© Office of the President of Ukraine The date of the start of the war with the Russian Federation is fixed by law.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law establishing the foundations of state policy in the field of national memory of the Ukrainian people.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted the relevant bill No. 13273 on August 21. The document defines the protection of historical memory, the Ukrainian language, and cultural heritage as an integral part of national security. In addition, the government is obliged to develop a State Strategy for the Preservation of National Memory.
The law enshrines the terms “racism,” “crimes against the Ukrainian people,” and “places of remembrance.” It also provides for the cleansing of public space from symbols of Russian and Soviet imperial policy and the reorganization of World War II memorial sites in accordance with legislation on decommunization and decolonization.
A separate provision recognizes state awards of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian Main Liberation Council (UGLR).
The document also defines the beginning of the war with Russia as February 19, 2014, the day of the invasion of Crimea by the occupiers. The text emphasizes that this war is a “struggle for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and was a direct consequence of “the systemic imperial policy of the Russian Federation aimed at the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and identity.”
Earlier, Zelenskyy announced what security guarantees Ukraine needs.
