Ukraine celebrates the Day of Defenders and Defenders, the Feast of the Intercession and the Veteran's Day

01.10.2026, 08:00◉ 03 min readEditorial team “SHCHO STALOSIA”

On Thursday, October 1, Ukrainians celebrate the Day of Defenders of Ukraine and the Day of the Cossacks, which coincides with the Christian holiday of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. In addition, today Ukraine celebrates Veteran's Day. — Ukrinform.

Ukraine celebrates the Day of Defenders and Defenders, the Feast of the Intercession and the Veteran's Day

The Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the main holidays in Christianity. It originates in Byzantium, but was established in Kyivan Rus. There, the Intercession cult linked Christianity with militarism: after all, the holiday began to be associated with defense and the army.

From ancient times, the Virgin Mary was the patroness of the Ukrainian Cossacks. On the feast of the Intercession, the Great Rada was organized, the hetman was elected and the life of the Cossacks was determined. The Zaporozhian Cossacks had a church in honor of the Intercession and a corresponding icon in the Sich.

Many churches were built in honor of the Intercession in Ukraine. One of the oldest is the Church of the Intercession in the village of Sutkivtsi, Khmelnytskyi region, built in 1467 as a fortress. Today, this unique building is an active temple and museum at the same time.

Details

Veteran's Day is celebrated in Ukraine annually in accordance with the Presidential Decree of September 24, 2004 No. 1135/2004. It was introduced "in order to increase attention to the needs of the older generation, to ensure proper social protection of veterans and to support the initiative of public organizations of veterans."

As reported by Ukrinform, about 58.5 thousand Kyiv residents will receive one-time targeted financial assistance for the Day of Defenders of Ukraine.

Context

According to Ukrinform, the Day of Defenders of Ukraine is a public holiday, which was established on October 14, 2014 by a presidential decree as the Day of Defender of Ukraine. On July 14, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada renamed it the Day of Defenders of Ukraine. It was celebrated on October 14, but in 2023 the date was postponed to October 1 due to the reform of the church calendar.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church switched to the New Julian calendar on September 1, 2023, so most Christians celebrate religious holidays 13 days earlier. In particular, the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary is now celebrated on October 1, and the date of the Day of Defenders and Defenders was postponed along with it.

What's next

In the twentieth century, the traditions of the Cossacks were continued by the soldiers of the UPR Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. It is no coincidence that the day of the creation of the UPA was chosen as the feast of the Intercession.