A Ukrainian Dawn; February 1919.

With the signing of the ceasefire and non-aggression pact with the The soviet union rp, an uneasy silence fell over the frontline. Certainly, the thunder of the guns against the whites was still to be heard and felt by the Ukrainian fighters, but the ire of the bolshevik definitively turned from Ukraine.

A sense of...disbelief...fell over the fledgling nation. Independence, their state, their home...it wasn't decided in some triumphant and climatic battle, it wasn't decided by some bloody and brutal last stand by a brave hero or heroine which witnessed the arrival of cavalry set against the backdrop of the dawn sky. It was a signature on a paper and a shake of a hand.

It was anticlimactic.

The news was circulated about, the people of the cities (who could read) read the headline, telling that the Russians, their longtime oppressors and who were expected to be no different underneath the red banner offered the generous deal to the Ukrainians and, with some minor negotiations with respect to borders, troop movements and neutrality, the Ukrainians accepted.

For some time, the Ukrainians were dumbfounded; is this true? is this real? are we finally free?

The first cheer spread like a chain reaction throughout Ukraine, and soon hats were flung into the air, rifles were fired into the sky, vodka and beer and any spirit one could get their hands on were ripped from whatever shelf they rested upon. Lovers were kissed, friends were embraced, laughs were exchanged, cries were heard and tears of joy were shed.

The cry of "Ukraine is not yet lost" were shouted, and soon, the cry of "Ukraine is found!" was held. The people, long since suppressed beneath the Tsarist boot, were finally free.

Ukraine, however, had an uneasy and unknown path ahead of them. The Directorate of Ukraine was...caught off guard. For so long they only focused on survival, on surviving the war, on preserving the republic...but now? well they had got there, some of the more pessimistic members believed that they weren't going to get this far, and yet with this brave new world thrust upon them in the year of 1919, two years since the proclamation of the Ukrainian state, they didn't know what happened now.

Still though, everyone in Ukraine knew at least one thing would be true.

Ukraine would be free...

...for now.