The book shows how the First World War catalyzed the development of the Ukrainian national movement in the Habsburg Empire. The aggravation of confrontation with the Poles, the defeat of the Russophile movement, the concessions of the imperial center and support from Germany boiled down to the fact that the Ukrainian national project became uncontested for the Ruthenian population of Galicia and Bukovina. The main means of expansion of the Ukrainian movement was national mobilization, which swept the Rusyns on the front line, in the rear and in the front-line territories. Ukrainian politicians, whose goal until the collapse of Austria-Hungary was autonomy within the empire, did not notice how the aspirations of the population were ahead of their intentions - by the end of 1918, the idea of ​ ​ an independent Ukrainian state prevailed on the ground.