Kyiv, 21 November 2022 (TDI): Ukraine celebrates Dignity and Freedom Day as a national holiday on 21st November. This holiday commemorates the first day of the 2014 nationwide pro-European Union (EU) demonstrations.
President Petro Poroshenko declared this day off of work in November 2014. Dignity and Freedom Day is observed this year against the backdrop of Russia’s extensive invasion, which started on February 24.
In a statement, President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that this holiday shows who Ukrainians are and what is important to them. He also said that the people of Ukraine are always united and will always stand together.
History of the Day
The Ukrainians celebrate the Day to commemorate significant moments in Ukrainian history, the 2004 “Orange Revolution” and the 2013 “Revolution of Dignity.”
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A series of protests known as the Orange Revolution was prompted when the 2004 Ukrainian presidential run-off election result was considered as being compromised by electoral fraud.
As a result of the protests, there was a second vote in December 2004, which resulted in Victor Yushchenko winning the election. Protests known as the Revolution of Dignity or Euromaidan began on November 21, 2013, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The protests resulted after the Ukrainian government decided to postpone plans to sign the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement with the EU. The agreement was in favor of deeper economic ties with Russia.
Contrary to the Orange Revolution, however, defending independence and dignity resulted in the deaths of 106 Ukrainian patriots and the injuries of nearly 2,000 more. Russia’s military attack also started in the spring of 2014.
This was followed by the takeover of Crimea and some parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. After the violence, the administration gave in to the protesters’ demands and signed an agreement.
Despite these accommodations, President Viktor Yanukovych and his administration left the nation at the end of February 2014, and Oleksandr Turchynov took over as acting President.
