
Today, October 6, marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of UPA Deputy Commander-in-Chief Roman Kravchuk. An activist of the Ukrainian liberation movement was born in the Lviv region into a Ukrainian patriotic teacher’s family. From a young age he was fascinated by the ideas of the UVO, later joined the OUN, where he took an active part in the development of the underground in the Zolochiv region.
Since the late 1930s, Roman Kravchuk, along with other nationalists, has been actively fighting against the Polish, German, and Soviet occupation authorities. Kravchuk acted as deputy head of the OUN regional leadership, and carried out educational work with the population, including young people. In September 1941 he was arrested for his anti-German activities and sent to a concentration camp in Krakow. After the nationalist returned home, he headed the regional leadership of the OUN in Western Ukraine. Under his leadership, the liberation movement in Galicia became a powerful political force.
Roman Kravchuk continued his activities for years, deftly confusing the Chekists, who were looking for him and conducted more than one operation for this purpose. After the death of the leader Roman Shukhevych, Kravchuk continued to fight to the last. At that time, the activist was supposed to lead the underground, but refused in favor of Vasyl Kuk. As befits a true warrior, Roman Kravchuk died in battle with the enemy. The devoted struggle of the nationalist lasted 21 years! This is a great contribution to the independence of Ukraine.
