New Initiative to Support Ukraine's Heroes
The supermarket chain 'Silpo' in collaboration with the family of Levko Lukyanenko has introduced a new charity project — 'Notebook of Independence'. This is a specially recreated copy of a school notebook in which 34 years ago, in August 1991, the draft of the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine was written, later approved by the Verkhovna Rada.
All profits from the limited edition sales will be directed to support military personnel who have been released from captivity and their families through the NGO 'Azov. Support'.
This historical document, which laid the foundation for modern Ukraine, was born in an ordinary school notebook under extraordinary circumstances. In August 1991, amid the attempted coup in Moscow, MPs were urgently recalled from vacation.
At that moment, dissident Levko Lukyanenko, sensing the uniqueness of the occasion, wrote the text of the Act of Declaration of Independence in just an hour and a half, using a simple student notebook due to the absence of an official form.
Western leaders once told Ukrainians that freedom is not the same as independence. This is true, but they failed to mention that without independence, there can be no freedom.
“Levko was immensely happy when Ukrainians supported independence in the referendum. Ukraine's independence was his life's work. Since 2014, he visited the front several times, supporting our soldiers. On his birthday, which coincides with Independence Day, soldiers came to congratulate Levko. It is very valuable for me to preserve the memory of this man together with 'Silpo',” says the dissident's wife, Nadia Lukyanenko.
“We are grateful to the Lukyanenko family for their cooperation. It is a great honor for us to create this project together. Imagine taking notes in such a notebook for language or literature, law or philosophy. And also writing your ideas, dreams, reflections, and planning projects that will help Ukraine.
I believe that everything written in such a notebook should come to life. We recreated the cover design based on the original stored in the Lukyanenko family, and the draft page of the act is from the page kept in the National Museum of History of Ukraine. We selected paper of the same color, meaning we did everything to give the feeling of the original notebook,” says Kateryna Ohuryayeva, marketing director of the 'Silpo' supermarket chain.
You can purchase the 'Notebook of Independence' at 'Silpo' supermarkets across the country or order it online via the website or mobile application. Additionally, the application contains a virtual message from Levko Lukyanenko, and a dedicated landing page for the project provides more details about the history of the Act's creation.
This project carries deep symbolism, as Levko Lukyanenko, who spent 27 years in Soviet camps, fought for Ukraine's freedom. The funds raised will help those who continue this fight today — the released soldiers of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Azov' and their families.
