Today marks Ukrainian Volunteer Day
14 March marks Ukrainian Volunteer Day in Ukraine. On this day, we honour those who, though not professional soldiers, voluntarily stepped forward to defend the country.
Volunteers were among the first to join the defence of the state. Thousands of men and women, alongside the armed forces, held the country together during the most difficult times. Many of them left their civilian lives, jobs, businesses, academic pursuits or careers to take part in the defence of Ukraine.
Many volunteers risked and continue to risk their own lives. Some of them died defending the country.
The date of the commemoration is linked to the events of 14 March 2014. On that day, 500 fighters from the Maidan Self-Defence Forces set off from Independence Square to the training base in Novi Petrivtsi. They formed the first volunteer battalion to defend Ukraine against Russian hybrid aggression in the east of the country.
In the spring of 2014, a number of volunteer formations emerged, both outside state structures and within regional state administrations, the National Guard and the police. Almost 40 volunteer battalions took part in the fighting during the 2014–2015 Russian-Ukrainian war. Subsequently, most of them were transformed into military units of the security forces.
A new surge in the volunteer movement occurred in late 2021 and early 2022. Against the backdrop of the threat of a full-scale war in Ukraine, territorial defence units were formed. Following the large-scale invasion, people flocked to military recruitment offices. Today, the Territorial Defence Forces are the youngest branch of the Ukrainian army.
Ukrainian Volunteer Day was established by Resolution No. 1822-VIII of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine dated 17 January 2017. The holiday was introduced to honour the courage and heroism of the defenders of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to support members of volunteer formations.
Ukrainian volunteers continue to fight for the country’s independence. They are hailed as symbols of valour, self-sacrifice and heroism. Eternal memory to those who gave their lives for Ukraine.
