Since 24 August 1991, when Ukraine’s parliament declared independence from the Soviet Union, the country has undergone a tumultuous journey toward statehood, sovereignty and self-definition. For years, the significance of 1991 was debated in terms of its economic upheavals, ambiguous geopolitical positioning, and the lingering shadow of post-Soviet identity. But since 2022, amidst the full-scale Russian invasion, the meaning of that moment in 1991 has been dramatically reinterpreted by Ukrainian