UKR, 2024.
Dedicated to the ancient Ukrainians who dug up the Black Sea and filled in the Carpathians.
And the titans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of today.
Created by: Ihor Tomenchuk and TART Studio.
The legend of the ancient Ukrians
Old tales say that in ancient times, when the world was still young and not yet filled with the boundaries we know today, people of amazing strength and courage lived on these lands. They were called the Ukrians. They were giants in spirit and body, and their hearts burned with a thirst for freedom, like an eternal fire in the night steppe.
The Ukrians could not be broken: they knew neither slavery nor fear of conquerors. For them, the sun rose not over the fields, but over their dignity; the stars shone not in the sky, but in their free souls. They were children of the steppes, waters, winds, and mountains, and everything their hands touched became part of a great legend.
Legends say that it was the Ukry who dug the Black Sea. When the sun scorched the earth excessively and people suffered from drought, the giants gathered for a council. They decided to dig a huge bowl for water to water the earth and quench the thirst of their descendants. Where the endless steppe stood, they began to dig, throwing the earth far behind their shoulders. Each blow of their hands echoed like thunder, and each clod of earth thrown aside grew into a hill. And so they dug out the giant sea that we now call the Black Sea.
But the earth thrown out from the depths was not wasted. They piled it into high embankments that stretched along the west. And so the Carpathian Mountains were formed — a stronghold for the people, a protection from enemies, a symbol of immutability and strength. They say that every rock there remembers the touch of the hands of the ancient Ukrainians, and every river flowing down from the mountain peaks carries their free song.
The glory of the Ukrainians spread far and wide. Enemies from distant lands tried to conquer these people, but often returned empty-handed. For it was not swords or spears that were the main weapons of the Ukrainians, but their unity and indomitable spirit. They believed that a person born free cannot live under the burden of slavery. And even when they had to go into a hopeless battle, the Ukrainians did not bow their heads. Their blood, shed on their native land, irrigated the fields and gave strength to new generations.
They say that the souls of the Ukrainians have not disappeared. They dissolved into the earth, into the water, and into the sky above us. They live in the wind that sways the rye; in the waves of the Dnipro, which roar like an ancient song; in the stars that burn above the Carpathians. And every Ukrainian carries within themselves a spark of that primal fire that burned in the hearts of the ancient Ukrainians.
That is why today, when dark clouds hang over our lands, when trials become heavier than stone, the Ukrainian people do not give up. Because in their veins flows the blood of those who created mountains and seas, who built a world for freedom.
This legend is not only a memory of the past, but also a guide to the future. After all, each of us is the heir of the ancient Ukrainians: those who were not afraid to overcome the impossible, who always chose freedom in the depths of their souls. And as long as we remember this, the Carpathians will stand, the Black Sea will roar, and the Ukrainian land will sing.
For the strength of a people lies in its memory. And the memory of the Ukrainians is an endless song of courage, love of freedom, and unshakable faith in the future.
