for positive change and that will not be coming from another four years of the Democrats.”

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Author:Steven Magee
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“Сейчас школьники многих, если не всех, школ Москвы пишут поздравительные открытки и письма поддержки своим однолеткам из Донецка и Луганска, а в самих Донецке и Луганске дети рисуют рисунки-подарки для "бойцов ополчения", то есть для боевиков, воюющих с украинской армией. Дети, живущие в других регионах Украины, тоже рисуют патриотические рисунки-подарки для бойцов украинской армии и добровольцев. Когда-нибудь рисунки детей, живущих сейчас по разные стороны от линии фронта, будут выставлены в одном музее. Очень хочется, чтобы это время наступило быстрее.”

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Book:2014. Хроника года: Блоги. Колонки. Дневники
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“To celebrate the Russian/Ukrainian partnership, in 1954 the 300th anniversary of the Pereiaslav Treaty was marked throughout the Soviet Union in an unusually grandiose manner. In addition to numerous festivities, myriad publications, and countless speeches, the Central Committee of the all-union party even issued thirteen "thesis", which argued the irreversibility of the "everlasting union" of the Ukrainians and the Russians: "The experience of history has shown that the way of fraternal union and alliance chosen by the Russians and Ukrainians was the only true way. The union of two great Slavic peoples multiplied their strength in the common struggle against all external foes, against serf owners and the bourgeoisie, again tsarism and capitalist slavery. The unshakeable friendship of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples has grown and strengthened in this struggle." To emphasize the point that the union with Moscow brought the Ukrainians great benefits, the Pereiaslav anniversary was crowned by the Russian republic's ceding of Crimea to Ukraine "as a token of friendship of the Russian people." But the "gift" of the Crimea was far less altruistic than it seemed. First, because the peninsula was the historic homeland of the Crimean Tatars whom Stalin had expelled during the Second World War, the Russians did not have the moral right to give it away nor did the Ukrainians have the right to accept it. Second, because of its proximity and economic dependence on Ukraine, the Crimea's links with Ukraine were naturally greater than with Russia. Finally, the annexation of the Crimea saddled Ukraine with economic and political problems. The deportation of the Tatars in 1944 had created economic chaos in the region and it was Kiev's budget that had to make up loses. More important was the fact that, according to the 1959 census, about 860,000 Russians and only 260,000 Ukrainians lived in the Crimea. Although Kiev attempted to bring more Ukrainians into the region after 1954, the Russians, many of whom were especially adamant in rejecting any form of Ukrainization, remained the overwhelming majority. As a result, the Crimean "gift" increased considerably the number of Russians in the Ukrainian republic. In this regard, it certainly was an appropriate way of marking the Pereiaslav Treaty.”

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Book:Ukraine: A History
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“В феврале 2015 года, когда отмечалось 26-летие вывода советских войск из Афганистана, Путин признается, что прекрасно понимает Брежнева: «Сейчас, когда годы проходят и когда становятся известными все больше фактов, мы понимаем лучше и лучше, что послужило тогда поводом и причиной для ввода советских войск в Афганистан. Конечно, ошибок было очень много, но были и реальные угрозы, которые в то время советское руководство пыталось купировать вводом войск в Афганистан». Символично, что именно ветераны афганской войны сыграют важнейшую роль в последующих событиях в Крыму.”

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Book:Вся кремлевская рать: Краткая история современной России
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“…Україна ж не може жити, не володіючи Кримом, це буде якийсь тулуб без ніг. Крим має належати Україні, на яких умовах, це байдуже, чи буде це повне злиття, чи широка автономія, останнє повинно залежати від бажання самих кримців, але нам потрібно бути цілком убезпеченими від ворожих дій з боку Криму. У сенсі ж економічному Крим фактично не може існувати без нас.”

PoliticsEconomicsUkraineCrimea
Book:Спогади. Кінець 1917 – грудень 1918
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“of course they don't see the alienation. they don't see the decadence and degeneracy. they do not see how the meaninglessness of European life leads to not only depression, but drug addiction. Drug addiction of both illegal and also legal drugs... antidepressants and such medications. they don't see the alienation of the people within generations and from each other. they don't see how it is almost impossible now for young men and young women to come together and form strong, stable romantic and emotional bonds that will lead to flourishing families. They don't see that. They don't see it at all.”

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Author:Gonzalo Lira
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“It should by now be clear to Americans that any Power, whether Napoleonic France or Hitlerian Germany or some other madly ambitious power of the future, which goes on the warpath in Europe and attempts to dominate that Continent, automatically endangers the peace and security of the rest of the world and is sure, sooner or later, to involve the United States in a horribly costly overseas conflict.”

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Book:Wartime Mission In Spain 1942-1945
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“Racism will continue to thrive until we see and threat ourselves as humans. Black people stuck in Ukraine are being subjected to racism even as they attempt to flee to safety in Poland during a time of war. Black people are treated with complete and utter contempt by white supremacists all over the world. We should all be condemning this barbaric act.”

