According to legend, it was under this oak tree that in 1676, on Khortytsia, Cossack Ataman Ivan Sirko and the Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhian Sich wrote a famous letter to the Turkish Sultan. Now his genetic descendant will grow up in the National Army Academy, which is not accidentally named after another prominent Ukrainian hetman, Petro Sahaidachnyi.
Zaporizhzhia Oak is not just a part of our natural environment. It is a living symbol of the resilience and history of the Ukrainian people. More than 700 years old, this tree is a witness to many historical events and generations of Ukrainians who have found shelter, strength and inspiration under its branches.
“Let this sapling grow and get stronger, as well as our will to freedom and independence. And may every cadet and employee of the National Army Academy, contemplating it, remember the greatness of our history and the wealth that we must preserve for future generations,” said Lieutenant General Pavlo Tkachuk, Commandant of the National Academy. - “I am sincerely grateful to Andrii Seniuk, Head of the Natural Resources Protection Division of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, for his assistance, and to Volodymyr Batochenko for his active participation in preserving the living symbols of our Cossack past and victorious present.