 The Ukrainian Sich Union coordinated the activities of all local "Sich" companies and printed its own newspaper, "The Sich News".By the start of the First World War there were at least 2000 such organizations in Galicia and Bukovyna

In 1911, a philosophy student from Lviv, Ivan Chmola, organized a secret paramilitary group, composed of young men and women from Lviv University, Academic Gymnasium, and other local schools.These enthusiasts learned how to use firearms, prepared military manuals, translated military terminology and lobbied the Austrian authorities to legalize the Ukrainian paramilitary organizations.