Do we need the Defender of Ukraine Day, a new holiday celebrated on Oct. 14 for the first time?

Published Oct. 16, 2015 at 4:44 pm

Photo by Volodymyr Petrov

Maksym Demskiy,
director of modern art festival Gogolfest
“We need this holiday because we do have defenders. It doesn’t matter when. This holiday was established to say ‘thank you.’ Although there should be fewer holidays in Ukraine and more work, of course.”

Dmytro Moskalenko,
translator
“We definitely need this holiday because it unites the nation. So it was established exactly on time. Religious feasts also unite people, and I consider Ukraine a religious nation.”

Anastasia Kozankova,
secretary
“Probably we need this holiday, but I don’t like that it was established on the day of an Orthodox feast. I think it’s even a sin. Because those who defend, they shed blood.”

Bohdan Kuznetsov,
unemployed
“The (religious holiday of) Pokrova feast is the day of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). UPA was defending us, and the fellows in the east of Ukraine are doing the same.”

Valerii Petushchak,
retiree
“This holiday is for us to know that we have an army and that we can and must defend our borders and country.”