"Slava Ukraini": What It Means, Where It Came From, and Whether You Can Say It
·8 min read
"Glory to Ukraine" became one of the most recognized phrases of the Russia-Ukraine war. But what does it actually mean, what's the correct response, and what's the real history behind a phrase that's both ancient and newly controversial?
"Slava Ukraini" has gone from a salute known primarily to Ukrainians and Eastern European specialists to a phrase heard at political rallies, sports arenas, and diplomatic meetings across the Western world. After Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, it became a kind of global shorthand for solidarity with Ukraine. But a lot of people using it — or hesitating to — still aren't entirely sure of the history, the proper exchange, or the etiquette around whether it's appropriate for non-Ukrainians to say at all.
## What Does "Slava Ukraini" Mean?
The phrase means "Glory to Ukraine" in Ukrainian. "Slava" (слава) translates as glory, fame, or praise. "Ukraini" is the dative form of "Ukraina" — grammatically, "to Ukraine" rather than "of Ukraine." So the phrase is closer to "Glory be to Ukraine" or "May Ukraine have glory" than a simple possessive construction.
“"Slava" (слава) translates as glory, fame, or praise.”
The traditional response is "Heroiam slava" — "Glory to the heroes." The full call-and-response, "Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!", functions as both a military salute and a public declaration of solidarity. Since 2018, it has been the official salute of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. When Volodymyr Zelenskyy ends his evening video addresses — which he has delivered without interruption since February 24, 2022 — he typically closes with "Slava Ukraini!" You will hear the response shouted back from crowds at any Ukrainian public gathering.
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→can I say Slava Ukraini: See details above.
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→Slava Ukraini history: See details above.
## What Does "Slava" Mean in Russian?
In Russian, "слава" (slava) means exactly the same thing: glory, fame, renown. The word is a shared root across Slavic languages. It's a common element in given names: Vyacheslav, Vladislav, Yaroslav, Miroslav, Bohuslav all contain it. The fact that the word is identical in Ukrainian and Russian reflects the common Slavic linguistic ancestry — which is one reason some Russian commentators have tried to claim or dismiss the phrase. Ukrainians are generally unamused by that argument.
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## Can I Say "Slava Ukraini"?
For the vast majority of contexts — expressing support for Ukraine, greeting Ukrainians, or acknowledging Ukraine's resistance — yes, it's entirely appropriate. It's the country's official military salute, used routinely by the president, government officials, soldiers, and civilians.
The phrase does carry a complicated historical dimension that is worth knowing. It was adopted in the 1930s by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a far-right movement with a contentious wartime record that includes collaboration with Nazi Germany in the early stages of the German invasion of the Soviet Union and involvement in massacres of Polish and Jewish civilians in Volhynia. This history is real and should not be erased.
Context matters enormously, however. The phrase predates the OUN — versions of it appear in early twentieth-century Ukrainian independence-era texts — and has been broadly reclaimed as a general expression of Ukrainian national identity, used across the political spectrum. Using "Slava Ukraini" today carries no more inherent association with 1940s Ukrainian nationalism than waving a French flag implies sympathy with the Vichy regime. The two-part exchange — "Slava Ukraini / Heroiam slava" — is overwhelmingly standard in mainstream Ukrainian life since 2022, and the more nationalist triple-form variant has largely receded.
Slava Ukraini meaning · can I say Slava Ukraini · glory to Ukraine
## What Is the Reply to "Slava Ukraini"?
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The response is "Heroiam slava!" — "Glory to the heroes!" The full exchange:
- **First person:** "Slava Ukraini!" (Glory to Ukraine!)
- **Response:** "Heroiam slava!" (Glory to the heroes!)
In informal contexts, Ukrainians sometimes abbreviate to just "Slava!" The phrase serves as a greeting, a farewell, and a rallying cry simultaneously. It functions somewhat like the "Hooah" or "Oorah" familiar in US military culture — an expression of esprit de corps that has crossed from military into civilian use.
## Are Ukrainian People Slavic?
Yes. Ukrainians are Eastern Slavs — the same broad ethnolinguistic group that includes Russians and Belarusians. All three groups descend from the same medieval Slavic tribes who settled the vast plains of Eastern Europe, and all three trace their cultural heritage in part to Kievan Rus.
This shared ancestry is both factually accurate and politically loaded. Putin has cited it as grounds for his claim that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people." Most Ukrainians reject this framing strongly. Shared ancestry does not erase centuries of separate development, distinct language and literary tradition, distinct folk culture, and entirely different contemporary political trajectories. The French and Italians both descended from Roman civilization and speak Romance languages — that shared origin does not make them one nation, and no one seriously argues that it does.
## What Is the Motto of Ukraine?
Ukraine's coat of arms carries the inscription "Воля, злагода, добро" — "Will, Harmony, Goodness" — though this appears primarily in formal heraldic contexts and isn't widely known even within Ukraine. In practice, "Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!" functions as the living national motto, particularly since 2022.
