Day of Defender of Ukraine: five stories about Ukrainian soldiers and veterans

Marina Smahina

Senior Editor of "Rubryka", writer

Today, Ukrainians celebrate four holidays: the Intercession of the Theotokos, the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks, the Day of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and the Day of the Defender of Ukraine. They are all closely related:

• Intercession of the Theotokos or the Feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most important church holidays for Orthodox and Greek Catholics. It celebrates the intercession of the Mother of God for people. Legend has it that in the 10th century when Constantinople was besieged by enemies, the townspeople prayed to the Virgin for salvation. And the Mother of God appeared before them, covering the city with her veil, and thus saving it.
• The Day of Ukrainian Cossacks falls on the Feast of the Intercession, not by chance. The Cossacks considered the Mother of God their patron and protector. Thus, according to the President's Decree, October 14 was chosen to celebrate the Day of the Cossacks, to honor the Cossack's merits and importance as independent soldiers who appeared in Ukraine in the XV century, in Ukrainian statehood forming. 
• The Day of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Formation is not exactly set up, but they consider October 14 to be the most symbolic date. The historians found it in several sources and the UIA commander-in-chief also recognized it in his order in 1947. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army is a military-political formation that pursued the goal of restoring Ukrainian statehood. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army continued the work of the Ukrainian liberation movement and also affected the further progress of Ukraine to independence. Thus. it fits perfectly into the Ukrainian holiday set on October 14.
• The Day of Defender of Ukraine appeared in our calendars not so long ago, in 2014. Then, October 14 became a holiday celebrating the merits of the Ukrainian defenders, which are priceless with the beginning of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. To a large extent, the Day of the Defender of Ukraine on October 14 is a tribute to the history and ancient tradition of honoring Ukrainian soldiers at the Intercession, and another step away from the Soviet Union and Russia with their traditional February 23.

To celebrate this important holiday for Ukrainians, we collected five of our most interesting pieces dedicated to Ukrainian soldiers and veterans. Defenders of Ukraine deserve attention and honor every day, not only on October 14. But today is a good day to remind ourselves of this and say once again to the Ukrainian soldiers: thank you for the peaceful sky above our heads!