On the eve of the Kruty Heroes Remembrance Day, a thematic lecture by Anton Drobovych was held at the War Museum for cadets of the Military Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technologies named after the Heroes of Kruty.
The event was dedicated to the heroic and, at the same time, tragic page of our history—the battle near Kruty, which took place on January 29, 1918. This date is also the Day of the Military Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technologies named after the Heroes of Kruty.
"The Role of Kruty Heroes in the Nation-Building of Ukrainians" is the title chosen for the lecture by philosopher and historian Anton Drobovych. The event participants took an active part in discussing the battle, paying special attention to revealing its various aspects.
The speaker also covered in detail the historical background and sentiments of various social clusters, dwelled in more detail on the previous battles of the defenders of Ukrainian statehood against the Bolsheviks, and directly described the battle of Kruty and its consequences: "The Kruty warriors accomplished their main task—they stopped Muravyov’s attack on Kyiv and enabled the Ukrainian delegation to conclude the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and declare their subjectness."
Anton emphasized that at that time, there were about 20,000 non-disabled veterans of the First World War in Kyiv who could have but did not join the defense of Ukrainian independence. The self-sacrifice of Kyiv’s youth greatly impressed all of Ukraine and "went into the history of the 20th century as a reminder to all of us that it is possible to fight, to fight effectively, and the enemy is not as terrible as the imagination paints him. One must be able to defend one’s freedom and state with weapons in hand; there is simply no other option than to fight."
After the lecture, the Military Institute of Telecommunication and Information Technologies named after the Heroes of Kruty cadets did not hide their admiration for the lecturer’s story. The audience had many questions about the history of the Battle of Kruty and the present because, once again, we are fighting for our state with weapons in our hands.