On March 14, 2023, the Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer, the National Museum of the History of Ukraine opened the exhibition "Our Rights are Protected by Sabers!" about the history of weapons and military equipment on the territory of Ukraine from ancient times to the present day.

Russia seeks the complete liquidation of the Ukrainian nation and state. The existence of the people and the state is now being fought on the battlefield in times of war. That is why we took the words of Hetman Ivan Mazepa as the name of the exhibition project “ Our Rights are Protected by Sabers!” from his famous "Duma", because we can defend our human and state rights only with weapons.

The unique collection of weapons began to form in the museum at the time of its foundation at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The collection presents weapons from the Paleolithic Age to modern times. The exhibition shows the evolution of Ukrainian weapons and the influence of the gunsmithing traditions of neighboring countries on them.

The use of foreign weapons by the Ukrainian army is rather a common case. After all, the weapon import was typical for almost all periods of Ukrainian history. The Cossacks were well-acquainted with Western European, Polish, Turkish, and Moscow weapons and armor. During the Ukrainian War of Independence in the 20^th century, the Ukrainian People's Army, Ukrainian Galician Army, and Ukrainian Insurgent Army used Austro-Hungarian, Russian, German, Soviet, and other weapons. It was both allies’ weapons and trophies captured by the enemies.

A part of the exhibition is devoted to the results of research on the battlefield near Kumeiky, where in December 1637, the Cossack-peasant troops led by Pavlo But and the crown army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth met. In 2022, the archaeological expedition of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine under the leadership of Serhii Didenko discovered at the site of the battle details of military equipment, samples of ammunition, coins, craft, and household tools. Some of these finds will be displayed at the exhibition.

The exhibition's opening on the Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer is no accident. After all, the most important component of this project for us is dedicated to our museum colleagues who defend Ukraine's freedom at the front or save people on the front lines. Most of them are volunteers. The National Museum of the History of Ukraine is incredibly proud of them. As a sign of gratitude, we want to tell the stories of these simple heroes of our time so that as many people as possible learn about them. We also thank all the volunteers who our state's independence and territorial integrity.