Ukraine marks anniversary of establishment of West Ukrainian People's Republic

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in October of 1918 into several independent states, the patriotic forces of the Western Ukraine managed to establish their own state. In particular, in September of 1918, the Ukrainian General Military Committee and the Ukrainian People's Council, the representative body of Ukrainians in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were created in Lviv. On October 19, 1918, the Ukrainian state was proclaimed in the entire Ukrainian ethnic territory of Galicia, Bukovyna and Zakarpattia. Yevhen Petrushevych was elected President of the Ukrainian People's Council.

The Ukrainian People's Council appealed to the Austrian government with a request to transfer it full authority over Galicia and Bukovyna, explaining its intentions by the right of the Ukrainian people to their own state, but it received a categorical refusal. Then it was decided to take power in Lviv by force of arms. On the night of October 31 to November 1, 1918, the infantry units headed by Commander Dmytro Vitovsky seized all important governmental institutions in the city. Thus, the West Ukrainian People's Republic was created; it included Ukrainian ethnic lands - Galicia, Bukovyna and Zakarpattia. At the same time, Poland did not want to lose Galicia and began military operations, as a result of which the West Ukrainian People's Republic government moved to Ternopil, Stanisławów (now Ivano-Frankivsk), and was also in exile in Kamyanets-Podilsky.

On January 22, 1919, the Act of Reunification of the Ukrainian People's Council and the West Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) into a unified Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed. The ZUNR government in exile ceased to exist on March 15, 1923.