Ukraine marks Statehood Day

In 2021, during Independence Day celebrations, President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed introducing a new state holiday that will be marked on July 28, the day of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine to Christianity, Ukrinform reports.

The head of state then signed a respective decree approving the Day of Ukrainian Statehood.

According to him, the starting point of Ukrainian statehood is the year of the foundation of Kyiv, the capital of the Kyivan Rus and present-day Ukraine. Therefore, the new holiday will be marked on the day of the flowering of Ukrainian statehood - on the day of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus to Christianity, the president said.

The Verkhovna Rada on May 31, 2022 adopted a law establishing the Day of Ukrainian Statehood on July 28 as a public holiday.

It is expected that the law will help assert the continuity of Ukrainian statehood, protect Ukraine's national interests, preserve historical justice and eliminate fake narratives by the Russian Federation as an aggressor state regarding the historical aspects of Ukrainian state formation.

This year, Ukraine celebrates the 1034th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus to Christianity.