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Author:Olawale Daniel
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“For years, the suspicion that Mr. Putin has a secret fortune has intrigued scholars, industry analysts, opposition figures, journalists and intelligence agencies but defied their efforts to uncover it. Numbers are thrown around suggesting that Mr. Putin may control $40 billion or even $70 billion, in theory making him the richest head of state in world history. For all the rumors and speculation, though, there has been little if any hard evidence, and Gunvor has adamantly denied any financial ties to Mr. Putin and repeated that denial on Friday. But Mr. Obama’s response to the Ukraine crisis, while derided by critics as slow and weak, has reinvigorated a 15-year global hunt for Mr. Putin’s hidden wealth. Now, as the Obama administration prepares to announce another round of sanctions as early as Monday targeting Russians it considers part of Mr. Putin’s financial circle, it is sending a not-very-subtle message that it thinks it knows where the Russian leader has his money, and that he could ultimately be targeted directly or indirectly. “It’s something that could be done that would send a very clear signal of taking the gloves off and not just dance around it,” said Juan C. Zarate, a White House counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush who helped pioneer the government’s modern financial campaign techniques to choke off terrorist money.”

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Author:Peter Baker
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“По словам очевидцев, на закрытой встрече [в апреле 2008 г.] Путин вспылил, когда речь зашла об Украине. «Украина — это вообще не государство! — заявил он Джорджу Бушу. — Часть ее территорий — это Восточная Европа, а часть, и значительная, подарена нами!» Закончил свою небольшую речь Путин фразой «Если Украина уйдет в НАТО, то уйдет без Крыма и Востока — она просто распадется». На эту угрозу Путина тогда мало кто обратил внимание, потому что все следили за тлеющими противоречиями между Москвой и Тбилиси. О том, что реальный конфликт может вспыхнуть между Россией и Украиной, никто всерьез не верил.”

RussiaAggressionImperialismPutinUkraine
Book:Вся кремлевская рать: Краткая история современной России
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“During the Russia-NATO Council session in Bucharest in April 2008, Putin called Ukraine “a complex state formation. If the NATO issue is added there,” he said, “along with other problems, this may bring Ukraine to the verge of existence as a sovereign state.” Later during the same summit, in a discussion with U.S. President George Bush, Putin said that Ukraine was “not a real country.” This is clearly light-years away from the “common principles” laid down in the Founding Act, signed by Russia and the members of NATO in 1997, in which Russia had recognized the inherent right of all countries “to choose the means to ensure their own security.” Putin’s declaration was a scarcely veiled threat that Russia would intervene if Ukraine decided to join NATO. Doubts on Ukraine’s viability as a sovereign state were expressed on many occasions by leading Russians. On March 16, 2009, the Kremlin ideologue Gleb Pavlovsky wrote in the Russkiy Zhurnal, a Russian online magazine of which he is the owner, an article titled: “Will Ukraine Lose Its Sovereignty?” This article was followed four days later by an interview with Sergey Karaganov, the éminence grise of the Russian foreign policy community and head of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy. This article had the title: “No One Needs Monsters. Desovereignization of Ukraine.” Karaganov depicted Ukraine as a failed state that was in a process of “passive desovereignization.” The process was, however, not only “passive.” Karaganov warned that “Russia will not want to see absolutely ungovernable territories close by.” Yuriy Shcherbak, former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, wrote in response: “In military language it is called the ideological-propagandistic support of the future operation on capturing the territory of a sovereign state.” In fact, Russian politicians continued to denounce Ukraine as an “artificial” country that had no right to exist. At the height of the financial crisis Valery Fadeyev, editor of the political journal Ekspert, wrote: “Ukraine is cheap, we can buy it.” It sounded less aggressive, almost as a joke, but it expressed the same contempt for Russia’s neighbor and its status as an independent, sovereign state [239―40].”

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Book:Putin's Wars: The Rise of Russia's New Imperialism
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“У Виктора Януковича и Владимира Путина была длинная совместная история: еще в 2004 году Путин был уверен, что сделает Януковича президентом Украины. Близко знавший Януковича чиновник говорит, что еще тогда Янукович попросил у Путина российский паспорт. На случай, если придется экстренно убегать из страны. Что ответил Путин, неизвестно.”

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Book:Вся кремлевская рать: Краткая история современной России
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“By the standards of war, Maria was a useless human being. They didn’t need bookkeepers or painters of pimpled faces at the front. Sometimes Maria would convince herself that making people beautiful for their burial was something, but what burials will there be if nuclear winter destroys everyone made-up or not very? How will anyone be buried if the whole Earth becomes one mass grave, and beauty is forgotten, an impossibility?”

WarUkraineUkraine War
Book:Cecil the Lion Had to Die
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“Завтра все буде інакше, завтра все буде, як завжди, буде, як раніше: розмірені дні, вдома, де кожен займається своїм, де все на своїх місцях, де немає нічого зайвого й непотрібного. Ранки, наповнені хатніми клопотами, робота, до якої звикаєш, як до одягу: не тисне, не заважає, носиться, доки носиться. Тихі вечори, темні ночі. Стільки в усьому цьому, виявляється, втіхи, стільки тепла. Варто було потрапити сюди, в середину пекла, аби відчути, як багато ти мав і як багато втратив.”

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Book:Інтернат
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