Politics Kiev writes "Glory to Ukraine!" on new banknotes

The Central Bank of Ukraine has added the national slogan "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!". Money is not only a measure of value and a means of payment, but also a symbol of the state that everyone holds in their hands every day, said the head of the central bank, Andriy Pyshny, according to a statement in Kiev.

"To honor the steadfastness of our people and to commemorate this turning point in the formation of the Ukrainian nation in which we live today, we are adding our slogan to all banknotes, which can be heard all over the world," said Pyshny. The change is intended to commemorate the upcoming 33rd Independence Day on August 24.

It began with the banknotes for 1000 (around 22.3 euros) and 500 hryvnia. This will be followed by all other denominations of 200, 100, 50 and 20 hryvnia. The slogan will be placed in the top right-hand corner of the banknotes. The rest of the appearance of the bills will remain unchanged.

The patriotic slogan "Glory to Ukraine!" goes back to the emerging Ukrainian national movement at the end of the 19th century. It has an eventful history. In the form "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" it was used by Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with the National Socialists. The greeting remained present in the Ukrainian independence movement against the Soviet Union. It was widely used during the Orange Revolution against electoral fraud in 2004/05 and during the pro-European Maidan protests in 2013/14.

Today it is the official salute of the Ukrainian armed forces and is often used in everyday life. President Volodymyr Zelensky has ended every speech with the words "Glory to Ukraine!" since the start of the Russian war of aggression in 2022. Foreign guests of state also use the slogan.