98-year-old OUN-UPA liaison Hanna Samotis passes away
24 November 17:04
Hanna Samotis, a former liaison of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, died in Ternopil Oblast at the age of 99. The veteran’s death was reported by the Zbarazh City Council, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What is known about Hanna Samotis
Hanna Samotis was 17 when she joined the OUN and became a liaison. According to local authorities, she transmitted information to the rebels through short notes, which were called “staffettes” in the underground.
Her activities did not last long: after the arrest of a fellow villager who could not stand the torture during interrogation, Samotis was also detained on the third day of Easter. The testimony provided by Suspilne says that despite the pressure and torture, she did not give up any members of the underground.
The young liaison was sentenced to 10 years in prison in labor camps in the Komi Republic. Only in 1992, after Ukraine gained independence, was she rehabilitated.
Life after the camps
The local authorities remember Samotis as a person of high convictions and unwavering loyalty to Ukraine. A statement from the Zbarazh City Council said that her story was an example of “loyalty to the ideals of freedom and independence.”
The news of Samotis’s death comes less than a week after the news of the death of another former UPA liaison, Maria Volochanska, in Prykarpattia.
