Today Ukraine celebrates Unity Day

Today is Ukrainian Unity Day, a holiday symbolising the unification of Ukrainian lands. On this day in 1919, the Act of Unification was proclaimed, uniting the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic into a single state. This event was pivotal in establishing a united Ukraine.

Unity Day was established as a public holiday in 1999. One of its most famous symbols is the ‘iving chain’, a tradition that began in 1990. At that time, hundreds of thousands of people joined hands to connect Kyiv with Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Stryi, Rivne, and Zhytomyr. This unprecedented action was a powerful demonstration of the desire for unity and resistance to the communist regime.

Today, this tradition continues. Ukrainians in various cities and even beyond the country’s borders are joining in unity campaigns, proving that no propaganda and no borders can destroy the desire to be one people.

Today, all of us, from east to west, are defending our shared independence. That is why this holiday has taken on special, acute relevance. In dark times, unity becomes our greatest support and our most powerful weapon. Let’s remember this.