Turning the pages back...

March 5, 1950

March 5 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Brig. Gen. Roman Shukhevych, supreme commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), who died in the town of Bilohorscha, outside of Lviv, during combat with special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of Soviet Ukraine.

Following is an excerpt from the news report of Shukhevych's death that was published on the front page of The Ukrainian Weekly on October 30, 1950, months after his demise, when the information became known abroad.

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Gen. Taras Chuprynka [the story rendered the last name as Tschuprynka], commander of the Ukrainian Underground Army fighting Red oppression in Ukraine was killed in battle by the Russians.

Taras Chuprynka was the revolutionary pseudonym for Roman Shukhevych, born in 1907 in Ukraine. Long a brilliant leader and fighter against the foes of Ukraine, he won his greatest glory as commander of the famed UPA.

As reported by the major press services of the world, Gen. Chuprynka-Shukhevych was slain in combat when the Russians attacked the village of Bilohorscha. At the time the general's headquarters were located there.

Gen. Chuprynka-Shukhevych was elected commander of the Ukrainian Underground Army during the second half of 1943. He was also instrumental in aiding to form the Ukrainian National Council a short time later. Born the son of a prominent Lviv attorney, Gen. Chuprynka-Shukhevych suffered far more than it would seem humanly possible under the Reds.

His entire family was murdered or deported by the Communists. His two children were sent into special Soviet youth camps, where they were supposed to be raised for the glory of the state.

News received from the underground front in Ukraine tells of redoubled efforts on the part of the UPA to avenge the death of its foremost leader. Despite the renewed purges and attacks by the Communists, the underground movement is continuing to grow. A general has fallen, but the cause has risen still higher in the minds of all free Ukrainians.

Col. Wasyl Kowal, long a close friend and organizer of the UPA, was chosen as the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Underground Army following the news of Chuprynka's death.

Requiem masses and various other manifestations of sorrow are being celebrated in honor of the late general throughout the entire free world. A man who has fought and died for freedom will never die in vain. The world will one day come to realize the greatness of such men as Gen. Taras Chuprynka and perhaps be grateful.

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This year, to mark the 50th anniversary of his death, Ukrainian communities around the world are marking the 50th anniversary of Roman Shukhevych's death with appropriate programs and memorial gatherings. The Ukrainian World Congress issued a statement calling Shukhevych "a rare genius in modern insurgent warfare, ... one who opposed both the Hitlerite-German and Bolshevik-Russian occupations," and urging Ukrainians to honor the memory of this "great son of the Ukrainian nation."

Source: "Famed UPA general killed by Reds; Ukrainians mourn death of General Chuprynka," The Ukrainian Weekly, October 30, 1950; "Ukrainian community to mark 50th anniversary of the heroic death of Roman Shukhevych," The Ukrainian Weekly, February 20, 2000 (Vol. LXVIII, No 8).

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 5, 2000, No. 10, Vol. LXVIII

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