Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army explained

Flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Use:	000000
Adoption:	April 1941 (by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists)
Proportion:	2:3
Design:	A horizontal bicolour of black and red

The flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainian: Прапор УПА|translit=Prapor UPA), also known as the red-and-black flag (Ukrainian: Червоно-чорний прапор|translit=Chervono-chornyi prapor|link=no), is a flag previously used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Bandera wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and now used by various Ukrainian nationalist organizations and parties, including UNA-UNSO, Right Sector, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists and others.

History

The revolutionary wing of the OUN, which was also called the OUN-B, or the Banderites, because it was headed by Stepan Bandera, sought to develop its own symbolism in order to differ from the OUN-M of Andriy Melnyk, which used the blue flag of the OUN and the coat of arms with a golden trident with a sword. The OUN-B approved its official red and black emblem, and at the II Great Gathering of the OUN in April 1941 decided to abandon the trident with a sword and use only "the national Trident of Volodymyr the Great in the form introduced by the Central Rada" and "a separate organizational flag of black and red colors. The way of life and the mandatory proportions will be adopted by a separate commission."^[1] However, due to the outbreak of World War II, this commission never met.^[2]

The flag consists of two colors: red and black. The black color symbolizes the black earth ("Chornozem") that Ukraine is synonymous for, and the red color represents blood spilled for Ukraine.^[3]

The flag received a lot of usage after the Independence of Ukraine in 1991, where it became a common symbol of Ukrainian nationalists. It has also been frequently used as a military symbol and unofficial war flag during the Russo-Ukrainian War.^[4]

Usage

• A ribbon imitating the flag of the OUN-B is present on the flag of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
• On 30 March 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine registered a bill "On the Flag of National Dignity", which provides for the installation of a flag on government buildings, schools, institutes, enterprises nine times a year during the celebration of certain memorable dates in order to honor "heroes who made a significant contribution to the struggle for independence of Ukraine". This bill also provides for the technical justification and rules for the installation of the flag.^[5]
• On 24 May 2020, near the building of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, during the "Stop Revenge" action, employees of a contractor fenced off a place near the Regional State Administration and began preparatory work to install a 12-meter flagpole for the red-black flag.^[6] The head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional council Svyatoslav Oliynyk called these actions a provocation.^[7] On 28 May 2020, four veterans of the War in Donbas solemnly raised the flag^[8] as a symbol of the struggle of the Ukrainian people for independence at an action initiated by the headquarters of the "Movement of Resistance to Surrender". The flagpole with the flag was installed on the basis of Agreement No. 116/20М dated 15 May 2020, between the KP "City Improvement Control Department" of the Dnipro City Council and the "Infoprostir" Social Technologies Center public organization.

Notes and References

1. http://www.history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/OUN1941/9.pdf OUN1941/9
2. Web site: "Прапор червоно-чорний - це наше знамено…". Яким був стяг УПА? . 18 October 2013.
3. http://nation.org.ua/files/File/Biblioteka/Vyhovni_zakony_OUN.doc Archived copy
4. Web site: Lupton . Andrew . 4 March 2022 . Why is the red and black flag, seen at rallies in support of Ukraine, causing such a stir? . CBC.
5. Web site: Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України .
6. News: Без партійних прапорів і в масках: у Дніпрі та Запоріжжі відбулися акції «Стоп реванш». Радіо Свобода. 24 May 2020 . 2020-08-21. uk . Свобода . Радіо .
7. News: Дніпро: в облраді назвали «провокацією» встановлення флагштоку для червоно-чорного прапора. Радіо Свобода. 25 May 2020 . 2020-08-21. uk . Свобода . Радіо .
8. News: У Дніпрі поблизу ОДА активісти встановили 12-метрову щоглу з червоно-чорним прапором. Радіо Свобода. 28 May 2020 . 2020-08-21. uk . Свобода . Радіо .