Khmelnytsky was a Ukrainian commander & Cossack state ruler Ukraine has a long history of fighting for freedom. Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky (1596-1657) led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates that resulted in the creation of an independent Ukrainian Cossack state. He was a Ukrainian military commander and Hetman, ruler, of the Zaporozhian …