photo: арміяinform
At the state level, the holiday has been celebrated since 2017, but the phenomenon of public aid has been familiar to Ukrainians for a long time.
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On March 14, 2014, the first 500 volunteers from Maidan arrived at the training base in Novi Petrivtsi, a village to the north from Kyiv. There, they formed a volunteer battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine and defended the territorial integrity of the country. Thus, in honour of this event, the Verkhovna Rada decided to celebrate the Day of the Ukrainian Volunteer on March 14. The relevant decision was made on January 17, 2017.
Today, the first volunteer battalion is named after its leader Serhii Kulchytskyi, and the practice of creating such formations has become widespread. «Dobrobats», as they are called, include Azov, Aidar, etc.
The phenomenon of volunteer fighting is familiar to Ukrainians long before 2014. One of the first volunteer defenders in history can be called the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, whose military organization was formed spontaneously and later became the centralized Zaporizhzhian Army. The Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, who operated during the First World War, were also a volunteer group.
Today, when almost all the people have become volunteers, the holiday has become even more important. It is celebrated by volunteers, doctors, mechanics, drivers and everyone who is step by step bringing our country closer to victory.
Translated by Vitalii Holich
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