Ukraine's national anthem, "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished"), opens with verses about national survival that resonate in entirely unmetaphorical ways in the current war. The line "We will lay down our bodies and souls for our freedom and will show that we, brothers, are of the Cossack nation" sounds less like nineteenth-century romanticism and more like a statement of current fact when Ukrainian soldiers are using it as a battle cry.
## What Is Ukraine's Slogan Against Russia?
In the context of the war, the most commonly heard slogan is simply the "Slava Ukraini / Heroiam slava" exchange. Another phrase that gained viral traction early in the war was "Russian warship, go f*** yourself" — the defiant last words transmitted by Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island on February 24, 2022, when ordered to surrender to a Russian Navy vessel. (The guards survived; they were captured and later released in a prisoner exchange.) That phrase became an unofficial war cry in the first weeks of the invasion and appeared on Ukrainian postage stamps.
## What Is "Slava" Short For?
As a standalone given name, Slava is typically a short form of longer Slavic compound names: for men, Vyacheslav, Vladislav, or Miroslav; for women, Miroslava, Yaroslava, or Bohuslava. It's used across Slavic countries — Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland — with the same meaning: glory, fame. The name Vladislav, incidentally, means "one who rules with glory" — a construction that has struck some observers as ironic given the current bearer of its Russian equivalent.
## What Is the Meaning of "Slava, Slava, Slava"?
A triple repetition of "Slava" appears in Orthodox Christian liturgical tradition, where triple acclamation reflects Trinitarian theology. In contemporary Ukrainian political culture, a three-part call-and-response has sometimes been used at rallies: "Slava Ukraini! Slava Heroiam! Slava Natsii!" A more nationalist variant used by some groups since 2014 added "Ukraina Ponad Use!" (Ukraine Above All) as a third line — an echo of German nationalist language that critics noted at the time. That formulation has largely dropped out of mainstream use; the two-part exchange is now overwhelmingly standard in Ukrainian public life.
## How Do You Say "Thank You" in Ukrainian?
"Дякую" (dyakuyu) is the standard "thank you." A more emphatic version is "Дуже дякую" (duzhe dyakuyu) — "Thank you very much." You will also hear "Спасибі" (spasibo), borrowed from Russian, particularly among older speakers and in eastern regions, though its use has declined noticeably since 2022 among people making a deliberate shift to Ukrainian.
## What Is the Ukrainian Word for "Lady"?
The most common formal address for a woman is "пані" (pani, pronounced PAH-nee) — roughly equivalent to "Ms." or "Mrs." For a younger unmarried woman, "панна" (panna) is traditional but somewhat old-fashioned today. The general word for "woman" is "жінка" (zhinka). In the east and south, Russian terms are still heard, though far less commonly than before 2022.
## How Do You Say "Girlfriend" in Ukrainian?
The most common word for girlfriend is "дівчина" (divchyna), though it also simply means "girl" or "young woman" in a non-romantic sense — context usually clarifies. A more explicitly romantic term is "кохана" (kokhana), from "кохати" — to love. "Подруга" (podruga) means female friend and is generally platonic.
## How Do You Say "My Name Is" in Ukrainian?
The most natural introduction is "Мене звати [name]" (Mene zvaty — literally "I am called [name]") or "Моє ім'я [name]" (Moye im'ya — "My name is [name]"). Ukrainian names are declined (endings change with grammatical case), which means you might see the same person's name spelled differently depending on how it appears in a sentence — Oleksandr in the nominative, Oleksandra in a different case. For travelers or people simply wanting to introduce themselves, "Mene zvaty" followed by your name is the natural and universally understood form.
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## FAQ
**Q: What does "Slava Ukraini" mean?**
A: "Glory to Ukraine" in Ukrainian. The traditional response is "Heroiam slava!" — "Glory to the heroes!" The two-part exchange has been the official salute of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2018 and has become a global symbol of solidarity with Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
**Q: Is it appropriate for non-Ukrainians to say "Slava Ukraini"?**
A: Yes, in contexts expressing support for Ukraine. The phrase is Ukraine's official military salute and is used broadly across Ukrainian society. While it was historically adopted by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the 1930s, it has been broadly reclaimed as a general national expression and carries no specific political connotation for the vast majority of people using it today.
**Q: What is the correct reply to "Slava Ukraini"?**
A: "Heroiam slava!" — "Glory to the heroes!"
**Q: Does "Slava" mean glory in Russian too?**
A: Yes. "Slava" (слава) means glory or fame in both Ukrainian and Russian — a shared word reflecting the common Slavic linguistic ancestry of both languages.
**Q: Are Ukrainian people Slavic?**
A: Yes. Ukrainians are Eastern Slavs, the same broad ethnolinguistic group as Russians and Belarusians. All three groups descend from the same medieval Slavic tribes and trace part of their heritage to Kievan Rus. This shared ancestry does not make them one nation, any more than French and Italian shared Latin ancestry makes them one people.
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