Media Preview of UNR Army Artifacts from Canada at Kyiv Museum: Flags, Passport and Bugle
On April 30 at 10:00 AM, journalists will be shown — for the first time — unique artifacts from the liberation struggle of 1917–1921, preserved for decades by the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The event is organized by the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation and the museum as part of preparations for the exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura.”
What Returned from Canada
In total, more than 1,500 items and 123 boxes of archival materials — documents and photographs preserved for decades by the Ukrainian diaspora — have been returned from Canada to Ukraine. The collection survived thanks to the Ukrainian Military Historical Museum and the archives of the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences in Canada.
These artifacts are not merely museum objects but direct testimonies to Ukraine’s struggle for statehood in the twentieth century. For those who were forced to leave Ukraine, this work was not only scholarly but a form of resistance and preservation of the memory of the liberation struggle abroad. The collection was returned in December 2025.
What Journalists Will See
Journalists will be shown, for the first time, relics that reveal the stories of Ukraine’s struggle for independence in the twentieth century:
- the standard-flag of the Second Uman Regiment of the Mounted Zaporozhians of the Separate Cavalry Division of the UNR Army;
- pennants from Symon Petliura’s automobile;
- the passport of the Ukrainian People’s Republic issued to Colonel Oleksandr Vyshnivsky of the UNR Army;
- drawings by Mykola Bytynsky from the album “The Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the Liberation Struggle of 1917–1921. Uniforms”;
- the regimental bugle of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Kyiv Rifle Division of the UNR Army.
The “PATH OF HEROES” Exhibition and Memorandum Signing
The museum is currently preparing for the large-scale exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura,” scheduled to open at the end of May. The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Symon Petliura — Head of the UNR Directorate and Supreme Commander of the UNR Army.
During the event, a Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed between the museum and the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation. The Foundation already has experience organizing thematic exhibition projects — as we previously reported, an exhibition “40 Events of the Euromaidan” was held in central Kyiv.
Event Participants
The following will take part in the event:
- Olena Zemlyаna, Director General of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine;
- Bohdan Patrilyak, curator of the exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura”;
- Artem Mykolaichuk, Chairman of the Board of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation;
- Yaryna Yasynievych, Programme Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
The event will take place on April 30, 2026 at 10:00 AM at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (Kyiv, 2 Volodymyrska Street).
