The revolutionary wing of the OUN, which was also called the OUN-B, or the Banderites, because it was headed by Stepan Bandera, sought to develop its own symbolism in order to differ from the OUN-M of Andriy Melnyk, which used the blue flag of the OUN and the coat of arms with a golden trident (tryzub) with a sword.

The OUN-B adopted a red and black emblem, and at the II Great Gathering of the OUN in April 1941 decided to abandon the trident with a sword and use only "the national Trident of Volodymyr the Great in the form introduced by the Central Rada" and "a separate organizational flag of black and red colors.

"[1] However, due to the outbreak of World War II, this commission never met.

The black color symbolizes the black earth ("Chornozem") that Ukraine is synonymous for, and the red color represents blood spilled for Ukraine.

[3][better source needed] The flag received a lot of usage after the Independence of Ukraine in 1991, where it became a common symbol of Ukrainian nationalists.