Ukraine National Anthem — Shche Ne Vmerla Ukrainy

The anthem is a declaration of national survival. Its opening — "Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia" ("Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet perished") — insists that, whatever befalls the country, its spirit endures, and promises that "fate shall smile" on Ukrainians once more.

The imagery is vivid: enemies who will "vanish like dew in the sun", and a people who will one day "rule in our own land". The chorus pledges "soul and body" for freedom, invoking the proud memory of the Cossacks. Written in the 19th century under imperial rule, it became a rallying cry for independence.

Pavlo Chubynsky, a leading Ukrainian ethnographer, wrote the poem in 1862; the following year the Greek-Catholic priest and composer Mykhailo Verbytsky set it to music. Suppressed under both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, the song survived as a symbol of Ukrainian identity. When Ukraine became independent, Verbytsky's melody was adopted as the anthem in January 1992, and a slightly revised first stanza and chorus by Chubynsky were confirmed as the official lyrics by law in March 2003.

For generations the anthem embodied the hope of Ukrainian statehood through periods when the language and nation were repressed. The 2003 law softened the opening from "Ukraine has not yet died" to "Ukraine's glory and freedom have not yet perished". Since 2022 the anthem has been heard and recognised around the world as a symbol of Ukrainian resilience.

The State Anthem of Ukraine is the national anthem of Ukraine, among the most recognised of the world's national anthems. The words are from an 1862 poem by Pavlo Chubynsky; the music was written in 1863 by Mykhailo Verbytsky.

The melody became official in 1992 after independence, and the lyrics in 2003. Both are in the public domain. Only the first stanza and chorus form the official anthem.