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It was used then but it predates it apparently

> The phrase was popularised during the Ukrainian War of Independence (from 1917 to 1921).

If you had lived under Stalin for 15 years and directly experienced 4 million of your countrymen being starved to death under his dictats, the concept of "good" side and "bad" side is messy. Especially when you don't have full access to information - no internet, no newspapers, no radio.

The Finns fought on the "bad" side as well, due to the Soviet Union having tried to invade them already two years previously. Ukraine had likewise tried to get independence in 1917 which led to a 4 year civil war which they unfortunately lost.

damn, you really got em' with that one.

How dare they pick a side when trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Yeah. Considering the Soviets had just killed millions of Ukrainians in the Holodomar when WWII started, I don't think from the Ukrainian perspective either group invading Ukraine at the time was the 'good side'. Many Ukrainians thought siding with Germany was their best chance to gain an independent country after the war. Unfortunately, we know now that the Nazis were never going to let that happen, and it did lead a lot of Ukrainians to collaborate with the Nazis in committing terrible atrocities. But it was a much more complicated situation than that they fought for the bad side. "Slava Ukraini" reflects their desire then and now for independent self rule, not any moral failings during WWII.