Defender’s Day 2025, 2026 and 2027
Defender’s Day was established by decree of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and soon afterwards ratified by parliament.
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 Oct | Wed | Defender's Day |
| 2026 | 1 Oct | Thu | Defender's Day |
| 2027 | 1 Oct | Fri | Defender's Day |
| Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates. | |||
Defender’s Day is a day designed to honour Ukraine’s past and present military heroes in their struggle for Ukrainian freedom. The new holiday is tied up in the current struggle in Ukraine between pro-government elements and pro-Russian separatist forces. It replaces the 23 February “Defender of the Fatherland” holiday that has roots in the Soviet Era, but pro-Russian areas of Ukraine still celebrate the old holiday and reject the new one.
Defender of the Fatherland Day is also kept by Russia and some other former-Soviet Republics and was originally instituted as “Red Army Day” to commemorate the first big drafts of soldiers into the Communist Army in 1918, which helped the Red Russians defeat the White Russians in the Russian Civil War.
The reason given for choosing 14 October is that this is also the date of the Feast of the Intercession, which is a traditional day on which Ukrainian soldiers have been honoured. It is also the day on which the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) rose up against the Soviets during World War II, but since the UIA also “teamed up with” the Nazis in fighting the Communists, the date being associated with them has been criticised by some.
Previous Years
| Year | Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 Oct | Tue | Defender's Day |
| 2023 | 14 Oct | Sat | Defender's Day |
| 16 Oct | Mon | Defender's Day Holiday |