Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Cossack cross

The Cossack cross is a type of cross pattée historically linked to the Cossacks. Today, it is best known for its use by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is also used in Ukraine as a memorial symbol for fallen soldiers and in military awards.

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A Cossack cross on the flag of Poltava Oblast source ↗
A Cossack cross on the flag of Volyn Oblast source ↗

The Cossack cross (Ukrainian: Козацький хрест, romanized: Kozatskyi khrest) is a type of cross pattée historically linked to the Cossacks. Today, it is best known for its use by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.1234 It is also used in Ukraine as a memorial symbol for fallen soldiers5678 and in military awards.39

History

Historically it was used by Cossacks, most prominently the Zaporozhian Host.

In modern times cross has been adapted as part of the emblem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine, and is depicted on the flags and coat of arms of several Ukrainian regions, districts and cities, like Konotop, Zinkiv and Zolotonosha.31011 The Memorial to Ukrainians shot at Sandarmokh uses a Cossack cross.12138

Russo-Ukrainian War

As of September 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces started to paint a simplified white Cossack cross on their vehicles as an IFF marker designating Ukrainian vehicles from a distance.14

Examples

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "У Харкові відкрили "Козацький хрест", присвячений загиблим на Донбасі". Укрінформ - актуальні новини України та світу (in Ukrainian). 3 December 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. "Козацький хрест в с.Аврамівка". Катеринівська сільська рада Кіровоградська область, Кропивницький район (in Ukrainian). 10 August 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. "ПРЕЗИДЕНТ В СУМАХ ВІДКРИВ КОЗАЦЬКИЙ ХРЕСТ БОРЦЯМ ЗА ВОЛЮ УКРАЇНИ". vpr.sm.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 22 July 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  4. "Стародавній козацький хрест повернеться в історичний центр Житомира. ВІДЕО". Журнал Житомира (in Ukrainian). 21 August 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. "Порошенко у Сумах відкрив Козацький хрест – Трибуна – новини Сум та Сумської області". Трибуна (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. "Naszą siłą jest jedność!". Monitor Wolynski (in Polish). 15 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  7. "Memorial cross to defenders of Ukraine unveiled in Kyiv". Religious Information Service of Ukraine. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. Kozielski, Jan (September 2014). "W Sołowkach przy kamieniu pamięci…" [In Solovki, next to the memorial stone…] (PDF). Dziennik Kijowski (Дзеннік Кійовскі) (in Polish). Vol. 17, no. 480. Kyiv. p. 4. OCLC 749394789.
  9. "Волонтерам від військових. Олену Куртяк відзначено нагородою – "Козацький хрест " III ступеню (ВІДЕО)". ВАРТО - Галицькі Новини (in Ukrainian). 19 December 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  10. "Krzemieniec - Karta Dziedzictwa Kulturowego - Teatr NN". Shtetl Routes (in Polish). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  11. В.Г. Кисляк (2010). Україна: герби та прапори (in Ukrainian) (Парламентське вид-во ed.). О.А. Нескоромний. p. 456.
  12. "A Cossack Cross in Sandarmokh". A Cossack Cross in Sandarmokh. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  13. Coynash, Halya (28 January 2020). "Historian Yury Dmitriev imprisoned in Russia for insisting on Memory of the Soviet Terror and Sandarmokh". Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  14. "The backstory about the sense of the white cross used by the Ukrainian troops to mark their vehicles during the latest counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region". We Are Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  15. "23 серпня - День державного прапора України: історія23 серпня - День державного прапора України: історія". Новини України - #Букви. 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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