Ukrainian Defenders Day Parade in Kyiv - Oct. 14

The Day of Defenders and Defendresses of Ukraine is a public holiday celebrated on October 14. It was officially established on October 14, 2014, by a presidential decree entitled “The Day of Defender of Ukraine”. On July 12, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine renamed the holiday into the Day of Defenders and Defendresses of Ukraine.

The urgent need for this national holiday became acute after the start of Russia’s occupation of Crimea and armed hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The society and the state had to show worthy respect for the unprecedented courage and bravery of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line and hundreds of lives given for the Motherland.

The date of October 14 was chosen not by chance. On this day, Ukraine also marks the Intercession of the Theotokos, and the Day of Ukrainian Cossacks was established in 1999.