Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged politicians to join efforts in order to prevent Ukraine from losing its independence because of their squabbles.

"These were not the military who lost her independence at the time. These were politicians who lacked responsibility to consolidate in the face of an external threat. As concerns the current political elite, it looks like not all of them have read history textbooks. However, my team has learned its lessons very well. As president and as supreme commander-in-chief, I guarantee that I will not allow a replay of the mistakes made a hundred years ago," Poroshenko said during the oath taking ceremony by students of Kyiv Military Lyceum named after Ivan Bohun in Kyiv on Saturday.

Poroshenko noted that this has been a hundred years since the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic was formed, which "defended our land against the armed aggression from both the Red [Bolshevik] and White [tsarist] Russia." The head of state said thousands of soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian People's Republic provided fierce resistance to the enemies and wrote many heroic pages in the history of the Ukrainian army.

"It is to them that the exhibition, located here on the Sofia Square and on the Independence Square is dedicated," Poroshenko said.