“But I’m not in the army!” — was the first reaction of Olha Chepkyna, a Valky, Kharkiv oblast, secondary school eighth- grader, to the news of her victory. “Still I am eager to join it,” she added. Olha had won the national televised competition How Can We Bring Up a Patriot of Ukraine held by the New Army Military TV program and the newspaper Den/The Day with assistance of the Siemens mobile phone service center at the Epos enterprise run by retired officers. The prizes — Den/The Day’s publications Ukrayina Incognita and Dvi Rusi and a mobile phone from the retired officers — were presented by New Army correspondent Petro Hasai. He and cameraman Volodymyr Stroikov went to Kharkiv oblast precisely for this purpose. “It is a tradition for me to take part in such contests. I have already won the My Fatherland competition in the nomination ‘Roots.’ The prize was an excursion to Kyiv, which I enjoyed greatly. When I saw a TV program on the army, I decided to test my knowledge and my abilities again. I like the army, the military profession. I like the ‘New Army.’ A patriot is, above all, an individual who respects his native language and loves Ukraine deep in his heart. He is supposed to do his best for the state, so that Ukraine becomes affluent and tops the list of all the world’s countries.” Need anything be added?
