Day of Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine (14/10)

The Day of Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Day of Defense and Defense of Ukraine) is a public holiday established by decree of the President of Ukraine P. Poroshenko No. 806/2014 dated October 14, 2014 and which is an official holiday and day off. Until 2021, it was called "Defender of Ukraine Day".

According to this Decree, the holiday was established "in order to honor the courage and heroism of the defenders of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the military traditions and victories of the Ukrainian people, to further strengthen the patriotic spirit in society and to support the initiative of the public." The document also approved the date of its annual celebration - October 14, and the Defender of the Fatherland Day, which was previously celebrated in the country on February 23, was also abolished. This holiday has been known since Soviet times, and in independent Ukraine it was established in 1999, according to the decree of the then President Leonid Kuchma.

The date of October 14 for the new holiday was not chosen by chance. Every year on this day, the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks is celebrated - a holiday dedicated to the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (since the Mother of God is considered the protector and patroness of the Cossacks). Also on this day, the anniversary of the creation (in 1942) of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) * - the military-political division of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) - is traditionally celebrated. And since Poroshenko also said that he wants to resolve the issue of the status of UPA soldiers as defenders of Ukraine at the state level, then October 14, in his opinion, will be associated with the real heroes of Ukraine, participants in hostilities and the war for the country's independence.

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