OCTOBER, 14

DEFENDERS
DAY
Defenders Day in Ukraine is a public holiday
celebrated annually on October 14.

It was officially established by President Petro

Poroshenko on October 14, 2014,
by a presidential decree entitled
“The Day of Defender of Ukraine”.
Its first celebration was in 2015.

On July 12, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada of

Ukraine renamed the holiday into the Day of
Defenders and Defendresses of Ukraine.
President Poroshenko takes part in the events on the Day of the Defender of Ukraine
 The date of October 14 was chosen not by chance.
OCTOBER, 14
Ukrainians celebrate :
Intercession of the Theotokos or the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady
Theotokos, a Christian feast of the Mother of God . From ancient times,
the Most Holy Theotokos was a patron of the Ukrainian Cossacks and all
Ukrainian armed groups.

the Day of Ukrainian Cossacks, from 1999.

Ukrainian Cossacs established the Zaporozhian Sich, a well-respected
political entity with a parliamentary system of government ( 16-18
centuries) and were a strong political and military force that challenged
the authority of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Tsardom of
Russia, and the Crimean Khanate.

the date of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

It was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation
(during World War II)
In the 20th century, the Cossack traditions of the struggle for independence of Ukraine were taken over by soldiers of the
Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. And it is no coincidence that the feast of
Intercession of the Theotokos was chosen as the day of the official creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. It is quite
logical that the ancient heroic past of Ukraine connects with the heroic present on this day.
 UKRAINE TODAY

The Russo-Ukrainian War has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since
February 2014. In March 2014 Russia annexed the Crimea and in August 2014 - Donbass ( a part of luhansk and Donetsk

regions). By 2019, 7 percent of Ukraine had been designated by the Ukrainian government as being "temporarily occupied"
by Russia.

From early 2021 into the first month of 2022, Russia

built up a massive military presence surrounding
Ukraine, including from within neighbouring Belarus.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a
major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. In the
morning, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced
in his public address a "special military operation" for
the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine.
Minutes later, missiles, rockets and airstrikes hit across
Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces attack and bomb both military and
civilian targets every day.
The invasion is a war of agression.
 DEFENDERS OF UKRAINE TODAY
WHO ARE THEY ?
Firefighters
The Armed Forces
President of Ukraine Volunteers

Parliament

National

Security and Police

Defense Council Rescuers

of Ukraine

Ministry of Foreign Affairs People

of Ukraine
Medics
International organizations,
United Nations Journalists

Countries Teachers
In July 2022, Defense Minister Resnikov
stated that the Armed Forces had an
active strength of 700,000.
Foreign suppliers
United States
United Kingdom
NATO
Australia
Georgia
Israel
Japan
other EU countries
 DEFENDERS OF UKRAINE TODAY
WHO ARE THEY ?

brave Patriots
caring

free

strong
professional powerful

courageous careful
smart attentive

open-hearted
conscious
vigorous

 WE ALL ARE DEFENDERS OF UKRAINE TODAY

WHY?

We are patriots who defend our homes.

We are brave and smart.
We help each other. We donate money.
We are caring about pets and animals.
We are open-hearted children of our Motherland.
We love Ukraine. We are Ukrainians.
We are free people.
 GLORY TO UKRAINE!
GLORY TO THE HEROES!